I'm about to embark on the nightmare of the evaporator core. I received my parts from rockauto earlier today and looking forward to starting. Not sure I'll ever finish.
I wanted to gather some of the data that I've found and hopefully help other people trying to do the same repair. It has been a bear trying to find any guides or data on how to do it. As our 4th gen's get old, more people are going to have to do this repair.
Identification
I was short on time and ended up dropping the 4runner at a local Lexus dealership for diagnosis. $205 later the told me it was the evap core..
Quotes
Lexus - $1600
Speciality Lex/Toyota Repair Shop - $1200 (w/ parts)
Moonlighting mechanic (runs Toyo mechanic shop for 15 years) - $800 (w/ parts)
Bob's mechanic - "sorry, too old to be crawling around under dashes, no thanks"
Family friend mechanic that specializes in BMW's - $1082 (w/ parts)
Lastly, country mechanic 30 minutes away with strong recommendation - $660 (w/ parts)
Decision
All that and I still decided to do it myself. Do you know how many tools $600 will buy?!
Parts I ordered- 8850135160 - Evaporator Core - Ordered Denso version from RockAuto for $85
- Cant find OEM part number right now - AC Drier
Research
Note: When removing dash you should disconnect battery terminal for at least 15 minutes so capacitors in airbag modules have time to release energy
- Dash Removal - Closest thing I've found to a guide
- FSM Guidance - In search of [will update if found]
Any suggestions as I get started? I found the instructions that came with the evaporator coil to be a bit disconcerting.