khany2002

I live in Canada where we get tons of salt thrown on the roads, so today, I thought I'd be nice to my truck and take it to a small local car wash in the city, thinking nothing bad could happen. Long story short, my truck came out of the car wash with its right side mirror sheared right off!

The owner of the shop took down all my information and will be in touch on Monday, but, in the meantime, I was wondering if it is possible to add the power mirrors which came on the '88 - '89 4Runners to my truck, or if I should just stick with the stock tiny manual mirrors I've currently got.

I'm assuming I'd have to drill the sheetmetal on the door (which I'd really rather not do if I didn't have to), and, I'm not even sure if the screw holes for the power mirrors would line up to my older-style mirrors. I'm also assuming that the wiring would not be as clean as stock, or some other nightmare -- if anyone has opinions, let me know!

I was also curious if anyone knew about what price I'd be looking at between the regular mirror and the power mirror.

If anyone has any experience on this, that would be great. I tried searching, but really couldn't come up with much.

312necro213

Well I installed power mirrors onto a honda civic, it was extremely cheap for me (about 100$ total) I went to pick-n-pull and got the switch mirrors etc from a wrecked honda same year, and all I had to do was wire the switch for the mirrors into the cab, and then get a 12v source, which happened to be grounding and running one wire to the alternator, it was fairly simple and the holes were actually smaller for the power mirrors, so it really depends, I don't know much about the toyota mirrors though sorry

idanity

my 88 extra cab truck (4x4) has power mirrors.
and they're awesome. (though not heated like my bmw), so i gotta keep rain/fog-X on them.


and above reply is right. just add the mirrors,
a power supply (from cig lighter/ or whatever)
a switch

and enjoy.

khany2002

Thanks for your replies, guys!

The main thing I'm concerned about is, unlike the Civic mirrors, which would mount right in the corner triangle area, these mount directly into the sheetmetal. If someone could confirm that the hole locations / spacing are identical for the power and non-power early style mirrors, I'd be happy to post a DIY with pics if I'm able to do it (I wouldn't trust the dealership with my wiring!).

I know that I would need the switch / controller which would mount right where the rear defogger switch is, find a 12V source (If someone knows where the stock later model 4Runners get wiring from -- perhaps the main fuse box, I'd be interested), and then mounting the mirrors (where my screw spacing problems could come in).

Either way, if someone's got any idea for the screw spacing, let me know.

Thanks,
khany2002

ncpaladin

I have power mirrors on my '87 4runner, and I think you would not benefit much from them. First off, they are hard to come by. The aftermarket does not make them. I rebuilt my driver's side mirror motor assembly due to water getting in and causing corrosion. The little rubber boots that are on the adjusting stems to keep water out dry rot. And a big thing is, the mirrors do not fold in like most newer mirrors. The mounting screw holes look like the non-power locations, just with a center hole and grommet for the wiring. You can try and install power mirrors on it, but it may not be worth it in the end.