New H55F from Toyota on long term back order (July 2024) ? (1 Viewer)

[taoofbean]

Just for the FYI more than anything but I have on deck a big project to swap from 4 speed to 5 speed on my vehicle, along with 100 other tasks while the transmission is out.
I had one ordered new from California and the supplier canceled the order after 10 days without explanation. Now I think I know why because I started calling my local area dealers and got a guy in the parts department who told me that it shows as only two available in the entire US through inventory systems, both currently in Phoenix. He told me that the part is effectively long term back ordered with no ETA.

Assuming he is right, anyone know what is going on? I may have to get really creative with tracking one down in the US, or buy a used one off of Facebook marketplace.

 

[MYTANK]

@taoofbean

I would say this is just Toyota Supply Chain issues - I don't think with how many of these are sold each year Toyota would discontinue them or Phase them out. (I've sold 20+ in the last two years).

I have 8 in stock physically right now in Sydney, Australia and access to another 10+ - But after those there's no current ETA for more.

 

[OSS]

Just for the FYI more than anything but I have on deck a big project to swap from 4 speed to 5 speed on my vehicle, along with 100 other tasks while the transmission is out.
I had one ordered new from California and the supplier canceled the order after 10 days without explanation. Now I think I know why because I started calling my local area dealers and got a guy in the parts department who told me that it shows as only two available in the entire US through inventory systems, both currently in Phoenix. He told me that the part is effectively long term back ordered with no ETA.

Assuming he is right, anyone know what is going on? I may have to get really creative with tracking one down in the US, or buy a used one off of Facebook marketplace.

Don’t buy a used one from anyone.
Why would anyone remove it in the first place?
You know the answer.

When I purchased my H55F in 1990, (yes that’s a long time ago) Toyota didn’t carry them in stock in the USA because it was a transmission used on the diesel cruisers which weren’t sold in the USA.

I had the parts person at Toyota order me the transmission directly from Japan. It took a while to get it - but I got it.

 

[Hokie LX]

Have you asked the Cruiser shops in the US who regularly have these physically in stock? @cruisermatt @cruiseroutfit @orangefj45

 

[cruisermatt]

I’ve been selling H55f’s since around when Covid started. Since then they have been on and off of backorder constantly. You’ll have to be patient and wait like everyone else - or buy from someone who has one in stock if you want it now.

 

[orangefj45]

We ALWAYS have multiple new OEM H55Fs in stock for the 2F and 1HZ. We also stock rebuilt b-series units as well as clutches, Tcase rebuild kits, long spline input gears, shift levers and knobs, Tcase linkage; you get the picture …. If a part is required for five speed swap, you can be just about guaranteed that we have it in stock.

Happy to help.

Georg @ Valley Hybrids @ Cruiser Brothers
Shop 209-475-8808
Sales@valleyhybrids.com

 

[stoshzack]

When I bought mine a few years ago from the local Toyota dealer, they let them order it, but there were none ready to ship. Apparently, the vendor who makes them for Toyota built it and shipped it on demand. They gave me an ETA fairly quickly and I don’t remember waiting too long for it. My two cents - see if your local dealer will let you place the order. They will get an ETA from corporate for you within a few weeks. I don’t remember waiting more than a month or so for delivery from the order date.

 

[Gimme a 60]

I thought these were NLA from Toyota.

Good to know they are available.

 

[orangefj45]

When I bought mine a few years ago from the local Toyota dealer, they let them order it, but there were none ready to ship. Apparently, the vendor who makes them for Toyota built it and shipped it on demand. They gave me an ETA fairly quickly and I don’t remember waiting too long for it. My two cents - see if your local dealer will let you place the order. They will get an ETA from corporate for you within a few weeks. I don’t remember waiting more than a month or so for delivery from the order date.

These are OEM Toyota units. There’s no “vendor” supplying them. They come from a Japan in a container to Long Beaxh CA and then to their main west Coast hub in Ontario CA. Then they’re sent to dealers all over the US. Sometimes they run out and have to wait for another shipment.

And NO, these are not discontinued. ( well, not yet but it will happen one day ).

Georg @ Valley Hybrids @ Cruiser Brothers

 

[stoshzack]

These are OEM Toyota units. There’s no “vendor” supplying them. They come from a Japan in a container to Long Beaxh CA and then to their main west Coast hub in Ontario CA. Then they’re sent to dealers all over the US. Sometimes they run out and have to wait for another shipment.

And NO, these are not discontinued. ( well, not yet but it will happen one day ).

Georg @ Valley Hybrids @ Cruiser Brothers

I am posting what the dealership told me. Not trying to lie here or give misinformation. Much like Denso and Aisin supply OEM parts to Toyota, I was told a vendor creates the H55 for Toyota. Are they owned by Toyota as a subsidiary or are they a separate company, I don’t know and did not ask.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Backorders on the H55F and countless other OEM items is nothing new. We've been stocking the 60450 H55F for 3 decades now, we started buying them two at a time from Jay Mark's Toyota back when they were the jam for mail order OEM dealer parts. I still remember the day my personal one arrived in 2000, I drooled on it regularly. For a poor college kid with low budget, it was a massive investment, still is. @mderrick likely remembers it sitting in the the old office for quite some time as I built the frame.

That coveted H55F in my 40's frame

For the last few decades we've been sourcing them from our local dealer that we have a very personal relationship with, when their/our facing warehouse has them in stock (50% WAG), we see them in a day. But they can be 4-6+ week backorder at times. That, along with sales volume is why we literally stock them by the pallet. We can always know when the US dealer market is facing a backorder as we sell a ton of them, primarily to shops, in a matter of a few weeks. Based on conversations with Toyota USA folk, I dare say we sell as many as anyone in the US between our retail and wholesale offerings, it would be fun to know.

The actual manufacturer (Aisin Seiki Corp) does build the 33030-60450 & others in relatively small batches for Toyota, they are then often air freighted to the US via JAL. It's not uncommon at all to see JAL air freight labels on the boxes all the way to the end user. We find the same with complete OE diffs, t-cases and other high dollar, low volume assembled, etc that we still source directly from our local partner Toyota dealer. @OGBeno has discussed this on the forum in the past and may have a better pulse on how they manage production, JIT builds, air fright, etc. I know we've seen transmissions and engine components (think head or block) that are just months old, not the dusty old stock we'd imagine.

Back to the discussion at hand, order this and it can ship today

OEM Toyota H55F 5-Speed Transmission - Fits F/2F/3F/H/2H/12HT Input Shafts (TR60450)

OEM Toyota H55F 5-Speed Transmission

cruiserteq.com

Or, consider one of our popular combo units ready for install. Order today and it will ship in 2-3 days

OEM H55F Transmission & T-Case Assembly - Fits 1958-1990 Land Cruiser With Modifications (H55FCOMBO)

Land Cruiser OEM H55F Transmission & T-Case Assembly

cruiserteq.com

 

[taoofbean]

Thanks all for all the context about this, seriously. My vehicle is now 40 years old but I don't have the 40 years of context knowing how to build and maintain these. The three local Toyota parts departments I talked to in Oregon all said that from their point of view this part was going to be end of lifed because they could see no future deliveries in their Toyota inventory system. I really appreciate hearing from folks here point out this same cycle has persisted forever.

I will certainly pick one up from a supporting MUD vendor that has one in stock, it is the least I can do after in thanks for all the wisdom present and shared in this board.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Thanks all for all the context about this, seriously. My vehicle is now 40 years old but I don't have the 40 years of context knowing how to build and maintain these. The three local Toyota parts departments I talked to in Oregon all said that from their point of view this part was going to be end of lifed because they could see no future deliveries in their Toyota inventory system. I really appreciate hearing from folks here point out this same cycle has persisted forever.

That can/will happen eventually. But I'm 100% positive they are good to go in the US parts system, we just had more delivered and my parts guy confirmed there are (32) on BO and 24 en route to the Ontario warehouse and a warehouse that had (2) before we just grabbed em

I will certainly pick one up from a supporting MUD vendor that has one in stock, it is the least I can do after in thanks for all the wisdom present and shared in this board.

 

[OGBeno]

OP: do **not** listen to your local Toyota parts counter button pushers. 99% of them have really no idea what they are talking about. I’m being honest. Most all of them are just keyboard punchers now.

Folks like @cruiseroutfit know how the Toyota parts system operates and know how to find out about the specifics. And considering Kurt probably has more H55s sitting on his shelf than Toyota at any given time, I’d recommend concentrating on contacting LC parts experts vs. button pushers at a random dealership.

 

[DrRock]

Just for the FYI more than anything but I have on deck a big project to swap from 4 speed to 5 speed on my vehicle, along with 100 other tasks while the transmission is out.
I had one ordered new from California and the supplier canceled the order after 10 days without explanation. Now I think I know why because I started calling my local area dealers and got a guy in the parts department who told me that it shows as only two available in the entire US through inventory systems, both currently in Phoenix. He told me that the part is effectively long term back ordered with no ETA.

Assuming he is right, anyone know what is going on? I may have to get really creative with tracking one down in the US, or buy a used one off of Facebook marketplace.

I can’t say enough great things about @cruiseroutfit. Over the years I’ve purchased suspension components, an H55 and a number of other parts for my FJ60 resto. Orders always arrive on time and well packaged, plus they keep a running tally on my suspension so when I needed to increase the spring rates, they had my baseline. No affiliation, just a very happy customer. Since Kurt and team have the h55’s in stock, it would be a no brainer.

Good luck!

Cheers, James

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I was saying... I suspect AISIN built this in the last 90 days. It then goes to TMC warehouse, it's sent to the airport and just arrived at our building, fresh off a plane from Japan via the lovely Japan Airlines (JAL).

This bad boy left Chubu Centrair International Airport in Japan on 6/28. Arrived in LAX on 6/29 after a quick stop in Tokyo. It then sits in customs for 7-10 days, the Toyota warehouse for 1-2 days, overnights to our partner dealership and arrives to us today. All things considered that is absolutely amazing.

And these all left for new homes yesterday

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Got a picture of the label, this bad boy was built ~ May 29th Thanks for cross-checking my math @OGBeno

So, not discontinued... yet.