I recently followed the directions in these various threads to swap/upgrade the center console in my 1996 SR5 to one donated from a 2001 SR5:
Bob_98SR5's Cupholder Mod
ToyotaWiki's The "Cupholder" Mod
My '96 had the rear heater, and I got a donor center console from the '01 with a rear heater, so all those corresponding parts matched up nicely and were an easy plug'n'play swap. I only had to relocate a single switch (rear window up/down) from the front of the old '96 center console to its new location in the dash, left of the steering column, which proved very simple and straight forward given the easy-to-follow directions in this thread (I even rewired the switch to reverse the up and down positions):
Cup Holder Mod - Center Console Upgrade
I used the complete eBrake assembly from the donor 2001 SR5 because I did not want to have to drill and tap into the tub of my own 1996 SR5 in order to pivot the front of the eBrake ~15° toward the passenger side; the only modification I did have to make was to trim the 'eBrake cable stay tab' because the tub to which the eBrake attaches was different on my 1996 (narrower, on the left) than the one from the donor 2001 (wider, on the right):
Finally, the only issue which initially prevented this from being a true plug'n'play installation was the difference in mounting brackets. The bracket is mounted to the tub of the truck body via two (2) 12mm bolts, then the black plastic bracket which holds the rear heater sliding lever is affixed to a raised portion on the rear of that bracket via a single 12mm bolt, and finally the center console itself mounts to that bracket via two (2) 12mm bolts through the deep storage tub of the center console. The bracket in my '96 was silver and relatively longer; this is the bracket which Bob_98SR5 relocated back ~ 1½" by drilling and tapping new holes in the tub of the truck body, and which Asmara bent using a hammer and vise grips. I was able to get a spare bracket from a '98 and tried Asmara's 'hammer and vise grip' method, but I just could not get the upper mounting holes to properly align. So I stopped by Toyota of Dallas and ordered/purchased the corresponding bracket for the 'newer' 3rd generation 4Runners, thinking it would be sufficient for a plug'n'play installation, but I found that even though the silver bracket was relatively shorter (than those from 1996 to 1998 versions), the upper threaded holes used to mount the new center console itself were still not in the correct location (still ~ ½" too far forward). A little more digging yielded this thread:
need source 1 small part for cup holder mod
and I was fortunately to find and buy a yaw rate sensor (with its corresponding gold-colored mounting bracket) for only $10! When it finally arrived, I was able to bolt the gold bracket to the tub of the 4Runner, and then the upper holes lined up perfectly to bolt the '01 center console to the gold bracket without the need to drill and tap anything.
So there seem to be three (3) different mounting brackets which attach the center console to the tub: the longer silver one for 1996-1998 trucks, the shorter silver one for 1999-2000 trucks, and the gold one with yaw rate sensor for 2001-2002 trucks. Here is a photo of the three for comparison (1996-1998 on the left, 1999-2000 in the center, and 2001-2002 on the right):
and here is another view of the three brackets, in reverse order:
This leads me to assess that Toyota must have also produced slightly different black molded polymer center console inserts, because the mounting holes are in slightly different locations in 1999-2000 trucks versus those 2001-2002 trucks with the yaw rate sensor.
The bottom line is that if you truly want a plug'n'play center console swap/upgrade without having to modify your 1996-1998 truck by drilling and tapping new holes in the tub, then make sure you get from the donor vehicle the complete center console, eBrake assembly and corresponding mounting bracket. Hope this helps someone looking to do this cupholder mod in the future...
Bob_98SR5's Cupholder Mod
ToyotaWiki's The "Cupholder" Mod
My '96 had the rear heater, and I got a donor center console from the '01 with a rear heater, so all those corresponding parts matched up nicely and were an easy plug'n'play swap. I only had to relocate a single switch (rear window up/down) from the front of the old '96 center console to its new location in the dash, left of the steering column, which proved very simple and straight forward given the easy-to-follow directions in this thread (I even rewired the switch to reverse the up and down positions):
Cup Holder Mod - Center Console Upgrade
I used the complete eBrake assembly from the donor 2001 SR5 because I did not want to have to drill and tap into the tub of my own 1996 SR5 in order to pivot the front of the eBrake ~15° toward the passenger side; the only modification I did have to make was to trim the 'eBrake cable stay tab' because the tub to which the eBrake attaches was different on my 1996 (narrower, on the left) than the one from the donor 2001 (wider, on the right):
Finally, the only issue which initially prevented this from being a true plug'n'play installation was the difference in mounting brackets. The bracket is mounted to the tub of the truck body via two (2) 12mm bolts, then the black plastic bracket which holds the rear heater sliding lever is affixed to a raised portion on the rear of that bracket via a single 12mm bolt, and finally the center console itself mounts to that bracket via two (2) 12mm bolts through the deep storage tub of the center console. The bracket in my '96 was silver and relatively longer; this is the bracket which Bob_98SR5 relocated back ~ 1½" by drilling and tapping new holes in the tub of the truck body, and which Asmara bent using a hammer and vise grips. I was able to get a spare bracket from a '98 and tried Asmara's 'hammer and vise grip' method, but I just could not get the upper mounting holes to properly align. So I stopped by Toyota of Dallas and ordered/purchased the corresponding bracket for the 'newer' 3rd generation 4Runners, thinking it would be sufficient for a plug'n'play installation, but I found that even though the silver bracket was relatively shorter (than those from 1996 to 1998 versions), the upper threaded holes used to mount the new center console itself were still not in the correct location (still ~ ½" too far forward). A little more digging yielded this thread:
need source 1 small part for cup holder mod
and I was fortunately to find and buy a yaw rate sensor (with its corresponding gold-colored mounting bracket) for only $10! When it finally arrived, I was able to bolt the gold bracket to the tub of the 4Runner, and then the upper holes lined up perfectly to bolt the '01 center console to the gold bracket without the need to drill and tap anything.
So there seem to be three (3) different mounting brackets which attach the center console to the tub: the longer silver one for 1996-1998 trucks, the shorter silver one for 1999-2000 trucks, and the gold one with yaw rate sensor for 2001-2002 trucks. Here is a photo of the three for comparison (1996-1998 on the left, 1999-2000 in the center, and 2001-2002 on the right):
and here is another view of the three brackets, in reverse order:
This leads me to assess that Toyota must have also produced slightly different black molded polymer center console inserts, because the mounting holes are in slightly different locations in 1999-2000 trucks versus those 2001-2002 trucks with the yaw rate sensor.
The bottom line is that if you truly want a plug'n'play center console swap/upgrade without having to modify your 1996-1998 truck by drilling and tapping new holes in the tub, then make sure you get from the donor vehicle the complete center console, eBrake assembly and corresponding mounting bracket. Hope this helps someone looking to do this cupholder mod in the future...
