Oops, my bad - the hole was not there, I drilled it with a hole saw. There is a flat area where the clutch pedal would go, and the sound insulation is perforated there, so it makes for a nice installation. But you do need to drill the hole .
Oh snap. How does one do that without screwing it up? Haha
Man that makes me nervous.. how did you get a drill on there? Doesn't seem like there's a left room, and do you recall what kind of bit that you used?
this is definitely one of those things I would prefer to pay someone to do just because I don't have much experience with drilling through metal
I used my bimetal hole saw set with an 18V cordless drill - lets you drill slow with gobs of torque, ideal for hole saws. But for sure, if you're not comfortable, this is not the ideal place to learn. Drill some holes on a scrap piece first to get the hang of it.
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This video will show you which hole I'm talking about. Start watching the video below at play time 25:21.
Thanks for the video, that looks like a great spot too. I have a 99' SR5 and that entire area is covered with firewall insulation (see pic), which leaves me with a couple of question
- do you know if there is still a grommet in the 99's?
- if there is, is there any harm in removing the insulation in that area for the grommet? (ie, is there something inherently different that makes the 99+ models run hotter in that area?)
- Will the temps in that area be significantly hotter? Sorry about being a newb but I don't know how hot it actually gets in there and my wire says it's rated to 150 C
Thanks for the video, that looks like a great spot too. I have a 99' SR5 and that entire area is covered with firewall insulation (see pic), which leaves me with a couple of question
- do you know if there is still a grommet in the 99's?
- if there is, is there any harm in removing the insulation in that area for the grommet? (ie, is there something inherently different that makes the 99+ models run hotter in that area?)
- Will the temps in that area be significantly hotter? Sorry about being a newb but I don't know how hot it actually gets in there and my wire says it's rated to 150 C
Thanks!
You should probably only remove as much insulation as you need too. I think it's to reduce heat transfer as well as provide some sound deadening. I don't know if the 99 has that same grommet hole. If it doesn't, just do what the other guys suggested and drill your own hole with a hole saw.
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You should probably only remove as much insulation as you need too. I think it's to reduce heat transfer as well as provide some sound deadening. I don't know if the 99 has that same grommet hole. If it doesn't, just do what the other guys suggested and drill your own hole with a hole saw.
So I found that there is a grommet behind the insulation. I'm still considering drilling a hole because the grommet on my truck would pretty much come all the way out and touch the engine unless I cut it down some.
Honestly, I wish there was a way to bring the wires in directly behind the radio, which is where I want them ultimately.
So, I'm opening this up for one more minute before I start hacking away at this. I tore the whole dash apart to see if there was any way to bring a 22 pin weatherpack connector into the passenger side. I've decided to use the weatherpack for organization and because I feel it is simply more watertight than going the grommet route. I found a spot where it would fit but the problem is I'm not entirely sure where this spot would exit exactly into the engine bay.
This image is looking behind the passenger side airbag
Another option is the passenger footwell, but again, I don't really know where this would exit and it looks like it might not even be possible b/c it would be @ the wheel well
I've relocated the cruise and have a plan for my platforms, plus a worst-case scenario plan where I will run the harness back to the driver side and put the weatherpack next to the factory grommet
The small platform will hold two breakers, while the larger platform will hold the fuse blocks, grounding blocks, relays, etc.
Really wish someone sold those nice acrylic platforms to mount all of this stuff. I'm just using universal harnesses from that led site.
The boot is on the way, I'll try to get some pictures to help others out too even it gets here.
I agree, ripcord's platform was awesome and I even looked at the machine he used to cut it but soon realized it was several thousand dollars, lol. One thing I did notice though is that on his 2002 at least, the driver's side bay is not as crowded. I took a picture of his bay before the mod vs my bay and you can see there is significantly more room to clear the hood with a platform in that location. If I had more clearance I probably could work something to fit my setup in that space, but there is zero chance of that happening on my 99.
I agree, ripcord's platform was awesome and I even looked at the machine he used to cut it but soon realized it was several thousand dollars, lol. One thing I did notice though is that on his 2002 at least, the driver's side bay is not as crowded. I took a picture of his bay before the mod vs my bay and you can see there is significantly more room to clear the hood with a platform in that location. If I had more clearance I probably could work something to fit my setup in that space, but there is zero chance of that happening on my 99.
Here is his engine bay before the platform
vs my 99
Ah yeah i wish there was another option... I've tried to come up with some solutions...but there isn't anywhere to mount it that I can figure out ...haha
It will fit, mine looks just like yours, but you seem intent on using the passenger side.
You could probably make another mount for your relays on top of the factory fuse box, or make a bracket to mount them in the fender out of site. Not sure what I’ll do when I get to that point.