Dash replacement worth it?

[Monty87ls]

The dash on my 04 has seen better days. Of course the original owner never bothered to get the dash replaced under warranty smh.

I was at my local pick and pull today to look for something else with no luck but I found a perfect dash! Actually besides the truck needing a bumper and some wheels it was in great shape! even the frame was good! Don't understand why its there. Poor thing is rotting away.

Anyway I can get the dash and the cluster bezel that someone broke (me) for $75!! I think thats a steal but I know its a big job. Im thinking of going tomorrow and pulling it but has any done this? Any tips and tricks or warnings to run away and be happy with my cracks lol

 

[y=mx+b]

The dash on my 04 has seen better days. Of course the original owner never bothered to get the dash replaced under warranty smh.

I was at my local pick and pull today to look for something else with no luck but I found a perfect dash! Actually besides the truck needing a bumper and some wheels it was in great shape! even the frame was good! Don't understand why its there. Poor thing is rotting away.

Anyway I can get the dash and the cluster bezel that someone broke (me) for $75!! I think thats a steal but I know its a big job. Im thinking of going tomorrow and pulling it but has any done this? Any tips and tricks or warnings to run away and be happy with my cracks lol

I'd look at some evaporator core replacement documentation for how to remove the dash

Removing from a junkard first is a good way to figure out how everything comes out before doing it on your own. Doing things the second time is always much smoother

 

[Monty87ls]

I'd look at some evaporator core replacement documentation for how to remove the dash

Removing from a junkard first is a good way to figure out how everything comes out before doing it on your own. Doing things the second time is always much smoother

Looking into that now, Thanks. Trying to figure out if its worth but man that dash looks good. The whole truck does I just don't get it! makes me curious how many miles are on it.. Maybe I can get it off their website I gotta know! lol

 

[Monty87ls]

93k!! its a baby. Wish it was the same color as mine id buy all the body parts and make my exterior nice and new again haha

 

[Monty87ls]

Got it today. Had it out in 40 Mins with some slight distractions.

Found a guide on it but that said to drop the steering wheel which I didn't find was needed.

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[djpope09]

Got it today. Had it out in 40 Mins with some slight distractions.

Found a guide on it but that said to drop the steering wheel which I didn't find was needed.

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Could you post that guide here? My dash is cracked too. I'm not really planning on replacing it, but if I get lucky like you and find a good dash it would be good to have a guide.

 

[CookieRoe]

post pictures if you can! Most of us do not have the luxury of "getting another dash". I even checked online for a replacement for mine and it is discontinued. The best option are the coverlays (about $270).

 

[Monty87ls]

Could you post that guide here? My dash is cracked too. I'm not really planning on replacing it, but if I get lucky like you and find a good dash it would be good to have a guide.

I will when I get home. Honestly it's not bad. Mostly screws, 10mm and 1 12mm bolt.

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[Monty87ls]

post pictures if you can! Most of us do not have the luxury of "getting another dash". I even checked online for a replacement for mine and it is discontinued. The best option are the coverlays (about $270).

I'll grab some of it out of the car in a bit. For anyone close to dutchess county NY they had another!
The only one had some small imperfections on the right side because someone broke the door panel and it was pushing against it but no cracks i saw. Almost took that one then saw this one.

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[cosmo22nov]

Don't mean to hi-jack, but I am about to do a dash replacement myself with a clean one from the junk yard. Does anyone know if there is a difference between the 03-05 dash and the 06-09? Toyota calls out different part numbers but I can't see any physical difference between the two. My 4Runner has the JBL system with the center speaker and they're much easier and cheaper to find in the 06-09's.

 

[ads2539]

The dash on my 04 has seen better days. Of course the original owner never bothered to get the dash replaced under warranty smh.

My ’04 dash cracked after the warranty ended.

I never thought to check junkyards for a new dash cover. I figured they’d be cracked there, too. Thanks for the idea! (I’m nowhere near NY)

 

[Monty87ls]

Don't mean to hi-jack, but I am about to do a dash replacement myself with a clean one from the junk yard. Does anyone know if there is a difference between the 03-05 dash and the 06-09? Toyota calls out different part numbers but I can't see any physical difference between the two. My 4Runner has the JBL system with the center speaker and they're much easier and cheaper to find in the 06-09's.

No clue but I would imagine so but might not be worth the risk idk. I got mine for $75 from an 05. He asked "How does $100 sound?" I said $75 sounds better..

My ’04 dash cracked after the warranty ended.

I never thought to check junkyards for a new dash cover. I figured they’d be cracked there, too. Thanks for the idea! (I’m nowhere near NY)

It was a total accident! but if I was gonna do a search Id go to Car-part.com and find out if anyone has some sitting around and go look at them. Pick and pulls would be best option because a lot of places strip the cars and get rid of them.

 

[riverwolf]

Don't mean to hi-jack, but I am about to do a dash replacement myself with a clean one from the junk yard. Does anyone know if there is a difference between the 03-05 dash and the 06-09? Toyota calls out different part numbers but I can't see any physical difference between the two. My 4Runner has the JBL system with the center speaker and they're much easier and cheaper to find in the 06-09's.

Mounting is likely identical, especially if the associated hardware stayed the same except for the pad itself. Either connecting parts or the body mounting points themselves would have to change if the dash pad structure was changed in some way with the part number change.

The part number change *probably* indicates when Toyota switched suppliers/materials for the dash pad after the original material was found to have problems with heat/humidity. This wouldn't require changing the mold for the dash pad. You could cross reference to some degree by finding a copy of the TSB for the dash pad replacement...IIRC, it only covered the first few years of 4th Gen production, not the entire run...maybe there's a correlation with the part number change. Who knows, maybe those of us who got replacements under warranty simply received the '06+ part number as well.

 

[Monty87ls]

Could you post that guide here? My dash is cracked too. I'm not really planning on replacing it, but if I get lucky like you and find a good dash it would be good to have a guide.

***Cracked Dashboard Action Request***

I ended up skipping the guide and just started stripping what made sense. I kept all the screws and bolts too as spares

 

[AuSeeker]

Don't mean to hi-jack, but I am about to do a dash replacement myself with a clean one from the junk yard. Does anyone know if there is a difference between the 03-05 dash and the 06-09? Toyota calls out different part numbers but I can't see any physical difference between the two. My 4Runner has the JBL system with the center speaker and they're much easier and cheaper to find in the 06-09's.

Not sure if the different year models have different dashes/part numbers, but there would be 2 different part numbers for my 2004, one with the JBL system that has the center dash speaker and another part number for the non-JBL radios without a center dash speaker.

Edit: Misspelled word, last sentence now says "...without...", instead of "...with..."

 

[caeavesrsx-s]

I also second the Coverlay option as a pretty good option.

 

[plutonic]

Don't mean to hi-jack, but I am about to do a dash replacement myself with a clean one from the junk yard. Does anyone know if there is a difference between the 03-05 dash and the 06-09? Toyota calls out different part numbers but I can't see any physical difference between the two. My 4Runner has the JBL system with the center speaker and they're much easier and cheaper to find in the 06-09's.

Time to revive this thread.

To answer your question, yes, the 2006 dash fits in the 2003-2005 models but with a a caveat.

I have a 2004 V8 and the dashboard was pretty badly cracked, so I started to search for a suitable replacement which was not easy in my area.
Anyway, found a 2006 dash in excellent condition and swapped out the old, cracked one to this newer one.
Everything lined up pretty nicely and I was really happy until I got to the last bit: fitting the bezel around the instrument cluster…which did not fit at all. The 2006 dash has a different contour for the bezel.
Did some research and I found out that the instrument cluster and the bezel is different for the model years of 2006-2009.
In short, when you replace the dash in the 2003-2005 models with a 2006-2009 model dashboard, you will need the instrument cluster and the bezel as well in order to complete the swap.

I did not get the additional parts because I found a dash from a 2003 model in perfect condition (it was a recall replacement) and so I yanked out the 2006 and installed this one.

It’s not difficult to remove and install a dashboard, you will need a 10mm and a 12mm socket, a Philips head screwdriver and maybe a small plastic pryer.

I hope some of you will find this info helpful.

Here’s some pictures of the 2006 dash installed in my 2004 4runner: