Hello everyone! I'm trying to get out of removing the bar and all the wiring. I wanting to find someone on here who's done this before and can confirm I can and possibly how to slip the air conditioning assembly underneath this bar and wiring. I've got the service manual and it tells you to remove both bar and wiring and of course I'd prefer not.

Thank y'all for any help and words of encouragement. I look forward to getting this accomplished, hopefully, this weekend.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

I haven't done it yet but plan to soon. That said, my research indicates that you can loosen the bolts on the bar to give yourself enough room to wiggle the unit out.



Hope that helps. Any issues getting it torn down?

Got my 2005 4runner evaporator replaced two days ago and its cooling freezing great. I brought it to a AC shop for the job and it was $800 for labor - but worth it.

I had to bring them the evaporator I purchased for $90 off Amazon - a perfect fit.

UPDATE: Still freezing cold after 90 days.

Glad I didn't tackle this job myself. I don't have the patience or know-how".

Thank you so much for your input.

Regarding your question on whether I had any trouble tearing it down, not really. I followed that one 4runner teardown video you'll find on youtube titled "2006 Toyota 4 Runner Dash Removal". I slowed it down and have watched it MANY times. Thinking back, the two times I had trouble was how the instrument cluster released, and then the last two bolts that were holding on the dashboard.

I'm going to include pics of each. I have documented the heck out of this process. I'm going to make my own youtube how to when this is done.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

That's a heck of a deal there. I'd have paid that, but too late now!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Awesome, looking forward to having another source of documentation to reference when I dig in shortly. Also, here's the writeup that image originated from, though it looks like you're almost there.

Nice work!

I might as well post two more pics of what I'm looking at at this point. The only thing that has really made me nervous was the disconnecting and the laying down of the steering column. When you disconnect it it just feels like it's not connected to anything and there's a chance that steering wheel isn't going to work anymore. I've never done car work that is quite this in-depth so I'm coming from a place of ignorance.I'm not a huge grease monkey, but I can sure follow instructions and tear things apart and usually be able to put them back together. This will definitely test my ability!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

I need some advice on removing these heater core hoses. This top hose doesn't feel like I could get it off without cutting it. It feels like it's stuck on there over 2 inches probably. I looked up some videos on removing hoses and one said to poke a flat head under it and spray WD40, well I don't have much room to work with with the firewall right there. Another video said to just go to twisting with some pliers or a pipe wrench. I twisted on it some but I'm trying not to tear anything up at the same time.

Does anybody have any advice on getting this thing off? I would sure appreciate it. Thank you!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

If you're replacing the heater core the only damage you can do is to the old heater core nipples, so I would do the pliers twisting while pulling on the hose, if you're trying to not damage the heater core then I would go with cutting the hose length wise as little as possible to allow the hose to expand enough to release it's grip on the nipple and hopefully there's will still enough hose left to reuse them, but I would choose to go with new heater hoses either way, after so many years they're bound to be hardened and dried out.

That all being said I highly recommend replacing the heater core because for the price of a new one it's should be done, if the old core starts leaking after you put it all back together you have to do all of this work again to replace the core making it well worth the price of the new core!

I had the evaporator core replaced in my 2005 last week. The labor cost was $800. I supplied the part ($90 at Amazon).
Nice and cool again as we come into the summer here in the Bahamas
150,000 miles on the runner and she starts up and runs like new.
3 starters along the way - but AMs are cheap at $100.
The AM starter in there now has a lifetime warranty!

Two years previous the AC compressor was replaced at Amazon for $200.

things fail in a 15-year-old 4runner.

UPDATE: Weeks later: AC cool like ice now. Worth it to take to professionals.

FSM simply says "Using pliers, grip the claws of the clip and slide the
clip and disconnect the heater water outlet hose A
(from the heater unit)."

It took a lot of twisting, but I finally got them to come off. I deformed the bottom one a little, I'm hoping it's not going to be an issue, I really don't think it should.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Holy cow that took a lot of effort!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

I took on the heater core replacement on my third gen as well as two grabs cherokees I’ve had in the past. The job sucks 100% but it’s more about staying organized than anything else. It’s not complicated, just incredibly tedious

... soooo did you survive this? Any nuggets of wisdom to pass along?