My 99 Chrysler 300M Infinity front speakers had suffered the same foam rot and rattled BADLY. I tried good quality 4 ohm speakers but they didn't sound good. Poor impedance match may be the cause but I'm not certain. I went back and used silicone sealant to repair the OE 2 ohm speakers. They now sound a lot better than the 4 ohm ones but not as good as they (the OE 2 ohm speakers) originally sounded when new. The rattle is 100% gone but the bass is weaker than when new. I think the cone is more constrained by the silicone sealant repair than it was with the original foam. Still, its a dirt cheap fix for front speaker rattle and the rear speakers give me enough bass. BTW my 99 300M still runs great. Just keep an eye on those steering bushings and replace them with OE Chrysler parts when you experience the slightest bit of steering free play. Most aftermarket bushings are trash, they wear out in 5000 miles. They are subjected to high heat from the engine and the Chrysler ones last a long time. If you ignore these bushings in a high miles 300M you are risking a TOTAL loss of steering control.


On Friday, May 11, 2012 4:34:07 PM UTC-7, Steve Stone wrote:
> Foam speaker surrounds do not last forever, especially for my 2000 3ooM
>
> with 35,000 miles.
>
>
>
> In the past month the foam surrounds tore away from the speaker baskets
>
> on both 5 1/2 inch front door speakers.
>
> This is not due to abuse.
>
> They just plain wore out.
>
> Foam surrounds weaken with age.
>
>
>
> Until recently Chrysler did not have ANY replacement speakers in USA
>
> inventory.
>
> My sources tell me in April they received a shipment of qty 1,400 of
>
> these speakers to the USA.
>
>
>
> Now the kicker.
>
> A replacement at the dealers parts counter will set you back about $150,
>
> which from what I hear is at least DOUBLE the wholesale price.
>
>
>
> A blog post reports these speakers as being 2 ohms, only on the bass
>
> channel, which could make it difficult to find a replacement in the
>
> aftermarket world.
>
>
>
> My temp solution was to run a bead of GE RTV silicone around the outer
>
> edge of the speaker foam surround, reattaching the remaining foam
>
> surround back to the basket and outer gasket.
>
> Seems to work, but it may reduce freq response?
>
>
>
> There are companies like Parts Express that will replace the foam
>
> surrounds on your speakers for around $35 plus shipping, YMMV.
>
>
>
> Have fun,
>
> Steve