2000 montero plans concerns and problem

[philjherman]

Hello I have a few plans and concerns regarding my 2000 Montero endevour.

First I want to put 32 or 33 inch tires on the vehicle. I am concerned with the loss of power. I cannot afford to regear this vehicle. It has the 3.5 engine. Has anyone fitted 33s?Is the loss of power too much to handle? I do trail riding and don't do too much climbing or crawling unless I have to... Which you always have to do a little bit!

I sometimes tow a small trailer with 2 quads. Right now you cannot really tell you are towing anything.

My second issue is regarding the suspension. I have my eyes on the old man emu set that lifts the vehicle 1.25 inches. This has coil springs, torsion bars and the shocks. My question is if I should purchase the torsion bars or not. I plan to crank the bars to level the vehicle a bit but I have heard of people breaking their torsion bars on other vehicles. Is it safe to crank torsion bars about an inch in a half higher than stock? Should I only do this with brand new ome torsions?

Is there another option compared to the ome suspension that works great for this Monty? Maybe lifting an inch or so?

My last issue is that shifting into 4 wheel high while in drive sometimes is a little difficult and the gears grind a bit occasionally. If I make the switch in neutral it works fine. I am going to change all my fluids but wanted to know if anyone has experienced this.

Thanks everyone.

 

[grandpa]

I have the 10.5 x 33 tires on the stock wheels and suspension with no adjustments. I only noticed a slight decrease in acceleration. I have not pulled a trailer or been in the mountains yet.

 

[philjherman]

Hey ken. Thanks for the reply. I saw your post before I love your rig! With your expertise do you think replacing the muffler and adding a snorkle would compensate for the lost power? Or would that be a wasted effort?

 

[off-roader]

A good friend of mine put 33's on and didnt like the change in performance so he switched to 32's.

On the 2000's you have the 4.2:1 r&p gears. Some have found the power lacking while others have been ok with the power loss.
If you have the tools and know how, you can regear to 4.6:1 using gears from a 94-96 pretty cheaply by buying them from a pick and pull.

Regarding the suspension, if your doing the suspension upgrades simply in anticipation of putting in bigger tires, don't bother. 33's fit without mods to the suspension no matter what the tire places may tell you. You may have to trim the ends of your bumpers so they don't rub on your tires however.

An option to the new springs, you can also install coil spring spacers made for a Toyota Sequoia in your rear suspension. They fit fine and lift the rear 2". If you need more carrying capacity, air bags can be added and inflated/deflated to assist your springs as needed.

For the front, the torsion bars can usually be cranked enough for up to 2" of lift but you do end reducing upward articulation plus you place your CV's at a potentially bad angle which will likely increase their wear and tear. 1.5" is a much safer amount.

Grinding gears when going into 4hi doesn't sound good. How are you shifting into 4hi? Are you following the directions in the owners manual?

 

[philjherman]

Thanks for the info offroader.

I would rather get 32s I think since I pull the trailer sometimes. Problem is all 32s I find are 11.5 wide instead of 10.5. Do you know if these will rub during turns and articulation?

I need to replace my shocks as the bacK end bounces way to much. Would replacing the springs help reduce the bounce or do I only need to replace the shocks? I would only lift the vehicle slightly if I get 33s so that the wheels could articulate without rubbing.

As for the grinding gears I believe I am doing it correctly as I change gears lower than 40 mph and while releasing the gas. I have been shifting in neutral since I heard grinding.. I tend to be overly cautious. I will take it for a ride and see if it happens often or if it was just a human error.

 

[grandpa]

I don't think a snorkel and exhaust will give any noticeable gains in horsepower. A re-gear is the best solution.

I sometimes have a slight grinding when shifting to 4WH while moving. It's better if I shift quickly while coasting.

 

[RttH]

I have a 2000. I went to 32 x 11.5 x15 first and never had any issues with rubbing. I am now at 33x 10.5 and no rubbing. I do have Old man emus heavys on but that only lifted it an inch or so. I cranked the torsion bars just enough to level it out a bit. You should be ok fitting 32 or 33 without any lift. Regarding power...I live in Colorado where long offroad hill climbs would cause my transmission to get hot so I did do a re-gear. If I lived anywhere else I may not have re geared as I was doing fine on the highway, as long as I carried speed. If I was pulling a trailer then I would stay closer to stock. Watch all those Camel trophy Land rovers on 31's (?). They did quite well without lifts and big tires! I have big rocks here so getting my "belly" up was a priority. Good Luck! I should note...my re-gear doesn't affect my highway performance as I only changed my low range...I also do not pull a trailer.

 

[stioc]

Problem is all 32s I find are 11.5 wide instead of 10.5. Do you know if these will rub during turns and articulation?

Not sure what size the wheel is but on a 16" wheel you can get 265/75/16 which is basically a 32" tire (10.6" wide) or 235/85/16 (9.4" wide).

 

[SoCalMonty]

Hello I have a few plans and concerns regarding my 2000 Montero endevour.

First I want to put 32 or 33 inch tires on the vehicle. I am concerned with the loss of power. I cannot afford to regear this vehicle. It has the 3.5 engine. Has anyone fitted 33s?Is the loss of power too much to handle? I do trail riding and don't do too much climbing or crawling unless I have to... Which you always have to do a little bit!

I sometimes tow a small trailer with 2 quads. Right now you cannot really tell you are towing anything.

My second issue is regarding the suspension. I have my eyes on the old man emu set that lifts the vehicle 1.25 inches. This has coil springs, torsion bars and the shocks. My question is if I should purchase the torsion bars or not. I plan to crank the bars to level the vehicle a bit but I have heard of people breaking their torsion bars on other vehicles. Is it safe to crank torsion bars about an inch in a half higher than stock? Should I only do this with brand new ome torsions?

Is there another option compared to the ome suspension that works great for this Monty? Maybe lifting an inch or so?

My last issue is that shifting into 4 wheel high while in drive sometimes is a little difficult and the gears grind a bit occasionally. If I make the switch in neutral it works fine. I am going to change all my fluids but wanted to know if anyone has experienced this.

Thanks everyone.

Looks like you've already been helped...I was slow at the draw!

32-33" and 11.5-12.5" fit fine. With NO lift, at full lock with some articulation in the suspension, the 11.5 and 12.5" width may rub a smidge. With my last Montero, which had cranked T-bars (about 1.5" in front) and about 2" lift in the rear from aftermarket coils, there was ZERO rub at full flex with 32x11.5's.

One thing on T-bars, however...I've now had one truck with stock/cranked T-bars, and another with aftermarket/cranked T-bars. Both providing the same amount of "lift." When you crank the stock T-bars, the front end's spring rate will become "bouncy" compared to the rear. With these aftermarket bars, however, I've noticed the front end it nearly as "cushy" as the rear. It's a lot nicer.

You asked for alternatives to OME...I bought the Ironman kit @ Camel 4x4. T-bars and rear coils (1.6" advertised lift) were about $400 shipped. You can also opt for a body lift, from 4Crawler (.com). It will run you about $140 shipped, depending on options (available in 1, 2, or 3").

As Off Roader mentioned, your gears are 4.2's. I had an XJ Cherokee on 33's, which have a 3.55:1 ratio. You could certainly feel the difference, especially in the wallet from the 10-11mpg it returned after going with those tires. Yours shouldn't be quite as bad if you leave the gears stock, and indeed most Montero guys do leave them stock. But, as mentioned, it's easy to regear to the 4.63's of the Gen2's IIRC. I would do your tires first, and then decide if you feel the need to regear.

And let me kill this now, as engine tuning is my forte - no, an aftermarket intake/exhaust will NOT add much (if any) noticeable power...certainly not enough to compensate for the change in circumference between stock tires and 33's to make it feel "stock" again. If you're just changing the muffler, you *might* see as much as 5 peak hp, if you're winding out the engine high enough to net the gain. But hey...it'll *sound* fast! Most mods to a normally aspirated engine's airflow will add gains that are seen in the mid/high RPM range, where you likely won't ever spend any time in an automatic SUV...and usually at the expense of low end torque, which means it could potentially feel slower than before!

I'd check to see if your Xfer case fluid is low or dirty. Good luck!

 

[philjherman]

Thanks roger I am in arizona, a bit lower but rocky too. I would probably have to regear at 33s. I think for now I will look into 32 or even 31 inch tires. Did you regear when you got the 33s or when you had 32s?

Stioc I always forget about metric tires I will look into them but I do want to keep the stock rims.

I really do like what I hear about ome suspension. Does anyone know if stock torsion bars at 97000 miles should be replaced before lifting them an inch and a half?

 

[philjherman]

That's how it is today. I will be taking off the running boards and replacing them with rock sliders eventually. Even though i wont plan on sliding on any rocks i would rather be prepared for when it happens. Especially if i go with smaller tires.

 

[philjherman]

Thanks socal that's all very useful and good info. What size shocks did you use with those coils and bars?

 

[SoCalMonty]

The shocks are probably stock replacements (KYB's...they were on it when I bought it). I'd go with 32's at least...my 31's are just too small, especially after the lift. FYI, 31's are a factory stock-sized tire (they were a factory option, and they are listed in my owners manual as one of the stock-sized tires). Tires are the only thing that will give your differential more ground clearance, so for that reason, I'd recommend 33's...every little bit counts, as smashing your pumpkin open would ruin your day!

 

[philjherman]

That's true. What are your thoughts on towing a trailer with two quads on 33s? Think it would be unbarable or doable? id rather have 33s but I think 32s are the way to go because of that.

 

[SoCalMonty]

That's true. What are your thoughts on towing a trailer with two quads on 33s? Think it would be unbarable or doable? id rather have 33s but I think 32s are the way to go because of that.

A ring and pinion together is $60 + $10 core at the local yards for me.

I guess I would say...if you're gonna re-gear before you wear out your next set of tires, I'd go with the 33's. If you're keeping the stock gears, go with the 32's.