So I'm in the middle of a 3.4 swap into my 1992 Toyota 4x4 MT and have been requested by the wife to add a/c. Our truck never had a/c and we've simply suffered during the recent summers.

Everything I've read says to find a donor truck and it's a relatively easy swap since these trucks came from Japan ready for a/c to be added as a dealer add on. However, finding a 90 to 95 donor truck is like winning the lottery - and I haven't won yet.

So my question is, can the a/c system from a 90-95 4Runner work? Or a 96-98 4Runner? What parts would not work from the 4Runner? I understand I'll need to get a new drier no matter what and that depending on which compressor I use I will need to swap the manifold and/or the pully, washer/spacer. But I'm most interested in the evaporator, the five lines, and the condenser. The forum suggests the wiring seems to all be there ready to be plugged in. And then I'll need a dash switch. Am I missing anything?

I am desperate for help and guidance!!

Many thanks in advance.

 

I used all my 88 parts except for the compressor and the hoses. I used the A/C compressor and the A/C amplifier from my donor and just had hoses made to connect it all. I used the fittings that came on the 3.4 compressor and the rest of the fittings from my 88. I just cut the aluminum crimp sleeves off my original hoses and removed the rubber. An A/C shop just crimped on new hose. I did have to get the charge fittings installed in the hoses. The 88 has charge ports on the compressor. The 3.4 does not.

The easiest thing to do is find what fits your truck as far as under dash parts. It will plug in, the harness should have the connectors. The A/C section of the unit just goes where a spacer is in the non-A/C unit. Same blower and heater section gets used. Unless you get a complete unit. The evaporator is "typically" plugged with dirt since they don't have a cab air filter. Dust combines with condensation and turns into a big brick of mud. You can get a new evap cheap.

You have to adapt the wiring for the A/C amplifier. It's easy, just follow the schematic. The 3.4 ECM controls the idle up. Your 92 probably has the engine mounted switches. If it's a 22RE it does. IDK about the 3.0. The 3.4 amplifier just replaces the old one from your truck.

The compressor you use should be what came on the 3.4. That's what I did.

I used the original condenser but some people use a more modern universal one. I put in a new dryer and TXV and charged with R134 A. Use either Ester 100 or PAG oil. I'm not going to get into arguments about which is better. You decide what you prefer.

I did my swap back in 2010 and it still works great. I did a very detailed swap on here but all the pics are gone.

Where are you located? I know a guy here in Tucson that has tons of parts trucks.

 

Thank you for the response!

I am worried about a used evaporator, but I'm told just get a new expansion valvle and an a/c shop can clean the innards with a flush. Seems too easy to be true. I do intend to use the 3.4 compressor.

What a great idea about the lines. Was the cheaper or close to the price of lines from the junk yard? Most places seem to ask prices that about the same as new ones.

I'm in Colorado and have called a couple of yards in Phoenix, but haven't had good luck.

 

You can buy A/C hard lines in various lengths and bend them as needed. You can buy crimp on fittings or even reusable fittings and build your own hoses. I built a whole system for my 52 Ford pickup using universal parts I bought from Summit. It was just under $500 for everything but that was a few years ago.

If you can at least find the under dash unit you can still build a system that works great. Hopefully you have the fittings on your 3.4 compressor. The unit under the dash has connections so you just need to get a dryer and condenser and build hoses/lines to connect it all. You can do that or most automotive A/C shops can.

Just get a condenser that fits in front of your radiator. They are more efficient than the old type that came on the truck so don't worry too much about matching the size exactly. The hardest part is figuring out the fittings you need. You can always have a shop do that if you want. Just get your components mounted and let the shop plumb it.

It would help if you have the 3.4 donor A/C amplifier for the electrical operation and so the engine idles up but you don't HAVE to have it. You can also get binary or trinary pressure switches and I think there is a sticky for wiring the A/C in the 3.4 swap section here.

I can probably find the CL link to the guy in Tucson that parts out tons of Toyota trucks if you want.

 

The pics are gone from my old 3.4 swap posts but I found some pics on my computer. I bought some fittings and the hose from a local automotive A/C shop. I cut and fit them to my truck and marked them for any rotational orientation and brought them back to the same shop so they could crimp them. You can see where I had charge ports added to the hoses since the 3.4 compressor didn't have them like the original did.

I bought reusable fittings for my 52 Ford project and just built my own hoses and what I prefer to do now. Avoids paying a shop to make my hoses. You can also buy your own hose crimper on Amazon. Another option.

 

I just looked on Summit's website and they have a few different condenser options for a1992 Toyota pickup and 4Runner specifically as well as universal ones. You can check Rock auto. They may have Denso units. If you find the under dash unit, I'd recommend just buying a new evaporator and expansion valve. It WILL be filthy. I also recommend getting a Denso if you can. They were the OEM supplier and they are quality units and fit perfectly. Just my experience and opinion.

 

Please do send me the CL info. Additional sources for parts of these old trucks is always helpful.

It never occurred to me to fab my own hoses. I’ll need to reach out to some local shops about that.

I will source an evaporator. And then you make the rest of it sound so simple!!

Thank you for the guidance!

 

PM sent with CL post info.