Need advice on removing top baffle on 4343's

[porschedpm]

HI. I'm trying to replace the 2420 compression drivers on my 4343's. I was thinking it would be a fairly easy process since the top front baffle panel on the 4343 is removable. I first removed the midrange driver, then the 12 screws around the perimeter of the baffle. However, the baffle did not want to budge. So I then removed the 15" driver and tried tapping the back of the baffle with a rubber mallet but it still does not budge. So plan B was to loosen the 4 screws holding the 2307 horn to the baffle and pull the horn and driver down thru the enclosure and out the 15" hole. But there does not seem to be enough room behind the compression driver to pull them out as a unit, let alone being able to get them past the mindrange box. So now it seems the only alternative, if the top baffle does not come out, is to reach up inside the enclosure and loosen the three bolts holding the compression driver to the horn. Is there some trick or advice someone can give me to break the baffles free? Or is there some other easier way to change the compression drivers without removing the top baffle? I appreciate all the advice I can get.

[porschedpm]

I may have answered my own question. In order to break the top baffle free I did the following:

1. Remove the 12 screws around the circumference of the baffle.
2. Remove the midrange driver (2121/H).
3. Remove the 15" LF driver (2231A/B). Also remove the retainer screws.
4. Lay the speaker cabinet face down on a section of padded carpet.
5. Lift the top of the cabinet approx 12" to 18" above the carpet and drop. Repeat as necessary.
6. The combination of the baffle being recessed about an inch and the momentum of the baffle and the compression driver, continuing to travel that inch after the cabinet has stopped, should be enough to break the baffle free.

Because I did this on the padded carpet in my living room, there was no damage to the speaker cabinet or the beveled trim around the front. However, since this is a fairly radical procedure, if your cabinets are in perfect or near perfect shape, I would recommend this only as a last ditch effort.

[subwoof]

And that is how you shift magents in alnico drivers. Better hope they survived...

An easier way is to use a small car jack inside the box and push up on the back of the 10" subchamber until the gasket lets loose.

sub

[porschedpm]

I agree, a small scissor jack placed under the midrange box would be a preferred method and should do the trick. I would also recommend placing a piece of 1/4" or thicker plywood between the jack and the subchamber box so you don't inadvertantly damage the box. I wish I'd known beforehand about the danger of shifting the alnico magnets. At a minimum, I certainly would have removed the 2405's first, but more likely would have tried the scissor jack first. Fortunately for me, 2405's seem to have survived. So I dodged a bullet....this time. Thanks for your help.

[4313B]

Hey! You did better than me!

Asked for help - Yesterday, 03:32 PM
Posted what you did before waiting for a reply - Yesterday, 04:34 PM

My ADD would never have allowed me to suffer through just over an hour waiting for a reply.
I like explosives, so the forum might have been treated to a rather interesting post on my baffle removal strategy, perhaps accompanied by a home movie...

[porschedpm]

My friend, Wily Coyote, and I thought about going the explosives route but my procedure for removing the explosive from the forklift wasn't as successful as we thought it would be.

[4313B]

D'oh!

[Zilch]

Where'd he GO?