99+ Floor Console, Roof Console, and Dash Bezel Upgrades to my '97

I’m updating my ’97 to the ‘99+ floor console, roof console, and dash bezel, and decided to jot down some thoughts and notes before they escaped my brain.

I'm not going to plagiarize or repeat the many awesome posts on these topics on this and other forums, but I’ll cite them as references and will add some tidbits that I found missing and that will hopefully be useful to others.

I'll break this up into three sections - floor console, roof console (post 17), dash bezel.

Floor console

Here are some sources I found useful:

center console swap/cupholder mod - plug'n'play - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
Swap Limited consoles '97 to '00 - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
Cup Holder Mod - Center Console Upgrade - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
1998 TR5 4Runner - Stupid Cupholders! - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
99+ Center Console install thread - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/153100-96-98-owners-rejoice-me.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDRt4crVpvI

Now, on to my notes.

What parts to get - I got the console from a '99 donor. As one of the references above recommends, when you get the console, try to get the following parts from the same year donor. If you get all these parts, you won't have to do any redrilling of mounting holes or modifying of brackets that many of the references above did. Keep in mind that 99-00 brackets are different from 01-02, and there may be other differences year to year. So try to get all these parts from same year vehicle.

- console - try to get one that matches your vehicle, i.e. with or without rear heat. You can add the heat control cutout if you have rear heat but buy a console without it, but why do the extra work?
- rear mounting bracket – this really helps ensure that all the holes line up, and will help you avoid having to drill the floor, modify brackets, or trim the bottom of the console, like I saw in the YouTube video. There is no need for that if you use the brackets that come with the console. This thread describes this really well - center console swap/cupholder mod - plug'n'play - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
- e-brake – people have made their ’97 e-brake work with the '99 console, but it requires either bending or drilling new holes. If you get the ‘99+ e-brake, it’ll bolt right up and point in the right direction.
- e-brake tub - this one is debatable in my mind. The newer e-brake tub positions the e-brake cable towards the passenger side by about 15 deg, and is located a bit closer to the passenger side, to shift the e-brake handle to the right and make room for the cupholders on the left. The problem is that the ‘99+ tub does not fit into the '97 floor cutout, so you have to widen the floor cutout by about 1/4". I hate cutting into nicely painted OEM metal. On the flipside, if you retain the older tub, there is no cutting or drilling, but the e-brake cable comes in straight instead of at an angle, and has to make a bit of a jog to line up with the e-brake handle. I don't think it's very much of a jog, and I think it would have been fine - but when I considered the choice of a one-time cutting operation vs. every-day strain on the angled cable, I decided to go with the enlarged cutout. But I think the other way would have been fine too.

What to do with switches - As you know, the '97 console has three switches (ECT, rear window, and the security doo-hickey) that need to be relocated somewhere, since the '99+ models have these installed in the dash bezel. The references above have some excellent suggestions on where to relocate these items (either left side of dash, or other parts of the console), but I am planning to update the dash bezel to the '99, and use those switch locations. I haven't done that yet, so if I hit some roadblocks, I'll edit this post accordingly.

So here is how my console install went. My junkyard console looked like it spent a month out in the woods with a pack of hungry wolves slobering on it:






It didn’t help that the hinge on the lid was broken.

So first I disassembled the entire console, and cleaned all the parts. It cleaned up pretty nice actually:



After removing my ’97 console, here is the view of the e-brake and the rear mounting bracket. You can see that the e-brake handle points straight forward:



An old trick to removing the e-brake cable clip is to use a deep socket, I used a 14mm as shown below. This disengages all three fingers and allows you to pull the old tub off the cable:



Of course I "had" to clean the floor of all the grime, grease, and spilled crap:


Here are the two tubs side by side. You can see the angle on the end where the cable enters the ‘99+ tub (left), vs. a flat one on the ’97.



But you can see that when you put the ’99 tub in the ’97 opening, the holes don’t line up:


As I said above, you could reuse the ’97 tub. But I layed out the size of the larger opening that was needed and got out the angle grinder, as suggested by others:



I hit the bare metal with some POR15, and was ready for tub installation:



Here is the tub installed:



I wrapped the cable around the e-brake handle and pinched the tab back up to hold the cable in place:



Here is the comparison of the two e-brake handles – using the ‘99+ (right side) points the handle correctly and saves you from having to drill holes in your floor.



Here are the two rear mounting brackets side by side, ’99 on the left and ’97 on the right. Using the ’99 bracket makes all the holes line up perfectly. As stated earlier, get the bracket from the same model year as the console – ’99-00 is different from ’01-02.



I hit the rusty bracket with some POR15, and bolted it in:

Here is the new console installed, looks like it came from the factory that way:



I also found at the junkyard an item that I did not see in many of the photos posted here, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it - little rubbery pads to go into the bottom of the cupholders. It’s the little things that make it look more complete:



So here is the finished lower console installed:



I might end up painting the plastic with some satin trim paint, I saw someone else do that and it really freshens it up. It’ll depend on what I do for the dash bezel and the trim around the shifter.

The lid that came with my new console was beyond ugly, at least compared to my ’97 lid which was pristine. Here they are side by side:



I considered a number of options (the ’97 lid is not the same shape as the ’99), and in the end decided to pull off the leather from my ’97 and wrap it over the ’99. Here are both lids with the leather removed:





I wrapped the '97 leather over the '99 frame, hit it with some hot glue, and put in the screws that hold them together. Here is the final product with the ’97 leather wrapped on the ’99 console. It came out pretty well:


So with that, I tucked the ECT switch, rear window switch, and security thing under the shifter trim (for now), and called it done (other than maybe painting the plastic later).

Driving to the junkyard today to look for a dash bezel, it was awesome having a place to put my coffee mug, sunglasses, and some other crap.

Reserving for dash bezel writeup

Roof console writeup starts in post 17, here - http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...-dash-bezel-upgrades-my-97-a.html#post2867312

reserving in case I have additional thoughts .

I did the center console mod into my 97 and I DID NOT cut or drill the floor. I used the 99+ park brake handle.

nissanh said:

I did the center console mod into my 97 and I DID NOT cut or drill the floor. I used the 99+ park brake handle.

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Did you use the '97 or the '99 tub?

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

^^ 97.
I only had the console and handle from the 99+

nissanh said:

^^ 97.
I only had the console and handle from the 99+

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Yup. That's why I said that using a '97 tub would not require enlarging the floor opening, as you confirmed. The downside is that the cable is misaligned with the E-brake handle.

I probably overlooked it. I was busy with the valve cover gasket replacement at the same time reading T4R!
When I did mine, I found the cable lined up with the new handle. Wel... you'll enjoy the console as it is taller and makes a real console.

I lost the rear heater controls (so no rear heater) with my mod. The rear heater takes 20-30 minutes to give out heat and I am at the destination in 15 minutes!

nissanh said:

I probably overlooked it. I was busy with the valve cover gasket replacement at the same time reading T4R!

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Haha, no worries buddy. That's what happens with multitasking .

you'll enjoy the console as it is taller and makes a real console.

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Good point, I also noticed that the tall console makes the armrests on both sides about the same height, much more comfy!

I lost the rear heater controls (so no rear heater) with my mod. The rear heater takes 20-30 minutes to give out heat and I am at the destination in 15 minutes!

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Why did you lose the rear heat?

Nice job so far on the write up. I just did floor console in my ‘97 a couple weeks ago. I got lucky with LKQ. It was dirty, but cleaned up well and included the upper tray and the rubber piece in the cup holder. Got it for $35 and had my brother pick it up for me in Texas to bring with him for Thanksgiving. They wanted too much to ship it to Oklahoma.

jbrentd said:

Nice job so far on the write up. I just did floor console in my ‘97 a couple weeks ago. I got lucky with LKQ. It was dirty, but cleaned up well and included the upper tray and the rubber piece in the cup holder. Got it for $35 and had my brother pick it up for me in Texas to bring with him for Thanksgiving. They wanted too much to ship it to Oklahoma.

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Sounds like it's hit or miss with LKQ Online.

Very nice job. I like how you cleaned the floor tunnel. I made sure to clean that part as well when I had my console off.

4Runner4Leon said:

Why did you lose the rear heat?

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I would bet because he could only source a console that did not have the rear heater controls.

4Runner4Leon said:

Sounds like it's hit or miss with LKQ Online. I do have to give them credit for refunding the full amount, no questions asked. If that's how they normally roll, then I would not hesitate to try them again. My console was $54 + $12 shipping from NC to CA, which sounds insanely cheap (for shipping). Beats having to spend time going to junkyards, often in vain.

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Wow, that’s a lot better than the $100 shipping they quoted me for a TX to OK delivery.

jbrentd said:

Wow, that’s a lot better than the $100 shipping they quoted me for a TX to OK delivery.

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That's really weird. $12 across the country vs. $100 across a state line??

Roof console

Here are some sources I found useful:

99+ Roof Console Mod in a 96-98 - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
'99+ to '98- Overhead Console Swap Info - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
99+ Roof Overhead Sunroof Control Console - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

On to my notes.

What parts to get – Pretty simple – get the roof console from the donor (be sure to also grab the blue harness connector that plugs into it). You don’t need the donor rearview mirror (some posts say that you, but you don’t, the '97 and '99 mirrors have the same part number). But be sure to get the mirror mounting bracket from the donor.

What to do with sunroof switches – There are two switches in the ’97 (tilt, slide), but only one switch in the ‘99+. Some folks (e.g. this post 99+ Roof Console Mod in a 96-98 - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum) take the approach of installing the ’97 sunroof switches in the ‘99+ console. Here is how that looks:



The nice thing is that it avoids any wire splicing/cutting. The downside is that it butchers the lens and you have to look at the butchered lens every day. The other approach is to rewire the single switch of the ‘99+ to work with the ’97 wiring. That takes an extra 30 minutes of work, but IMO is well worth it. It’ll look like this:



I decided to go the second route, and used the excellent instructions in this post '99+ to '98- Overhead Console Swap Info - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
to do that. Only 5 wire splices are needed, as discussed in that post.

Most steps are described in the references above, I’ll just highlight some additional points. Here is what you’ll see once you pry off the ’97 console:



Disconnect the white connector, and you’ll be left with this:



As others mentioned, you’ll need to unplug the relay connector (white). It is to the right of the opening, you can see it in the photo below with the taped harness leading to it:



To release it, you need to reach in with a long screwdriver and pry up on the release tab. Then pull it off, here it is dangling from the opening:



So now you have four connectors dangling (relay connector, sunroof motor connector, switch connector, and map light connector):



Next I placed the ‘99+ console against the headliner and marked up its outline:



Then cut the opening to the larger size (go slow, use the "measure twice cut once” adage:



Now reroute all the loose connectors to the new opening:



I opened up the harnesses and separated the harness wires so I can clearly see which wire goes where:



Now you are ready to splice the five wires as described in the previous post. It took me a bit of time to figure out which wire goes where, so I’ll try to help others by adding a couple of notes to the images posted in the other threads. Here are the wires that need to be cut on the ’97 (I added the labels of 1 to 6):



Number 6 (blue) goes unused. It's a constant 12V supply, so tape it up. The other 5 wires have to get cut and spliced with the wires in the harness of the ‘99+ console. Here is an annotated photo with the '99+ console harness wires numbered – you have to splice each number to its counterpart in the previous photo (i.e. 1 to 1, 2 to 2, etc):



Once you’re done, it’ll look something like this:



Plug the modified sunroof motor connector back into the sunroof motor. The original relay connector and the switch connector will not be used; tape them up and tuck them back above the headliner. It’ll look something like this:



Plug in the blue connector to the new console and check all functions. If all works, then mount the mirror to the roof:



And install the rest of the console:



And you’re done! Takes less time to do the job than to research how to do it.

As mentioned in other posts, you don’t gain very much with this swap other than some additional storage or a place for your garage door opener. But the roof console was cheap from the junkyard, and I did it in an hour, so no big investment of time or money.

I'm going to take you up on that offer sometime in January about helping me install the overhead console. Just need to source a mirror, didn't find one when I got my console.

nchacon1984 said:

I'm going to take you up on that offer sometime in January about helping me install the overhead console. Just need to source a mirror, didn't find one when I got my console.

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No problem, happy to do it, although we'd have to agree to the usual disclaimers that "I take no responsibility..blah blah" when messing with someone else's car as a favor, right?

Again, you don't need the '99 mirror, just the mounting pad (on the right below).

So I'm now focusing on the bezel swap, and am puzzled by what I see in the donor '02 combination switch. It came from a vehicle with ECT, as you can see by the ECT button:



But on the back, there is one "connector" area in the middle that has no pins:



The thing is it had a real connector with wires plugged into it:



So what does one do with this connector, and how can it possibly do anything without any mating pins? Do I just ignore it for the bezel swap?