gen 1 and maybe gen 2 front diff mounts and musings.

['round n' back again]

tonite i crawled under my gen 1, and i looked for the first time at the job ahead. as i am replacing the entire front end of my gen 1.
the diff mounts differently bewtteen the two generations of monteros. the arms out front on my gen 1 are different than the gen 2 ; i had been warned about this.

but looking at things i see a possibility.

the gen 2 radiator is 2 inches deeper than the gen 1. now with a third row and 2 more inches i could greatly increase capacity. good thing.
the arm mount pads currently are in the way of installing a gen 2 radiator

WHAT IF: i were to flip the arms so they came under the steering rod and attached them not to the original pad but to the bolt holding the front lower control arm bushing in?

the advantages are as follows.

clearance obviously for the gen 2 radiator on a gen 1.
turning the flange of the diff arm downward.

because

it is the mounting flange now for additional protection for the steering rod during aggressive off road activity.

steel plate can be attached to both arms on its flanges, and span the distance between the frame rails