I just finished installing the PA11-GM iPod interface for my '02 Monte on the stock radio and I'm pretty impressed. Installation took less than an hour. I just unscrewed the screw that holds the dashboard in on the right side behind the glove box door. This let me pull it forward enough to reach my hand (not so easily) behind the radio and plug in the necessary cables. All I had to do was disconnect the factory wiring harness and put the included one in between it and the radio. Then I just tucked the cables up into the dash and plugged everything else in.

It basically makes the stock radio think there's a CD changer installed and uses the iPod playlists as giant CDs. I have to fool around with it some more but it seems like I won't even need to ever touch/see the iPod while I'm using it in the car. Just take it out to sync new music occasionally.

 

pretty cool, didn't know anything like that existed. maybe i should go this route instead of spending a billion dollars on a whole new headunit with fourteen thousand adapters to keep everything working correctly. all i really wanted was to be able to hook up my ipod anyway. thanks for the input!!!

 

Oh I also forgot to mention you can use CD #6 for two RCA inputs that it also has on the unit. I think I might use that as a big *** external speaker for the CB I mentioned I'm about to install in my other thread in this forum.

 

That is the iPod interface I am going to get - I did a lot of research and I like that one the best.

 

If you want an inexpensive HeadUnit, the Clarion DUZ385SAT is a double din unit (factory HU is double din) has a built in USB reciever cord where you can connect a Ipod or any USB drive and play it thru the HU. It also has a Front Aux to plug into. I just bought one and im installing it this weekend.... (tiny pic: http://www.clarion.com/us/en/Product...SAT_iPod,0.jpg)

 

Where did you pick this up?
I heard if you hold down DISP it will show the artist name / song title on the radio, is this true in the monte?
and does the steering wheel controls work it?

 

The steering wheel controls do indeed work flawlessly. That's pretty much the only reason I decided to invest so much in this. I got it on Amazon.com and it set me back about $110 after shipping. I can use SEEK to skip around between tracks and the PRE SET button switches between "discs" on the head unit which are actually playlists or functions on the iPod.

I've heard that about the DISP button as well, but my radio is the RDS model without XM so I don't even have that functionality to begin with. If you have a newer Monte with an XM-ready radio I imagine this would work, but it's my understanding that you have to do some splicing of the XM wiring harness to get it to work properly.

 

nice, i wouldn't mind spending the $100 for my ipod to not be FM transmitted and be charging without ugly white wires going from my cigarette lighter!!!

and if installation is really that easy without having to take the whole dash off, i think i'll go that route

 

I wouldn't call the installation "easy". There was a lot of cursing involved, and I'm a pretty small guy so I was able to get in behind and underneath the dashboard with *relative* ease, but I still had a hard time getting everything plugged back in.

 

I'm not a large person by any means.

5'8" 135 pounds lol

I think I can pull off that small space?