OEM NAV head unit install in base model '09?

[Rickmaan1]

Is it even possible?

I was scanning the list of NTO's (new car take off's) from a Saleen parts dealer and he has a factory Ford navigation head unit (which I've read is an Audiophile system component) from an '08 Saleen that was removed before the car was sold to install a high end aftermarket sound system, so for all practical purposes the thing is brand new.

I wasn't really looking for a nav unit, but I would like to upgrade my non-shaker, base model 4 speaker stereo system and after seeing that nav unit I started liking the idea. I checked photos of the plugs on the back of the units, and the NAV head has the same 2 plugs that my standard unit has plus 1 plug that my head unit doesn't have.

The guy selling it says he "thinks" it will plug in place of my stock radio and drive my speakers just fine, I'll just be missing the plug in my car for the external amp which I assume just drives the 2 door mounted subs in the shaker 500 system. Is that correct?

Also, if this is a simple plug-n-play swap, does that mean I could just as easily swap in a shaker 500 head unit to get an in dash 6 CD player if I decide not to splurge on the NAV unit? Do the shaker or audiophile head units offer any better sound quality or any difference in the wattage output to the main 4 channels than the standard head units, or are they pretty much the same systems just with added features and a pre-amp output for the amps/subs?

Sorry for so many questions, but I haven't owned a car that was less than 5 years old in a long time and I'm really not very familiar with the new stereo systems the factory is using.

 

[mycaptainchris]

We were in similar situations, except I was outfitting my sport-trac which shares your current stereo.
I ended up going with an aftermarket Nav unit (Kenwood) for various reasons, but what I found out may help you.

The amp (someone may confirm this for us) only powers the door subs on the shaker 500, so the nav unit should power the four speakers as per current stereo. However you'll need the GPS antenna for the Nav to work.

Something else I did on the Sport-trac which I would HIGHLY recommend, was change the four speakers for aftermarket, I got Alpine and Kenwood.

 

[Rickmaan1]

We were in similar situations, except I was outfitting my sport-trac which shares your current stereo.
I ended up going with an aftermarket Nav unit (Kenwood) for various reasons, but what I found out may help you.

The amp (someone may confirm this for us) only powers the door subs on the shaker 500, so the nav unit should power the four speakers as per current stereo.

I kind of suspected that was the case, but I haven't been able to confirm it which was the reason for this post. My initial thoughts are that it would work and your input helps strengthen that opinion so I appreciate that.

However you'll need the GPS antenna for the Nav to work.

Forgot about that, I was thinking it would be internal in the unit like the Garmin's and Tom Tom's. Do you think an aftermarket antenna would work for this or does it have to be the oem Ford part? (looked it up online and it's $100)

Something else I did on the Sport-trac which I would HIGHLY recommend, was change the four speakers for aftermarket, I got Alpine and Kenwood.

Already thought of that. In my past experience, the factory speakers were always the weak link in the oem stereo. Initially I had intended to simply swap out my 4 speakers and be happy with the stock radio since the sound quality of oem head units has improved 2000% in the last 20 years. The days of 2 watt per channel "premium" factory stereos are behind us, thank God. However they still seem to pinch pennies on the speakers, still using paper cones for the primary drivers. Those will definitely be replaced before I'm done.
I've heard of skipping problems with the shaker head units' CD playback, but I believe that issue was fixed before the end of '07 model run and my single CD unit has had no problems so I'm confident an oem 6 CD unit will work and sound good enough for me, plus it should retain factory features like the speed sensitive volume control.

On the topic of the head unit though, I read somewhere that they need to be programmed to the vehicle at the dealership before they will work, something to do with a theft deterrant system that makes the oem stereos useless to thieves because they won't play once removed from their parent vehicle. What are the chances if I get an NTO head unit from another Mustang that it will plug-n-play in my car, or does every unit have to be programmed 1st before it will play?