Shop to do ring and pinion in Austin/San Antonio?

[wb1948]

I don't know how I live in a city with over a million people and not one respected auto shop will swap my R&P for me. When ever I call shops I always get responses like this

-"You may have to change carriers to do this"
-"We don't do this very often, give me a call after lunch and I will see if any of the guys want to TRY it"
-"We don't do imports, you could call 4 wheel parts"
-"Land Cruisers didn't ever come with locking differentials, I think it is a limited slip you are talking about"

WTF? How could I ever trust my LC to some of these people?

Anyways, Austin Drive Train does not do imports, and they are the only well know shop for differential work in Austin. So, if any Austin/San Antonio Area people know a good shop to do this work please let me know, as I have been looking for over a year now, and finally am ready to get the work done.

 

[Bryan E.]

I would do the work of pulling the third members out yourself, so you will be learning how to work on it, and save a ton of money. So...I would ask shops how much they charge to install ring and pinion on a third member. If your adding ARB lockers, then have them quote that also. Do some searches on gears and locker installs, and you'll find lot's of info. Check with some of the LC clubs in your area also for help and recommendations.

 

[elmariachi]

Check with some of the LC clubs in your area also for help and recommendations.

Call Jason Kenne at JK Customs in Austin..http://www.jkcustoms.com/ 512-218-4222.

He's a Lone Star Cruiserhead and all-around hardcore heathenite. Maybe he will know.

Jim

 

[Biff]

I don't know how I live in a city with over a million people and not one respected auto shop will swap my R&P for me. When ever I call shops I always get responses like this

-"You may have to change carriers to do this"
-"We don't do this very often, give me a call after lunch and I will see if any of the guys want to TRY it"
-"We don't do imports, you could call 4 wheel parts"
-"Land Cruisers didn't ever come with locking differentials, I think it is a limited slip you are talking about"

WTF? How could I ever trust my LC to some of these people?

Anyways, Austin Drive Train does not do imports, and they are the only well know shop for differential work in Austin. So, if any Austin/San Antonio Area people know a good shop to do this work please let me know, as I have been looking for over a year now, and finally am ready to get the work done.

Yank the 3rd member yourself, I just did this work and it was a learning experience. Overall the job is probably a job as far as skill. The shop I took my 3rd members to installed my gears & lockers for $350. Saved me over $500 if I would have taken the rig to them myself.

 

[davegonz]

Dude..just go to Land Cruiser Specialist in Pflugerville..they swapped out my pinion bearings in my front diff a month ago and did a great job. They have done R&P work for others. Call up Edwin Kincaid or Sean at 512-670-7525.

http://lcspec.com/index.jsp

 

[mmw68]

Yes call Edwin, Great Shop. Iam surprised more AUstin people have not jummped on on this tread. Lots of Gear Heads in the AUstin Group who would be willing to walk you thru the process or reccomend a shop.

If you have not already done so subscribe to the lslc mailing list at lslc.org.
Post the questiion there - Iam sure you will get a answer.

-Mark

 

[wb1948]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I gave Land Cruiser Specialists a call and left them a message. If they cannot do it, I will give the guy at JK customs a call.

About pulling the third member, it was the first thing I did. I know how to save money in this hobby pretty well at this point. I'm no new jack

 

[elmariachi]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I gave Land Cruiser Specialists a call and left them a message. If they cannot do it, I will give the guy at JK customs a call.

If you ain't no new jackoff, then hows come you ain't be knowing Edwin and Jason yet? Them boys IS Land Cruisers in Austin, Texas. You need to check out Jason's custom rear bumper work and Edwin knows more about drivelines than anyone around.

 

[davegonz]

You need to come out the the Austin LSLC group meetings on the last Thursday of the month at Rudy's on 183. Great bunch of guys with tons of knowledge and stories.

 

[wb1948]

I called Land Cruiser Specialists on Tuesday to get a quote, and still have not gotten one. I called on wednesday, and he acted aggrivated that I had called. He has still not gotten me a quote, maybe he does not need my business?

 

[tucker74]

That's strange - they have always been prompt and honest with me. Did you talk to Edwin?

Tucker

 

[wb1948]

I am not sure who I talked to. Any one know of any shops in San Antonio? I am about to drive up to Colorado and have Slee do the work

 

[super90]

In San Antonio, call Dalbert's on Dinn Rd. They have worked on my FJ60 and FZJ80. Jimmy (aka Dalbert) used to do all the diff rebuilds for the Toyota Dealership. I was about to have them rebuild my FJ60 diff when we got such a good price on a factory third member that the cost was the same. Jimmy's brother Joey worked at Alamo Toyota for a long, long time and Joey put me in touch with Jimmy. These guys have been very helpful to me as I learned the "cruiser ropes"

 

[wb1948]

Super, so you are positive they can do a R&P pinion swap in a FZJ80? And have some experience to go with it?

 

[super90]

Go with whatever makes you feel the most comfortable. Setting up a R&P is the skill that is in question. I don't know what is TLC specific about this. Differentials are actually pretty simple and don't change drastically from truck to truck.

Jimmy has set up a lot of rear ends. Like I say, he used to come in and do them for the local dealership. They outsourced this work to him. That is what his brother told me when he still worked at Alamo Toyota. Joey was seriously encouraging me to just take it directly to Jimmy. I know it sounds like he was just trying to drum up business, but I have a lot of faith in these guys. Joey was the only guy I could find that could correctly diagnose the problems with the rear diff in my FJ60 and as a result we got it fixed. No one else could figure it out. He and Jimmy sorted that problem out together and actually steered me to using the factory diff when we found a competitive price on it.

But, again, you are the one that has to comfortable with the choice. Keep doing your due diligence until you can confidently make the decision.

Keep in mind that just because someone is a "Cruiser Specialist" does not mean they know how to correctly set up a R&P. It's a specialized skill, but one that is fairly readily transferred from one vehicle to the next.

Best of luck,


R.

 

[sleeoffroad]

I agree with Super. You can drive to us, but local is always better for warrantee etc. You don'[t need someone that has set up a 80 diff, but someone that is familiar with Toyota diffs. Also if you have lockers there are some parts that are Toyota specific and do not come in most install kits. As well as some shims. Not all shops have these, so expect some downtime while they source those.