Adventure Driven, aftermarket sneak peak!

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
As some of you may know I've been building Montero stuff for a long time now and it has been mostly exclusive to Arizona based Montero guys. That's about to change, IncorporatedX and are going legit building Mitsubishi parts. We have a bunch of stuff in the works and we're hoping to keep this going and get the rest of the Montero world outfitted. If you've noticed some of the little aftermarket we have has about dried up during our Mitsubishi 4wd renaissance, as well as OEM replacement parts in some cases. Yeah there are some neat things available from China and yeah I have imported some of that stuff but it's not up to our standards. The steel and plastic goods are acceptable but for the headache and costs involved it's better to stay inside the US and we can just forget about Chinese electrical and steering replacement parts. We've done a lot of testing/experiments on these trucks over the years and have learned the tricks (sometimes the hard way) so that you don't have to. There is seriously a graveyard of broken parts here in Az somewhere that can tell you what breaks and exactly how to break it or wear it out. PA_JERO has been kind enough to be a test monkey for most of it.

Our parts are not to turn your Montero into a rock crawler they are specifically designed to keep your machine on the trail and as reliable as possible. You may think "well i only have 31's" or "i don't plan on wheeling very hard" but the fact of the matter is that these trucks are old AND $h!% happens when you least expect it. Don't be the guy with a stock Montero who breaks an idler arm on a forest road after telling your Jeep friends how solid these trucks are. The majority of the aftermarket replacement parts are good for about 20% of the duty of the OEM part, don't be that guy! We build and test our parts right here in Arizona on OUR personal rigs so if it's good enough to run in these rocks you can expect nothing but the best in quality and durability.

Our goal is to provide parts and upgrades to you guys at an acceptable cost to keep us going and keep the parts coming. We will start with small runs of parts based on the initial orders, providing a few extras to stock for you two months later forum lurkers. So if you want a part we make be sure to place your order because you might not get a chance for a while. We'll keep the cool stuff coming and revisit the more in demand parts as needed.

First new product of many! New panhard rod for the 1989-2000 Montero, 2000-2008 Montero Sport/Challenger. Bash resistant, rebuildable and adjustable so if you've got a LIFT or a bent/worn out panhard rod post up! Get your Montero aligned again! Production starts an a week or so, will be taking orders when test rod #2 is ready for a photo shoot. Lead time will be a few weeks.


**Panhard rod (also called Panhard bar or track bar) is a suspension link that provides lateral location of the axle. Originally invented by the Panhard automobile company of France in the early twentieth century, this device has been widely used ever since** -the internet



Why do you need this?

When you install a lift your axle shifts to the right and there is no correction for this stock and the stock location makes it vulnrable to getting bent by sliding over a rock or even just backing into a stump. You will be able to align your rear axle in your drive way in a few minutes without removing any parts once installed. These new bars are machined from solid 7075 T-6 aircraft grade aluminum and are nearly indestructable. The rod ends are chromoly and fully rebuildable, after some serious hours and parts that haven't quite met the demands we now have something awesome to give you.


PA_JERO's 1994 SR

20160824_192821.jpg



As you can see he was in need of a replacement.

2016082495192804.jpg
 

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
Shock towers, quick disconnects and probably control arms at some point. Working on the parts that we seem to chew through first, like idler arms.


A story


Back in 2015 we had a small group of Montero's set to run the Rubicon, on day 1 (the easiest day) at the beginning of the trail (not even to the start of the Rubicon yet) we had a 25 year old stock idler arm disintegrate. We were off to a rough start BUT that's OK the owner of that Montero brought with him a brand new idler arm. We got it installed and within the next few hundred feet it had bent beyond anything i've ever seen an idler do before. We bent it back straight and had Rascott help him limp the truck back into town, there he called a friend in Az and had one of my idler arm upgrades overnighted to Tahoe. He missed out on the entire Rubicon but was able to finish strong without issues on the second trail of the trip Fordyce Creek which is a MUCH MUCH more difficult trail.

When you bend an idler arm it puts your entire steering out of alignment causing a great amount of stress on the tie rod ends and drag link. By keeping the idler arm tight and moving exactly the same as the pitman arm the probability of breaking a tie rod or bending a drag link is lower. We can't compete with the major parts manufactures prices or warranty but we won't be the reason you had to end your trip 1500 miles away from home, a lifetime warranty on a part that doesn't last and isn't typically in stock is not really a free replacement if you think about it.
 

jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
Have many folks bent/broke a gen 2/2.5 rear radius/control arm? Anything in the works for longer travel front A-arms/cv axles?
 

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
As for the new towers I've got to order some new shocks and go do an RTI again, I've hit the sweet spot for suspension travel in the rear. We ran it on the Sierra Challenge this year and i must say it was glorious! Definitely made for a lot less tippy moments and better climbs.

You may know that we've been swapping in 4:1 transfer cases from the jeep Rubicon, I've got to buy some new tools but we plan on building crossmember to support this swap and make it a bolt on deal. I'll also make a stock replacement that will allow better clearance at the break over angle because i hate getting hung up on that part.
 

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
Have many folks bent/broke a gen 2/2.5 rear radius/control arm? Anything in the works for longer travel front A-arms/cv axles?

None that i've seen in the rears (excluding rust), the front i'm always playing with. The cost involved in upgrading the CV's to indestructible is what's holding me back. I know how to do it but it will take some time and proper tooling, my grandfather's lathe isn't sophisticated enough to make the parts i need for that. Until then i'll work on strengthening the stock setup so we at least have a go to for reliability, long travel you will probably see a prototype on IncorporatedX's Mighty Max within a year or so.
 

jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
None that i've seen in the rears (excluding rust), the front i'm always playing with. The cost involved in upgrading the CV's to indestructible is what's holding me back. I know how to do it but it will take some time and proper tooling, my grandfather's lathe isn't sophisticated enough to make the parts i need for that. Until then i'll work on strengthening the stock setup so we at least have a go to for reliability, long travel you will probably see a prototype on IncorporatedX's Mighty Max within a year or so.

Has anyone discussed possibilities with RCV to have the shafts made http://www.rcvperformance.com/ifs-axle-form.aspx ? Pricy but may be worth it, as this is the main issue with adding travel to an IFS setup as you are aware.
 
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jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
I know you probably have your hands full with Mitsu stuff, but as an FYI there is no such thing as a front swaybar disconnect for half ton Ram 4x4's like mine, and the OEM sway bar end links are bird poo, and the only aftermarket replacement is both pricey and kind of janky. In case you want to expand to other brands at some point in the future (there are way more Rams on the road than Monteros)

Not to cloud up this thread but here you go https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=dodge+ram+sway+bar+disconnects and https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=homemade+dodge+ram+sway+bar+disconnects
 

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
I know you probably have your hands full with Mitsu stuff, but as an FYI there is no such thing as a front swaybar disconnect for half ton Ram 4x4's like mine, and the OEM sway bar end links are bird poo, and the only aftermarket replacement is both pricey and kind of janky. In case you want to expand to other brands at some point in the future (there are way more Rams on the road than Monteros)

Let's do it man!
 

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
Has anyone discussed possibilities with RCV to have the shafts made? Pricy but may be worth it, as this is the main issue with adding travel to an IFS setup as you are aware.


Yeah, those guys won't even entertain the idea of a direct replacement yet. Basically i will need to machine up the parts myself and then we can buy the joints and shafts from RCV to install.
 

jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
The BDS ones are for 3/4 ton trucks, which are live axle. There is no commercially produced disconnect for the half ton, 4th generation trucks which use IFS. I have also not yet seen a hand-made quick disconnect for them.

I also have been granted access to The Googles ;)

I have an idea for how a quality aftermarket part could be made (with only one bit to fabricate, combined with 4 or 5 parts bin pieces including washers)

Add articulation/travel/flex to your rear axle and a locker to make up for the lack of it in the front.
 

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