2005 Mercury Mariner Install - Lots of Pics!

Fraychild · 07-02-2007, 11:58 PM

This is to help anyone who owns a Mercury Mariner/Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute - I tried to put a small write-up together for installing a touchscreen monitor using the WRX bezel - It may not have the most detailed instructions, but I hope the pics help me describe things more easily -

I got most of the ideas from iamgnat (thanks bro') - Here's his thread:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/work...ac-escape.html

Here we go:

Hardware:
VIA SP13000 Mobo
LILLIPUT 629 Touchscreen (software modified for "auto-turn on")
*USED TO BE* WD 80GB HDD (crashed)- NOW IBM 20GB HDD (temporarily)
CRUCIAL 512GB RAM
OPUS 150w PSU
BU-353 GPS Receiver
WRX BEZEL from Mechatroniks
David Navone N66A Turn-On Pop Delay Unit

VR Lab 250 Watts Amplifier
Custom COBY DVD Player Case

Software:
Windows XP Home Edition
Road Runner (modified Digi-Graphite Front End)
IGuidance 3.0

The Vehicle:
2005 Mercury Mariner V6 AWD

To start, I mounted the monitor to the bezel (duh) - My advice to you - Follow all instructions from here: http://www.mechatroniks.com/wrx/lili629.html and it'll be a breeze -

Originally I wanted to mount the PCB flush to the back of the LCD panel because I wanted to keep the Mobo/PSU/HDD altogether inside the bezel - Here's how it turned out when you "cut the strain relief on the beige connector":

Unfortunately, eventhough everything fits inside the bezel nicely right behind the screen, the VGA/USB/Audio wire connectors from the back of the mobo stop the whole bezel to slide in completely inside the dash - (they are stopped by the A/C vent plastic duct that's behind the radio) - So I had to give up on the idea and install the PC components in a separate location -

Some more pics of the screen mounted to the bezel:

I did the "SOFTWARE" Auto Turn On mod so I would never need to use the remote control:

Now when installing the unit inside the car - I HIGHLY - H I G H L Y recommend that you use duct tape to cover the dash at the bottom of the center console trim - There are these two snap-in tabs with metal clips that will devour your dash and leave some real nasty scratch marks - so be careful - I learned the hard way from my Ford Escape and avoided that in this vehicle. Here;s where you'll want to protect:

The Stocker - Not my kind of thing - It's so ... Old School... LOL

Stocker removed: - "Bye - see you in another life time" -

This is the space you'll be working with:

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Fraychild · 07-02-2007, 11:59 PM

This is the stocker vs the WRX Bezel:

There's a sweet pre-drilled hole found in the wall between the engine bay and leg compartment - Located right next to the Brake master - I used it to run the power wire from the battery - and the rubber grommet comes in handy too for insulation -

Yay!

Now - in the back of the center console trim is an opening that is part of the whole dash - it forms a "ring/contraption" which the stock radio locks into - I didn't want to ruin that in case I'd want to get rid of the truck someday so I had to dremel just enough room from the top and bottom in order for the bezel to slide in tightly -

Here's what I had to cut out from the top - about the same for the bottom but not as much -

I would also recommend sanding/filing down the edges to make the smooth and flat - You want to cut just enough for the Bezel to sit down in and you always wanna leave a slight bit of the dash part on each side at the bottom for the Stock Radio to still be able to sit on as well -

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Fraychild · 07-03-2007, 12:00 AM

Please note - This is a complete custom job - don't just hack away - I constantly measured and test-fitted the monitor until I got it to be just right - You'll have to cut the top and bottom just enough to fit the diameter of the bezel - Like that - the stocker could always go right back in if you ever wanted it to - As seen here:

(That damn vent duct in the back - if it wasn't for it, everything would've been mounted at the dash - Oh well)
Here's the monitor comfortably mounted:

and the same for the Stocker:
NOTE - At the bottom left and right corners of the dash opening, you want to leave a lil' bit of the plastic (about 1/4") in order for the stock radio to still be able to sit on it -
In the pic below - Imagine the big rectangle is the size of the Bezel - The circles indicate at the corners the small of amount of the dash left to fit the stock radio.

Quick test fit:

The finished product will look like this:

Now you'll have to fill out the gaps on the right and left side of the bezel - I cut and used some plexiglass pieces which I painted black and mounted on the inside of the dash (where the stock radio mount clip in)

Now - I skipped the parts of where I ran all the wires etc - Blah Blah - but after you figure all that out - Here's where I have the PC and Amplifier mounted:

The trunk bed is made of a wooden board with styrofoam covered by a carpeted mat - I used an old "COBY" small sized DVD player to mount the mobo/psu/hdd and painted it tan to match the color of my interior - Everything is bolted down and hidden in the compartment under the trunk floor bed and mat - There's nice room there to add other stuff if I wanted to...

I gotta' tidy up the wiring - That's a whole other project -

Anyway - Thanks for looking - Any questions? Feel free to ask - I have a couple more pics that I could post - Any comments? Feel free to post please!!

Fraychild · 07-03-2007, 01:15 PM

BTW - Special Thanks to Armen from DigitalWW - He was very friendly, helpful and I got the parts I needed from him lightening fast!!!

Also, the folks at DavidNavone.com were prompt too with their transaction - I would highly recommend -

More information on this install to be posted soon - I am still debating on whether or not I should paint the Bezel Black to match everything else or should I leave the "Brushed Aluminum" look???

Fraychild · 07-05-2007, 08:21 PM

213 views and no comments? I feel no love...

I realized after a couple of days that the silver bezel was standing out too much - so I decided to paint it black to match the sides - It looks so much better, I was more impressed than expected -

rijndael · 07-05-2007, 08:31 PM

214...and 1 reply...

looks nice...where did you mount your GPS?

Fraychild · 07-07-2007, 03:53 PM

I'll post pics of that soon - but I mounted the GPS receiver on the rooftop near the trunk door...

STi · 07-08-2007, 07:44 AM

Clean and professional install! well done.

Couple of questions, is the wrx bezel fixed on to the dash or can you just pull it out whenever you want to? and on the third post you say you can put the stock bezel right back, even though you modified the top and bottom to fit the new bezel, is it still a perfect fit?

Fraychild · 07-09-2007, 11:31 PM

Thanks - Yes - I dont have pics for that part of the project but here's what I did: I drilled 4 holes (two on each side) of the WRX Bezel and also the sides of the dash (where the stock radio clips onto):

Perfect fit - Mainly because of two things - Number one, there's a metal guide that the stock radio sits on which helps it stay in place and Number two, the radio face is the same size as the center console fascia opening and hides/covers a lot - Once you mount the fascia back on and put the stock radio - You could never tell any mod was done to the back of it -

BobbyCreekwater · 07-11-2007, 12:47 PM

Good job, I just finished mines as well and need to post the pictures.

Fraychild · 07-11-2007, 10:31 PM

Thanks man - I'm now looking to do one more change, I read somewhere that someone who powered their LCD via the Mobo/HDD also used a relay that allowed the screen to turn-on/shut-down with the key in the ignition - I would love to give that a shot, but I must find that install first -

blase · 07-16-2007, 08:09 PM

I am just trying to get an ipod working in my sisters mariner.. she has an aux button on the front of the stock head unit.. does this mean there is an aux jack in the back.. also how do I get the head unit out. .any help would be appreciated.. thanks
nick

Fraychild · 07-17-2007, 11:49 PM

There is a spot for an auxillary jack in the back of the stock radio - and I think they sell an adapter for it - The radio comes out very easily. They sell these "keys" for it, I picked them up at Autozone for dirt cheap - there are these 4 holes in the front of the radio - two on each side - You put the tips of the keys into the holes, push them until they "click" and as you pull them outward, the radio should slide right out as well - Here's a pic:

I suggest there you look on www.escape-central.com for more info on the truck -

p10bostonian · 07-24-2007, 10:09 PM

oooh. very nice install! Keep up the good work.

what was the total cost of the project? minus LCD

btw... Hi!

Fraychild · 07-30-2007, 06:16 PM

BRUCE!! What's good baby?!!

You're on this forum now? You better have something to show real soon man!! LOL -

Well... everything was pretty much from my old set-up MINUS the BEZEL ($130), the LCD ($210) and the Pop delay unit ($25) - so it actually cost me about $365 give or take a few dollars...

Originally, the VIA SP1300 was about $150 used (mp3car.com member) - RAM about $50 (ZipZoomFly.com)- HDD was about $50 (from Newegg.com)- GPS was $65 (Ebay) - and the Opus PSU was $150 (MP3car.com store two years ago) but is cheaper now -

LATEST news as of 7-30-07 on my setup - My 80Gig Hard Drive crashed last weekend and I lost everything that was on it -

... everything ...

I had to reinstall everything on this dusty 20GB IBM HDD I had from an old Gateway PC dating back to 1998 - (oldie but goodie huh?) and start over - It's a temporary solution until I can afford a 120GB Laptop 2.5" mobile HDD (maybe in a month - I gotta save up...)