2001-2004 Radio/Climate control Relocation

Tacoma Radio/climate control swap:
Finally got to writing this post. A couple months ago I posted some photos of the project I did but have been too busy with work and school. Here it is, this is my first forum post, if you have any recommendations that could make the post better let me know.

Introduction:
I had the idea for this project a couple years ago when I wanted to upgrade my radio. I wanted to get a touch screen in my truck, but I did not like the placement of the stock radio, its too low. I thought it looked like a good idea to swap the radio and climate controls to make the radio easier to use.

Tools used:

• Heat Gun
• Dremel (I got the cheapest one at harbor freight and it did the job but I need to upgrade)
• JB weld
• Epoxy putty
• Sand Paper
• Primer
• SEM trim paint
• Double din installation kit

The part that I refer to as the new radio face is a double din dash installation kit. Similar to this one
https://www.amazon.com/Scosche-1992...739427&sprefix=double+din+ster,aps,247&sr=8-2


Inspiration:
I had this idea years ago and started searching to see if anyone had done is and the only thing I could find was @sxwatson Ipad installation. I like this but I wanted the ability to use apple car play to connect through my phone.






The Process:
I started by test fitting the new radio face with the front of the top bezel and marking where the lip of the face contacted the bezel. For the screen to fit I needed to cut out the climate control mounts and cross bar at the top of the existing radio. The sides of the existing radio face will sit behind the new radio face when installed so will not interfere. I ended up using them as support for the radio face.


Figure 1) Stock Tacoma Radio Bezel. Red outline shows outside of new radio face.

I cut out the climate control holder as an entire piece hoping to use it in the future.



Figure 2) Climate control Insert


Figure 3) Cutting out existing climate control insert.

After cutting out the climate control mount, I cut a slot where the top lip of the new radio face lined up with the bezel. After this I was able to put the new radio face in the bezel and measure the new climate control area (Figure 5). The new radio face has screw holes on the back that lined up well with the bezel, so I drilled holes to secure the face in place. (Figure 4)
Figure 4) Slot for lip of new face to fit in and one of the screw holes on the left



Figure 5) First mockup after cutting out climate control section


After the mockup, I decided I did not want to cut out a section of the bezel to fit the entire climate control panel because this would make it much harder to be aesthetically pleasing. I opted to just cut out the bottom, right section of the existing radio face. After some measuring I found that if I just cutout the red section, the climate control face will still show all controls.


Figure 6) Radio Bezel with climate control holder cut out, Red outline shows next location to be cut out.



Figure 7) Radio Bezel with climate control section cut out


Figure 8) Close up of cutout.


Figure 9) Face on of cutout


This cutout took some work to get right. Since this will be a visible part of the bezel I took my time to make sure the transitions are smooth

Next I made brackets, out of a coors can because that’s what I had at my disposal. These brackets were meant to help secure and stabilize the new radio face. The brackets also acted as a backing for the filler used to mate the new face to the bezel.



Fig. 10) Back of bezel showing brackets and screws


Fig. 11) Front of bezel, can see brackets

After making the brackets, I began securing the new face to the bezel. This involved putting a couple screws through the brackets, and using JB weld, a lot of JB weld. I used small spacers between the radio face and the bezel screws to keep face at slightly upward angle. This should make it easier to look at the screen while driving. After the back of the radio was secure, I used epoxy putty to fill in the side gaps. The putty doubles as a filler and additional support to secure and stabilize the new face to the bezel.


Figure 12) Back of radio


Figure 13) Epoxy Putty on sides and Jb on top

After I got this done, I noticed I had an issue beneath the radio where the climate controls will go. You can see in fig. 13, the gap on the bottom, left side between the new face and the bezel. This is from, the bezel sitting behind the new face and I used spacers to hold the face at an angle. Somehow, I lost the pictures I thought I took of how I solved this. What I did was cut out a section of plastic from a sheet and fit it in the gap. In figure 14 you can see this gap filled and the epoxy transitions on the front bottom of the new face.


Figure 14) Bottom bar in and putty for gap fill




Figure 15) Bezel sanded down and ready for primer


After getting the bar in came the sanding. It took a good amount of elbow grease to get these where I was happy. This took a long time because as I was sanding and looking for surface defects, I needed to fill in sections with putty and had to let it to dry before sanding again. Finally, I was ready to paint, the SEM trim black paint is great stuff I have used it on projects before and it is the best spray paint I have used. On the can it says, can be applied without primer but I decided to use a primer so I could work out more surface defects.


Figure 16) Primed radio bezel





Figure 17) Stock Bezel vs Primed new Bezel




Figure 18) Sanded primed bezel ready for SEM paint



Figure 19) Primed bezel test fit




Figure 20) Painted bezel with stock radio


Figure 21) Installed painted bezel with no radio

Here are some photos during the process I seemed to have not taken any pictures of the painted bezel by itself.

I did not have a radio before I started the project and planned to use the stock radio until I bought a touch screen. Before installing, I had to modify some of the interior of the truck. In figure 21 and 22, you can see the brace that separated the radio from the climate control, this must be cut out so the radio can fit.



Figure 22) Brace needed to cut out

The climate control panel just fits into its location and I needed to either cut it shorter or cut the bottom off the brace for the clip in figure 23. I opted to cut the bottom of the brace because I would like this to be fully reversible and if I cut the panel then I would need another one to be able to swap back to stock for whatever reason. I cut this support so that the clip is still functional. I also had to make a bracket to secure the climate control center. I used a piece of ½” plexiglass I had laying around and cut it to fit. I was able to utilize the bottom existing screw hole and drilled another hole on the angled portion to secure the new bracket. I drilled holes in the plexiglass to match the holes from the dash and for the climate control center to mount (figure 26). This took a lot of measuring and I was still just off on alignment but was able to make it work.


Figure 23) Bracket needs to be cut to fit climate control panel


Figure 24) Plexiglass cut to fit.


Figure 25) Mount in place


Figure 26) Drilled mount



Figure 27) Brace and notch cut out

I now have the radio bezel and the truck ready and can install the stock radio for now. I went to install the system and……. It did not fit. The clearance between the heater core tube and the radio bezel is 5.5” while the stock radio is 6.5”. So back to the stock set up until I can find a radio less than 5.5” deep. Glad I kept it reversible.

The Solution:

The Alpine ilx-w650 is a multimedia player (no CD player) that is only 2-13/16” deep. It also has an amp add on that still keeps the unit under 5.5”. I did not get the amp since I still have stock speakers, but when I upgrade the sound system one day I will get the amp. The radio installed easily but there was a gap on both the bottom and right side. I had some black tape foam I used and it looks good, this should also help with dampening vibrations.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500ILXW650/Alpine-iLX-W650.html




Figure 28) Alpine multimedia player installed with gaps



Figure 29) Alpine radio installed with foam tape




Figure 30)


Figure 31)



Figure 32) Final install


Figure 33


Overall the project went well, I am happy with the result. A couple things that I would change, when looking at the climate control panel you can not see the A/C button or the top of the vent selection. I may some day shave down the part in the way but for now its fine and I know where everything is. A downside of this project is the limited selection of radios that will fit. If you do not mind having no CD/DVD player it should not be an issue.

Another placement I thought about was putting the screen where the vents are and moving the vents below the screen. I did not think this was possible before I started the project because I did not know a radio as thin as the iLX-W650 existed. Now that I know this, I believe it would be possible, but a new vent would need to be fabricated. I may explore this in the future with my spare bezel, I would get a new Dremel before I took this on.

Other than that I am very happy with the result and this is a huge improvement over the stock radio and location. Apple car play is a game changer, although the first day I had this installed, I got a ticket for illegal cell phone use while messing around on the radio. Court date end of next month.

 

Awesome job and excellent write up. Makes me want to attempt it. Did you come across any cheaper radios beside the alpine that will fit?

 

Great work! I always wanted to do this, but I was concerned about the 95-00 HVAC control cables.
Am I correct that the 01-04 is fully electronic? If it is then this may not be possible for the 95-00 since it could involve changing cable lengths.

 

yes 01-04 are electronic. however are the cables able to be moved a little? they are self-contained and as long as you are using the same ones it should retain functionality I think?

awesome write-up @MuddyBeaver

 

I did not, but I didn’t look too hard. I wanted a unit in this price range and when I got my Trump bucks I pulled the trigger on this alpine.

Ahh I might be off on my years then, I thought 98 had the same climate control set up. I’ll work on changing the title to 01-04. I would check on the cable length and see if you can shift the climate controls down. The first step in my process was actually to make sure the climate control wires would reach.

 

If there is an interest in purchasing one, I may be into the idea of making more. I can make and send all brackets but the buyer would need to cut out the cross bar and bottom of the bracket to make it all fit.

 

I am considering painting my bezel trim silver and most of your directions apply to what I am considering doing.
Did you use any specific primer?
Also what did you use to sand the bezel prior to putting the primer on it?

 

Amazingly well done. Got an old 2 ding 2008 Pioneer something radio to swap with my stock one(sub/amp install) and I still haven't gotten around to ordering a mounting kit for the radio. I took the mounting pieces of stock radio and put screwed them into current one. It looks terrible lol, I really need to get around to actually finishing it. Kudos to you for doing a good job on yours

 

if you had a 3D printer you could make you some $$$ !

 

How’s the glare on the screen in that new, higher position @MuddyBeaver? The Pioneer double-DIN GPS unit in my 2003 works fine but as you well know it’s too low. Sometimes more annoying than that is the glare from the too-vertical screen, and raising may or may not have helped that.

And yes, SEM Trim Black (especially in satin) is some of the nicest rattlecan paint I’ve ever used, too.

 

I used SEM adhesion promoter because I had a full can of it laying around. I think the proper way to do it would be to use SEM Flexible Primer Surface, but I didn’t have enough to do this, used it all on my wheel caps. As far as sand paper, I believe I went from 150 to 320. The 150 may be overkill if just looking to Repaint, I used it because I had to sand down epoxy. The main goal before priming is to get all the shine off the bezel to give the primer a solid surface to stick to. After primes, the can says to use 320-400 grit before top coat. I would highly recommend using SEM brand paint, it is a bit more expensive but the ease of use and the end product are well worth it! I have only found them at advanced auto parts (check online first and they keep it behind the counter so you have to ask for it) or you have to order online.

The initial investment for a product I would not be able to sell a high volume is what scares me, though it does allow me to expand and make other products either personal or to sell. That and It would take a lot of work to model the entire bezel. I am fairly fluent in a few modeling softwares(solidworks, nx and inventor) and will be completing my degrees in mechanical and manufacturing engineering in December so might be something to think about when I get a job and can afford a quality printer.

I do not experience almost any glare on this screen, only on the brightest days when the sun is in that just right(or wrong) position will I get a glare but I am usually wearing my polarized glasses if it’s sunny out and can see the screen fine. You can see a glare in my final picture but I still have the thick screen protector on.
Another reason I chose this Alpine unit that did not mention in this post is because it uses capacitive touch rather than resistive touch. A capacitive touch screen provides better feedback and almost completely eliminates glare that would be blinding on a resistive touch unit.My guess would be your unit uses resistive touch.
100% I will only use SEM as my rattle can for job I want to look good, plus it’s too expensive to use on random jobs.

 

Thank and yep, @MuddyBeaver -- the Pioneer AVIC-5201NEX I put in my 2003 is indeed resistive touch. I couldn't find a capacitive touchscreen that met some of my other criteria at the time. I don't think I was aware enough about glare differences between the two types, though, or I'd have worked harder to find something. I was mainly deciding on screen sensitivity.

 

I'd buy one - this is my next project, I'm hooked on CarPlay after renting a car that had one and would love to install one on the adventure truck for better navigation and music control. PM me and we can work out the details!

 

For anyone interested,
$180 for the new bezel
+$120 deposit for your stock bezel
When you get the new bezel installed, send back your old bezel and I will refund the $120.
Send me a Pm if you are interested.
I accept Venmo, cash app, or PayPal(+$10 fee for using goods and services)
If there is enough interest I can do a group buy at a lower price but we’ll cross that bridge if we get there.

 

Excellent job! This is what Toyota should have done for this model from the beginning. Even with the stock radio this configuration makes more sense, but when you go with a touch-screen it would work much better.

 

I know this is old, but, Excellent work! I have been considering something like this. I would consider having you make me one, just may have to locate a new bezel as the previous owner broke off a tab or two on mine.

 

Me too, but unfortunately I think he stopped doing it a couple months back. I PMed @MuddyBeaver a while ago and he said he stopped. If he were to start doing it again, I’d for sure put an order in.

 

Bummer, that is a super nice looking modification

 

To the OP: awesome post, thank you for sharing!

I discovered a single din floating dash works with a little effort.

The ac controls I feel with some more time and energy could be a lot better but it works and a lot better than the super low radio.

 

so what exactly did you do here? move a single din floating up to where the ac controls were. and ac controls down to the bottom of the radio slots?