4M40 2.8TD and solid front axle into GEN1 Montero

[roaming knome]

Greeting all,

I have decided to start a thread here on my 1989 v6 LWB gen1 Montero. I got a hold of a 4M40 2.8TD engine, trans, and harness from a 1995 Delica Spacegear van for a great price. I also have a set of 80 series Toyota Landcruiser axles that I plan to use. Since the both axles are passenger side drop I thought I would use both instead of cutting and flipping knuckle balls and or fabricating or trying to locate a rare adapter plate to fit a different T-case.
The plan is to build a capable vehicle for long expeditions, fun off-road excursions, and camping trips. I do understand this vehicle has the aerodynamics of a brick so I'm not expecting unimaginable MPG's, however the plan is to end up with an efficient, reliable, and durable vehicle.
I will drive it around town for running errands like I do now but will not be my DD, I usually get around town and commute to work on bike as most everything is within 10-15 miles away and this is also my way to save money to fund this project.
I am constantly reaching new challenges with this project and has been fun to say the least but it is also not nearly done. I'm constantly coming up with new ideas and or researching to come up with new ideas or to find a solution to the challenges that I face along the way.
I have already learned so much from this and other great forums and hope others can use ideas, share, or learn something from this thread.

I will keep this thread updated and post as many photos as I can.



Here are a couple photos of my Montero. As it sits, only modifications are FJ steel wheels with 245/75R17 hankook RF10 tires, and a very heavy steel tube basket rack I picked up at a garage sale! It has served me well but recently sold it as it was rusting and was heavy as hell.

 

[roaming knome]

Here are the 80 series LC axles. They are equipped with the elockers as well with stock 4:10 gears.

 

[roaming knome]

4M40 2.8TD out of a 1995 Delica L400 with 62,000 km on the odometer.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

How are you going to get around the driver side drop setup of the stock transfer case?

 

[plh]

How are you going to get around the driver side drop setup of the stock transfer case?

Oh yea, that is going to be a BIG issue. You should just sell that 4M40 to me ;-)

 

[Toasty]

Dana 300 is a passenger side drop T-case you could use but you'll need a bodylift and a hole cut in your floor to clear it. If you could find a 23 spline righty NV231/241 you'd be in business

 

[roaming knome]

passenger side drop detour

How are you going to get around the driver side drop setup of the stock transfer case?

The transmission that comes in the L400 is an Aisin Warner AW30-40LE electronic controlled unit, and as you mentioned has a driverside drop t-case. With Aisin Warner producing most of Toyotas transmissions in the mid 90s why not use the LC transmission? It is also an Aisin Warner (AW30-43E)electronic controlled unit with a center difflock as well. With patients I managed to find one for a reasonable price with decent mileage. The Toyota trans is from a 1996 LC that I am going to try to use the L400 stand alone TCU, it plugs right in. Both transmissions bellhousings swap and the torque converters have the same spline count and swap right over as well. In other words it bolts right up! If all goes as planned I will have independently locking front, center, and rear diffs as well as a shifting and functioning trans. But I know it's not going to be this easy. I WILL have some tricky electrical to work out.

The option Sneakyninja posted was an option, but though if I could get this to work it would be different and parts would be much easier to find and available. we shall see how it goes!

The L400 transmission

The Toyota LC A343F transmission.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Now I'm intrigued! There are likely more options for transfer case gearing in the LC transfer case than the Montero case, wheels are turning.

 

[Toasty]

I just picked up a 2WD Toyota Hiace automatic and it has it's front pump swapped out to the Mitsu V6 pump, I plan to buy the prerunner adapter to bolt up the Yota gear case with my 3.5 V6 in front.

The Yota Aisin trans is really similar, the mainshaft is different...

 

[roaming knome]

I just picked up a 2WD Toyota Hiace automatic and it has it's front pump swapped out to the Mitsu V6 pump, I plan to buy the prerunner adapter to bolt up the Yota gear case with my 3.5 V6 in front.

The Yota Aisin trans is really similar, the mainshaft is different...

That is interesting. Are you speaking of the main input shaft the one that enters the the torque converter? I measured both the L400 AW30-40LE and the LC80 AW30-43E and they seemed to be identical. I also of course still have the 3.0L V6 6G72 trans thats in my Montero now, I believe it's the KM148? If I need to swap pumps from either I have the parts.

You can see the difference in size between the Mitsubishi L400 AW30-40LE and the Toyota LC80 AW30-43E Bell housings and torque converters. The smaller of the 2 belongs to Mitsubishi and the larger Toyota.

 

[roaming knome]

4M40 teardown.

The JDM engine/trans combo I bought was claimed to be a low mileage motor. Before I made the purchase I did a lot research on suppliers, cost, and shipping. This took probably the most time but since this was the first time doing this I wanted to make sure that i did it right, even though I got a good deal it is still my money that I had to work hard for.I requested that I see the vehicle it was going to be pulled from and a short video of it running so that I knew what I was buying. The seller with no hesitation obliged and sent me what I asked the very next day. I then proceeded and made the purchase without a problem and a few weeks later I had the goods!
Externally it all looked good but I figured while it's out why not clean it up and do some preventative maintenance? I did just that and to my surprise it looked clean with your normal wear and tear, no gremlins inside! Pistons, bearings and surfaces were all within tolerance and no excessive warping on the deack or head.

I wish that I would have taken more photos of the teardown and reassembly but out of excitement I just wanted to get it back together and listen to it run! When completed I did do a test run and it is surprisingly smooth and sounds great!

 

[96Delica]

That's a lovely engine you've got there!!!

 

[roaming knome]

That's a lovely engine you've got there!!!

It really is, I am very excited to get the thing in! I painted it beige so that any leaks will be easier to detect should one or many appear. I hoping not for a very long time otherwise I will be forced to question my own handy work.

 

[96Delica]

I just rolled over to 210,000km. It uses a slight bit of oil and leaks a little out of the cap. Maybe a half litre between changes, maybe. I've blanked the EGR, 2" straight pipe (slight baffle) right from the turbo, and have turbo timer, EGT gauge, oil pressure and boost gauges. Starting in the winter can be rough obviously but other than that she purrs like a kitten. I get average 12L/100km mixed driving with 31" tires and NO roof basket!

I know you didn't ask, but there's my input on the 4m40!

How is it going to be geared? I can cruise at 110kph comfortably, but any more than that it starts to suck down fuel.

 

[Toasty]

The output shaft that connects to your T-case was what I was referring to, the toy 23 spline and mitsu 23 spline are different. There's a good writeup on swapping those parts on the TLC forum somewhere about swapping a Mitsu 4D34 into an 80 series.