Cruiser Mechanic in DC Metro Area

[DC88FJ62]

Hi Guys,
I am new to the TLCA, I just bought a 88 FJ62 about two weeks ago. I live in the District right off of N. Capitol up near Children's Hospital.

Does anybody have a suggestions for an independant shop in the Metro area that really knows how to work on cruisers? I have 45 days (30 remaining now)to pass DC inspections and she is sputtering and gurgling at idle something awful and I am pretty sure she will fail emssions right now.

Thanks,
Brian

[John Smith]

Originally Posted by DC88FJ62

Hi Guys,
I am new to the TLCA, I just bought a 88 FJ62 about two weeks ago. I live in the District right off of N. Capitol up near Children's Hospital.

Does anybody have a suggestions for an independant shop in the Metro area that really knows how to work on cruisers? I have 45 days (30 remaining now)to pass DC inspections and she is sputtering and gurgling at idle something awful and I am pretty sure she will fail emssions right now.

Thanks,
Brian

Hi Brian, Did you buy the 62 Andrew was selling or is this a different truck? I am sure you know the number one issue with 62s is the auto tranny. They are usually the first thing to go and I seem to remember the one on Andrew's 62 was slipping. If you bought that truck the first thing I would do is flush the tranny and buy a replacement transmission to keep on standby for when the original goes. Better yet I would gather the parts to put a manual tranny replacement in.

If this is a different 62 I would still flush the tranny first thing along with replacing all other fluids and checking the brakes. Any legitimate competent shop should be able to do this for you. I don't know of any in DC proper I can recommend to you.

Iron Pig down in Fredericksburg VA knows Land Cruisers but they are going to be a hike for you. If you want to work on the truck yourself there are a bunch of us in the area who can give you advice and help along the way.

Your 62 is OBD1 so all you need is a paperclip to pull any codes to help you figure out your idle issue. If you don't already have a manual at least buy the Haynes.

[colangut]

Car Doctor in Falls Church off of Rd. 29 (703) 560-8870 is just a few miles outside of DC. Nice guy owns the shop, he works on my friends cars.

Or High Tech 4x4 in Chantilly VA off Rt. 50 and Rt. 28 703-968-6648 they maintain a fleet of snow removal trucks for a friend of mine with great results and my Snap-On rep (a guru mechanic himself) recommends them highly.

Both are great shops with ASE certified techs who have Toyota experience.

[DC88FJ62]

Hey Guys, Thanks for the advice, John, I bought this truck off of ebay from a "dealer" in the Tyson's area that bought it in an auction in PA.

I fixed the idle problem myself, going to try the inspection tomorrow to see if it passes or take the list of needed repairs to a shop a neighbor of my with a 60 (who I just met) recommended, Auto Tech in Adams Morgan

Sebastien called me and gave me the heads up about your meetings, I am going try and make it next week

Cheers,
Brian