Does anyone know if I need new brackets or will the current brackets, that hold the radio in place, accommodate the nav screen?

 

aftermarket or oem nav?

With aftermarket it will replace your radio and yes you need a dash kit

With oem your basically replacing most of your dash, but not the radio. It is actually above the temp controls or in your case that may be the card holder thing.

btw oem nav sucks, aftermarket looks good in there and works way better

 

I wouldn't bother converting to factory nav. It's a 10+ year old navigation system. Even with the most recent maps (which suck) it still sucks BIG TIME at routing, it's slow, and the graphics are junk. Any $50 TomTom or Garmin will do 10x better.

 

I agree. I have had my car for 10 years and when the system first came out it was top notch for the time. Now it is a dinosaur and ridiculously slow. I bought a TomTom One for when I travel and I like it much, much better.

 

I have factory navi too but use TomTom or other GPS programs on my iPhone if I need to get somewhere. Much faster, better interface, and basically better in every way.

 

Too bad the climate controls are built into the factory navi. I love the integrated nav of the 2g CL. Can you easily replace the system with a modern in-dash unit and keep the factory location?

 

yup, its been done. Someone relocated the stock screen to where the radio is and put an aftermarket navi radio into the stock location. Looks good, keeps the AC fully functional and you ont have to look way down for navi.

As for the brackets, you do need new metal brackets to support the OEM navi screen.

 

Can someone CONFIRM, solidly, that the radio from a '01 CL non-navi is the same radio as a '01 CL w/navi?
They always list them as "w/navigation" & "w/o navigation" and I believe this is because of the wire harness and not the radio.
I ask because I have my non navi radio on ebay right now and someone asked if it would work with navi (obviously with no alterations) or not.

 

It will work, 100%

 

I thought it would, thank you very much!

 

This is reason i dont buy navigation on cars unless high end cars or if you plan to only keep a few years. I went with an alpine in dash screen and the alpine navi unit and I love it and dont have to put any suction cups on the glass with cords hanging out.

If indash is too pricey for you just get a portable unit or use your phone.

 

To answer the OP's question: there is a slight difference between the non-navi/navi brackets for the radio/navi display. The mounting holes for the navi display are slightly different, but they could be drilled out quite easily if you don't have access to OEM navi mounting bracket. The radio mounts are identical, as well as the A/C controls, though.

 

Thanks guys, great help.

Does anyone know if the brackets have a coating on them or are they raw metal? I have some rust on the ones i received and I'm thinking about sand blasting them. Any thoughts?

 

I have rust spots on both my original set and from the navi set I pulled from a junked car. I just installed them as is, they arent supporting 100 lbs or anything so a little surface rust wont hurt.

 

I wouldn't bother sand blasting them. Every bracket I've seen has had rust in some shape or form. You'll never see them once the dash is all put back together.

 

^

Every car Ive owned had rust on the dashboard brackets.

 

thanks guys...i was just afraid the corrosion would spread to my wiring or something, but if it's not really an issue I'll just leave it.

 

I personally love my factory navigation conversion. I know it's 10 years old now, but if nothing else it makes the dashboard look that much more complete, the non-navi climate control is odd and in my opinion looks out of place. My nav conversion only cost me 250 dollars total, and I've actually used it to find my way around quite a bit. Works just fine.

However I will agree, even iphone nav (which can suck hard) is better.

 

I also dont regret my conversion. Its handy at times, even though my disc is 8 years old, it can still navigate me around quite well on unplanned trips. On longer trips, I just make sure the location im going to is on the navi or else i will bring my Garmin.
I do have to disagree with how the navi looks in the dash though, I think it looks almost like a last minute addition, not intergrated extremely well.

 

can i ask. to convert over, what do you need? i know you need the navi and the dash and what else? do you need any kind of plugs/hardnesses?

 

navi screen, brackets, navi dvd unit, ac controls, dash trim, all the harnesses attached to the navi screen, AC unit, and dvd unit and as much wiring as you can get that comes with those harnesses. Quite a few feet of wiring (less then 50 feet) and a bunch of t-taps and butt connectors. Service manual helps a ton and so do the conversion threads. Also need lots of patience lol took me two weeks working on and off and a couple days working late into the night on weekends.

I had to repin a few wires in the radio harness to get the front speakers to mute while the voice spoke, also need to do that if you want voice guidance too.

 

Hey duyx817 I did my conversion the first weekend in Nov. 07 and have not had any trouble at all. I love the way the OEM navi looks in the dash. I say go for it if you feel brave enough to attempt it. It took me about a day and half to complete it. I did hook up the A/C controls and the Navi voice that plays through my radio. Just take your time and log on to the forums to ask any questions. I'm sure we can help in some way. BTW I'm in Dallas also.

 

how much did this all run you?

 

I say go for it, like some people have already said it makes the dash look that much better.

I started to do the conversion, but since ive been somewhat busy i haven't finished it. all i need to do is the hard part, wiring.
i have an extra dvd navi drive if you want to buy it pm me.