I have taken my dash apart because I couldn't stand how dirty everything was. About 16" of dust/dirt on everything in the cab.

any suggestions or ideas?

 

Maybe put LED bulbs in your instrument cluster? I am not sure if you can for the earlier model trucks and 4Runners but that's what I did for my '98 4R

 

are you talking about cleaning it?

armoral interior cleaner works great

 

custom make an aluminum dash panel and stick autometers in it


while you're at it line X the cab

 

put it back together?

16" is a lot of dust. how'd you manage to work the turn signals?

 

clean out your heater tubes if neccesary, mine are clogge with crap but im too lazy to tear it apart

 

i meant to put a 1/16" lol.... I've taken the heating duct out and have cleaned and washed it all.

Does anyone know where to get lights for the truck or have a list of bulb numbers or something. I would like to get all new gauge lights, dome lights, heater control bulb, and the bulb that goes behind the cab at the top on the outside of the truck.

Also my heater isn't workin so hot. I replaced the thermostat and it helped a little, but still not up to par. I've read about a heater valve that may not be working and the heater core needing to be flushed. Seems pretty simple if you know what these things look like. I'm new to all this, but am not afraid to tear into something new. If someone could help or put me in the right direction that would be sweet.

Do you have pics of the aluminum dash panel you are talking about?

Amoral won't fix my interior. The coating on the dash is coming off and it's a brown underneath. The main dash part up by the windshield passenger side is cracked. Anyone know where would be a good place to get some interior pieces for the dash? I hear these trucks get stripped down at the wrecking yard almost immediately.

 

i dont have pics of an aluminum dash in a yota, but i've been toying with the idea every time i look at my ugly blue interior and cracked dash..

the steel dashes on older 60s and earlier pickups look good and so does this aftermarket aluminum dash for an international scout http://www.ihonly.com/httpdocs/Parts...%20panel-s.jpg

i think its a creative idea, and when combined with a rollcage would look pretty dank. simplicity at its best. i've looked inside rock buggies and desert trucks for similar ideas. i think a flat panel with white autometer gauges would be perfect

 

i got red bulbs for my gauges at Canadian tire..if your from United States i dunno if you have that down there but any auto store should have some.. the bulbs spin out of the gauge cluster then the small plastic backing piece should pull apart from the bulb and then you will notice it is a very common bulb

 

I like the idea of the dash although, i'm not so sure i would be able to keep it from getting all scratched up.

 

Anyone else know where to get the bulbs for these things. I would prefer to order the bulbs from online somewhere. Thanks.

 

Deff search for a thread, I know theres about a 5 page thread about led swaps for our trucks....Im just too lazy to find it for ya

 

also a good time to put some wd40 down the speedo cable. squirt, drive, squirt, drive. if your climate controls are a little sticky, get them with the wd40 too, and get them inside the engine compartment at the same time. squirt, work the levers, repeat. all this is usually not necessary, but might as well get it while you have the dash down.

 

I've done the climate controls like you were talking, but I have not done the speedo cable. So you are saying squirt some wd40 down the actual speedo cable where it plugs into the cluster?

 

Yes.. the actual speed sending cable rotates very fast inside the tube. Any sort of resistance can knock off speedometer readings, cause a "confused needle" and sometimes an annoying squeak sound.

I would WD40 anything with metallic, moving parts. Flap hinges, heater control cables, pedal assembly, etc.

As for LED bulbs, Autozone sells them. These trucks use a 194 "clip-in" bulb. I don't personally recommend going LED. Aside from the hefty tag price (15 bucks for a pair) the color options are still narrow and these dashes rely on incandescent bulbs to spread and balance the "glow". Incandescent bulbs glow in every direction, whereas LEDS only glow in one direction. The only thing I would recommend LED bulbs for are your tailight/brakelight. I also used Xenon "cool blue" bulbs for the reverse lights and they are bitchin'! They're not any brighter than regular 1156 bulbs, but still pretty slick. Gives a modern look. THe LED tailights are REALLY cool and you'll notice a response time as they brighten/dim between tailight and brakelight circuit. Its an instantaneous action.

The "hot water control valve" is located on the firewall and thus does not require dash removal for maintenance and replacement. However, the heater core DOES. Generally speaking for most vehicles, replacement heater cores range from 25-50 bucks. Not too shabby. I would just do it while your ahead, ya know? You can flush the old one all you want, but overtime calcium build-up clogs the internal tubes of the heater core and flushing is useless anyway.

Well... I believe that's it. The cabin filter should be built into the blower motor housing. You should see if they offer a replacement for that. Otherwise, I think that covers everything. Have fun with it!

 

Thanks for the input.

I would like to get a white light for the gauge cluster sr5 cluster, the dome light in the cabin, the light on the outside of the cabin that helps light the bed, and the light that goes in the heater control unit. I think that is all the lights in an 85

Bulb sizes and a place to get them would be great info. I've been searching for hours on all of this info. I know the bulbs for the cluster are 194 and I believe the one for the heater controls is 74. I do not know what the dome light is or the one on the outside of the cabin.

 

White light for the cluster? HA! THis one's easy and pretty cheap. Remove all the "green bulbs". The bulb itself isn't actually green, its just wearing a bulb condom to LOOK green. Peel it off with your fingernail and BAM! they're white.

All of these bulbs are common sizes and available at your local auto parts retailer.

 

lol.... yeah, but the bulbs are a warm white. I was looking for a cool white. Half my gauges are already the warm white because of the guy before me. He put a bulb without a condomn in the gauage when the other two bulbs had one. lol....

Do you know the size of the festoon bulb in the cab and the one for the bed?