1983 B8200 manual tranny to auto conversion

johneeguy

New member

Equipment
B8200
May 22, 2019
2
0
0
thunder bay, ontario, canada
Wondering if anyone has had success/involvement in converting a manual to auto/hst ... my father is beginning to find the manual a bit much to operate in the winter time for blowing snow - he had the opportunity to drive a newer hst style tractor, and was quite surprised how much more efficiently he was able to complete the job.

Dealer gave a ballpark of 10K to convert, which far outweighs the value of the tractor... wondering if anyone has any info to pass along that would make this feasible without involving the dealer...

I have just begun researching this, and came across this forum - thought it would be a great place to ask.


Cheers,
John
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
Jun 9, 2013
28,286
4,853
113
Sandpoint, ID
Sell the DT any buy an HST!
It is a very complicated swap and that's even with a donor tractor sitting right next to it for parts, sooooo not worth it.

One option is to find a B8200 HSTD that has a bad motor and then swap that out, much easier to do!

I'll also bet you don't know that any FEL mounts, front mount implements and mid mount implements, things like snow blowers, blades, mower decks, are all different between an HST and a DT, So you would have to swap those out too.

I think your local dealer was just being nice on pricing, as I'm 99% sure it would cost way more just in parts, and that is if he could get all the parts!
 
Last edited:

crippler

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Equipment
KUBOTA Bx23s, KUBOTA B6200, KUBOTA B7400, KUBOTA B7800, Mitsubishi D1500 II
May 25, 2014
28
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1
Carthage NY
your best bet is going to be to buy another tractor that is HST and sell the manual shift one. In the states your tractor in 4 wheel drive trim with no loader is a 3.5 to 4.5 grand tractor. something a little newer like a B7500 or B7610 would run you 4.5 to 6.5 grand for HST 4x4. Of course loader and implementation will effect final sale price.
 

johneeguy

New member

Equipment
B8200
May 22, 2019
2
0
0
thunder bay, ontario, canada
Really appreciate the feedback... hadn't considered the option of looking for a tractor with a blown motor and swapping that way.

I'll stop the search for my original approach of a tranny swap, and keep my eyes open for a donor tractor with hst...

If nothing pans out over the summer, I think a sell/purchase will be in order.

Again - thanks for the input, and quick response time!


Cheers