My Montero Sport Build

[Raole Duke]

2001 Montero Sport ES 3.0L

I bought it new, and it did daily driver duty till 2006, at which point it got 4.90 gears, a rear ARB locker, 2"rear coils/2" body lift, and 33's.





I wheeled it for a year like that, then the SAS started.




Got my Dana44 from a 79 F150 and installed 4.88 gears and another ARB.



Used the wedge parts of the Ford radius arms, and spliced them to 2"x.250"DOM with some .250 gussets and 1" heims on the end. These arms ended up being 6" longer than stock. I located the axle an inch forward from the IFS centerline.




Had to modify the trans xmember to clear the arms. Now it bolts to the inside of the framerail instead of under it.

[Raole Duke]

I went with Wild Horse 5.5" EB coils and Ballistic adjustable buckets, Pro-Comp 14" travel shocks and Ballistic towers.




The trackbar and draglink are 1.5"x.250"DOM with Poly's on the trackbar and 7/8" heims for the draglink. The steering gear was moved forward about an inch and down a little.(Can't find pics right now.)

For the rear I swapped the stock trailing arms from the bottom to the top of the axle, kind of like a SOA. Then I raised the trackbar mount, reused the stock trackbar, and went with Tuff Country Easy Ride 3.5" XJ front coils, and two more 14"Pro-Comp shocks.
Before

After



The xmember that holds the front of the gastank got in the way of the rear driveshaft droop so I replaced it with some leftover 2"x.250"DOM.




On to the doubler. The stock Mitsu t-case had a ratio of 1.90:1 and no other gears are available.
So, in order to get an Np231/D300 into my Sport I had to swap in a different trans. Luckily the 97-99 Sports came with the Aisin 30-43LE, Same as the AW4 except for a bellhousing that will bolt to my Mitsu 3.0. Got one of these transmissions out of a 99 and bolted on a tail housing from a 01 XJ, and the NP231 from the same XJ. I shift it with Bretts Controller, in manual mode only, since I don't have a TCU. Twin sticks and doubler kit from DDMachine.

[Raole Duke]

Lastly Exhaust, RPW headers(ceramic coated), 2.5" high flow cat, magnaflow muffler, wheel well exit.









There have been a few changes this year, like PSC hydro assist, and high steer(not installed yet). I'll get some more pics up after I put the high steer knuckle on.

[4D55 Performance Inc]

So does Marks4wd.com not make gears for your monty?

[Raole Duke]

Originally Posted by 4D55 Performance Inc

So does Marks4wd.com not make gears for your monty?

That's correct. I emailed them to check and was told that they won't work in the 3.0 auto Sports. Also they're $1,395AU.

[4D55 Performance Inc]

They made the low range gears for my truck but the ujoints on the front driveline would have bound, so didn't even bother. I figured, if I am going to spend that much I might as well spend a bit more and get the Atlas.

[Baldy110]

That is a very cool rig. Good job

[88mitsu]

I think if you're going to run 18s you better have some nice big brakes to fill the hole... Got any video of it?

[Raole Duke]

Found a pic of my current steering link setup with hydro assist.



Still have to install my reid racing high steer knuckle on the passenger side to eliminate the misalignment spacers on the draglink, reposition the tierod to the top of the knuckles, and get a little better turning radius.

[4D55 Performance Inc]

That looks much better.

[K-Raider]

He gets by... Super nice setup. Pulled me back to the parking lot.

[Raole Duke]

Good to see ya here. How's the case replacement coming?

[K-Raider]

I got the new one in Sunday. Tested it on monday in the driveway. No go. It pops and jumps out of gear. Taking it back tomorrow morning before work.

[sneakyninja]

Those 18's need 40's

Welcome to Pirate4x4 good to see you here

[Fawk Awph]

did you need to swap out the tail shaft from the Jeep AW4 or just the tail housing?

[Raole Duke]

Originally Posted by Fawk Awph

did you need to swap out the tail shaft from the Jeep AW4 or just the tail housing?

Just the housing. The tailshaft speed sensor and sensor wheel need to be swapped with the jeep housing, but I didn't have to worry about this because I'm using Bretts controller to shift my AW4(manual mode only), and not a TCU.

[Raole Duke]

High steer in the house.
Looks like I'll have to relocate the steering gear, assist cylinder, and track bar, and possibly bend the draglink and track bar. I'll get some more done tomorrow.

[GreatWhiteShark]

Originally Posted by K-Raider

He gets by... Super nice setup. Pulled me back to the parking lot.

that red raider is the shit!

[4D55 Performance Inc]

Like they say, once you go high steer, you don't go back. I added high steer to my rig and I love it.

[ohiozj]

any chance youll have it fixed by sunday? i think i might head out to haspin for the day. i wouldnt mind someone to ride with, and check out that thing in person.

ive got a soft spot for that style montero. i almost bought one instead of the grand..... but it was out of my price range. yours looks killer.

[ohiozj]

does it feel too stiff with bronco coils? im not sure how much more a v8 bronco front end weighs in comparison. just curious

Originally Posted by Raole Duke

I went with Wild Horse 5.5" EB coils and Ballistic adjustable buckets, Pro-Comp 14" travel shocks and Ballistic towers.

[Raole Duke]

Originally Posted by ohiozj

does it feel too stiff with bronco coils? im not sure how much more a v8 bronco front end weighs in comparison. just curious

I was worried when I ordered them, but they are the "Rock Crawler" type of Wild Horses coils, designed to be more flexy. I'm very happy with the spring rate, even with my aluminum headed v6.

Sorry, can't make it to Haspin this weekend, I had to order tube adapters, and tie rod ends to replace my worn out heims.

[Raole Duke]

Got my T.R.E.'s. Moved the trackbar up a couple inches, new bracket.
Just had to bend the trackbar a little to clear the diff cover. Looks like the draglink will have to be bent also, to clear the oil pan. Still waiting on tube adapters.

[lenross1]

props to ya for building something totally different. came out killa !

[Raole Duke]

Time to start the cage. First I'm going to eliminate the body lift. Planning on tieing the cage into the shock towers and coil buckets(which have started to bend inward). Going to try to shorten the nose a little too, for better approach angle. Not yet sure how I'm going to land the cage onto the frame yet, suggestions and tips would be cool, since this will be my first cage. Got Bend Tech SE to make it easier.