Loudspeakers, circa 1992.

[A P S Kimberley]

I've had to replace the bass/midrange 'speakers in the doors of my Continental R. The left-hand one was 'open circuit', but as it also had terminal 'foam-rot' it was clear that the right-hand one would have to be replaced, too.
Both were original RR parts, with a crossover and separate tweeter in the door, and as the tweeters are working and do not have foam suspension, I decided to leave them be. it was difficult to find suitable 13cm drivers, as most now have plastic chassis which were too bulky to fit the panel & shroud in the door, but I found some eventually.
I now have the problem that there is a pair of 'full-range' speakers in the rear.
The parts diagram shows a coaxial unit, which is not surprising, but the grille seems smaller than in the doors. Google search of the Part Number (UD73484) has been unhelpful.
I must assume that those in my car will also be the factory originals, but I have some questions.
Does anyone on the forum know what size these rear 'speakers are? Crucially, do the originals have foam surrounds? (If they don't, I can probably leave them as they are).
Does anyone have experience of gaining access to the rear 'speakers? Any advice would be welcome.
Adam K.

[Roger Mathew]

I do not know about the size of the speakers or whether they have foam. If they are working satisfactorily, why would you replace them?

As to access, I seem to recall seeing something about access for the seat belt presenter ECUs when I was researching that for my '93 Conti R. Alas, I do not have ready access to the procedure the nonce, but I recall that you have to start by removing the rear seats, then you can get at the side panels, where the speakers are mounted.

I decided it was too much trouble just to access the ECUs, esp as no spares were available and no-one admitted knowing how to fettle the existing ones. As a matter of interest, do your belt presenters still work?

[A P S Kimberley]

The only reason to disturb and replace the 'speakers in the rear panels will be if they have foam surrounds. They are working at present, but having seen the state of the foam in the front ones, if the rear ones are similar, they will need changing soon.
They will probably keep working for a year or two at sensible volumes: the foam (if present) is probably intact at the moment. The front ones were in one piece until I handled them, but when the surround goes, so does the suspension for the cone. Good 'speakers are worth re-foaming, these probably aren't, and access would be the same for either task.

I've had my car for just over a year. Previous owners had done considerable work to 'keep it up to date', so it has clear indicator lenses at the front, wing vents, and a SatNav system: the latter like something from "Wallace & Gromit' as it unfolds itself from the fascia!
I had expected, in view of the new head-unit replacing the radio, to find newer 'speakers in the doors, but they were original RR badged ones, which impressed the staff at Halfords greatly when I took one there to find a replacement.

With all the work by previous owners, the Seat-belt Presenters seem to have been sacrificed. Reading your useful account of the work on your car, probably a sensible decision.
The seat position switchgear for gaining access to the rear has Alzheimer's, though. Sometimes it works perfectly, often it can't remember where it has to go back to.

[Roger Mathew]

If you close the door before invoking return of the seat, it will forget its return position. You can motor it back approximately by holding the switch; then reset using the memory, assuming that you have set this up.

My easy-entry system was intermittent. I eventually tracked it down to a pin on the multi-way plug that had become loose. I so rarely carry rear seat passengers that it scarcely mattered, but I like things to work.