Gen 1 front suspension upgrade guidance needed

['round n' back again]

91 is factory, and is worn.

will be going to remove parts from a 95 SR.
as concerns the front suspension:

i am tempted to take everything;

uca lca hub (rotor, caliper)etc
half shafts
and possibly torsion bars if i can get them loose in back.
then swap that whole mess onto the 91.


here is a quote from 4x4 wire i'm curious why he used mixed control arms:

"I also picked up the 8" front from a rig in Vancouver. My front is back together. I'll have to do a writeup sometime. It's got:
- 95 SR LCAs and hubs and brakes & CV shafts
- 91 8" front diff & front driveshaft (yes, it's about 1-2 inches shorter per what I've seen on other posts)
- 97 Sport UCAs"


ill need brake master and likely booster too.
take the air compressor for giggles.
im taking the rear axle but only want the trailing arms. i like my LSD in back. it may be that discs will swap over without too much trouble onto the earlier axle.
but my drums set up properly should be ok with me.

What else should i get.

Did i make inaccurate assumptions about what will fit my earlier model?

in my research i see guys have done a mix-and-match of uca lca, and i'm going to use all from one year.
will this work?
help me out here
thanks in advance.

1991 montero lwb v6, auto, 31 tires, all original as concerns the suspension.
chrysler 3.0 and lots a cool little mods. on the rig.

 

[Toasty]

You want all the parts for the best results, you can run the bigger master cylinder on your stock booster as well. grab the steering, you won't need the steering gear but if you swap the steering gear also swap the Gen 2 idler arm for proper geometry.
The mix and match UCA thing is simple, the Montero Sport and Gen 2 have basically the same UCA except that the bracket for mounting the brake line is different. The other guy probably grabbed based on condition. Just be careful because the brake hose in a sport bracket tends to stretch the brake line at the end of it's travel and can break an old dry rotted line. just reuse the bolt on brackets from your original setup.

^ Also you have a legit Mitsu 3.0 in your truck. Even if you scabbed together a motor from a Chrysler it's just a cheaper built Mitsubishi engine but still a Mitsu. For future reference

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

the reason for only grabbing the upper is to get the bolt on ball joint, gen 1 is press in, gen 2 is bolt on. you have to shim the upper control arm inboard though or you'll have super positive camber.

 

['round n' back again]

thx for this.

if i use uca/ lca then i can use steering knuckle too and half shafts too right?


im going to move everything over from one rig to the other guts, feathers and all. if you say it will fit.
rebuild it on shop floor, and have a full day of fun putting it in.
i have now the gen 2 idler.
i put the chrysler/mitsu in. i used the chrysler cams, with mitsu ecu. timed by vacuum. havent timed it properly yet
i have braided brake lines/ one piece so bracketry is a thing of the past

the thing is; i got this as a derelict rig headed to the scrap yard. i had never driven it until after the new engine and buckets full of mods done to it.i did months of work not really knowing anything about a montero. i really like it. i like how narrow it is. a plus for weaving between trees in my neighborhood

suspension, a lunchbox locker and a suburu hood scoop and ill be baja bound!
thx

 

['round n' back again]

the reason for only grabbing the upper is to get the bolt on ball joint, gen 1 is press in, gen 2 is bolt on. you have to shim the upper control arm inboard though or you'll have super positive camber.

any idea roughly how much shimming; a starting point for shimming?

 

[plh]

You shouldn't need to shim too much if you also swap in the LCAs.

 

['round n' back again]

ok thx

 

[Toasty]

Put on what you take off side for side from the donor. Mitsu's are very precise and it should be pretty exact. Carefull on the UCA shaft rotation, one side is offset and from the factory they have OUT cast in them but I have gotten trucks that have never been apart with the out side rotated in on the older Monteros (92-93). If there is a camber issue start there though, that's a quick fix and you don't want more than 2 shims per side if possible.

 

[Oso]

Nice find! The torsion bars from a 95 will not fit. They're too long.

 

['round n' back again]

thx guys.
what year did the longer torsion bars come out?

 

['round n' back again]

and
will my part time hub locks fit the gen 2 hub?

 

[jaccox23]

Manual hubs are the same for the monteros from 84-00, so you should be gravy there.

 

['round n' back again]

bumping this fantastic information from the guys

in this region portland -seattle, the gen1s are getting snapped up very quickly off of craigslist.


meaning..there will soon be renewed interest in this information.



ALSO: curious, what do i tell the alignment shop about the year make and model?
do i go with gen2 specs cause its gen 2 stuff under?
or gen 1 spec. cause its a gen1 car obviously??

 

[chadzeilenga]

Hey R&B,
Any updates your progress? I’m looking to do the same


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Montynv]

I to am interested in doing this in the future. My question is that I have a manual trans, what do I do for half shafts?