it doesn't take a lot of resistance to cockblock 12 volts... the #4 should have been enough, BUT, with years of corrosion built up inside the jacket, and the oxidation of the bolt threads and the paint where the lugs land, you were swimming uphill...
only issue there is you'd still need to pull the carpet back to remove the tunnel hatch...I've been in there more times than I'd like to admit, and the carpet/hatch/boot interface is always the point of irreversible aggravation for me...
I'll keep wanting my hatch mat...:meh:
on the contrary; to make it easier...just cut out the carpet that covers the removable tunnel hatch; fabricate new, insulated, trimmed-out, color-matched mat to fit tightly around shifter bezels post boot install, and overlay the OEM carpet cut-out...strategically placed hook and loop buttons or...
I have used several fj60 firewall grommets on various things...you can totally cut a slot in it, add holes and glue it back together with sika or equal poly sealer. I even found one they called black that is a close match to faded rubber when it cures...PHL or ??? brand found at HD and...
still the KOYO TO bearing? I've done just about the same- installed the old bearing back onto the hub by mistake...caught it before the final stab and fixed it tho...