Well it's been a couple of weeks since it was finished but I finally found time to post. 40 days after my auto went out my rig is a new machine with a 5-speed manual tranny.
I priced having the auto rebuilt, not because I ever planned to do it but more to appease the wife. If you are thinking of rebuilding your auto please read the many posts about what a dumb idea that is. Actually to rebuild my auto would have only saved me about $600 over replacing it with a new H55 and that is having someone else do all the work. I wish I were a mechanic but I am not so I had to find someone who was.
I took my rig to Over the Hill 4x4 in Portland, OR. Let me tell you, they were the greatest. James & W took great care of me and did a terrific job so if you are looking for a good cruiser mechanic look no further. www.overthehill4x4.com. This was their first swap on the FJ62 and they came in on time and on budget. Great work guys!!!
Anyhow, since I got it back it has been like owning a new vehicle. My truck has power I never saw or felt before and driving on the freeway is not the chore it used to be. I would recommend this swap to anyone.
The only bad thing about the whole process was the parts supplier. I am sure that www.cruiserparts.net is a great store but to be honest they botched the jobs several times on me. I bought my H55 from them and the conversion kit. First they didn't ship on the timeline they said they would. Although it was only 1 day later than promised that day set me back several days on getting my rig back. Second they conversion kit parts they sent although useable were in subpar condition. There was rust on several of the pieces that had to be stripped, several other came packaged in garbage bags because they were horribly greasy and grimy. I know they were used but come on!! The condition of the parts simply added more money to my bill since it required labor to prep them. Third, they didn't ship the shifter!! It took me two days because they decided to close the shop on a weekday and not post anything about it on their website or on their voicemail. When I finally reached them they immediately offered to ship one out to me however I had to haggle with them to get 2nd day air shipping. After all NH to OR is 5 days ground. I wanted overnight they wanted 3rd day so we met in the middle. Fourth, I didn't find this out until after the job was done but they didn't ship the cross member in the conversion kit either. My mechanic was able to get me another but it cost me $85.00. And finally last of all, the kid they have answering the phone is a bonehead. Don't plan on getting any parts help from him all he can do is say hold on and run ask someone who knows what they are doing then come back and relay the message. Why they don't just put the guy who knows the answers to the questions on the phone from the beginning I don't know.
Well it's a conversion worth doing. I would say get your H55 from cruiserparts.net, you won't find it cheaper anywhere else but if possible gather your own parts for the conversion kit. It's cheaper, you'll find better parts and it will be done right the first time.
If you are planning to have someone else do the work for you like I did expect to pay upwards of $4000 but after you price a rebuild it won't seem too bad.
I have posted some pics of the finished project.
I priced having the auto rebuilt, not because I ever planned to do it but more to appease the wife. If you are thinking of rebuilding your auto please read the many posts about what a dumb idea that is. Actually to rebuild my auto would have only saved me about $600 over replacing it with a new H55 and that is having someone else do all the work. I wish I were a mechanic but I am not so I had to find someone who was.
I took my rig to Over the Hill 4x4 in Portland, OR. Let me tell you, they were the greatest. James & W took great care of me and did a terrific job so if you are looking for a good cruiser mechanic look no further. www.overthehill4x4.com. This was their first swap on the FJ62 and they came in on time and on budget. Great work guys!!!
Anyhow, since I got it back it has been like owning a new vehicle. My truck has power I never saw or felt before and driving on the freeway is not the chore it used to be. I would recommend this swap to anyone.
The only bad thing about the whole process was the parts supplier. I am sure that www.cruiserparts.net is a great store but to be honest they botched the jobs several times on me. I bought my H55 from them and the conversion kit. First they didn't ship on the timeline they said they would. Although it was only 1 day later than promised that day set me back several days on getting my rig back. Second they conversion kit parts they sent although useable were in subpar condition. There was rust on several of the pieces that had to be stripped, several other came packaged in garbage bags because they were horribly greasy and grimy. I know they were used but come on!! The condition of the parts simply added more money to my bill since it required labor to prep them. Third, they didn't ship the shifter!! It took me two days because they decided to close the shop on a weekday and not post anything about it on their website or on their voicemail. When I finally reached them they immediately offered to ship one out to me however I had to haggle with them to get 2nd day air shipping. After all NH to OR is 5 days ground. I wanted overnight they wanted 3rd day so we met in the middle. Fourth, I didn't find this out until after the job was done but they didn't ship the cross member in the conversion kit either. My mechanic was able to get me another but it cost me $85.00. And finally last of all, the kid they have answering the phone is a bonehead. Don't plan on getting any parts help from him all he can do is say hold on and run ask someone who knows what they are doing then come back and relay the message. Why they don't just put the guy who knows the answers to the questions on the phone from the beginning I don't know.
Well it's a conversion worth doing. I would say get your H55 from cruiserparts.net, you won't find it cheaper anywhere else but if possible gather your own parts for the conversion kit. It's cheaper, you'll find better parts and it will be done right the first time.
If you are planning to have someone else do the work for you like I did expect to pay upwards of $4000 but after you price a rebuild it won't seem too bad.
I have posted some pics of the finished project.
