1992 Montero - Already built, build thread!

[ca18_sean]

I sent the seller on ebay a note several days ago about the general running condition of the engine. He would only state that all the parts that appear in the photos are included and could not make any mention if it is complete or runs. It is sold as is.

Unfortunately that's the common answer with these JDM importers. Like I said, I ordered a Nissan SR20DET from them and it was mostly complete and in good shape. But they won't usually take responsibility if it's missing parts. It appears to have all the essentials to make it run.

I'd be more inclined to go for the 4M40T over the 4D56 if i were you and you had the choice. I found the 2.5L a small bit underpowered compared to the the 2.8L. And the 2.5 is quite low geared for cruising,at 60mph it will be doing around 3000RPM which is high for a diesel,and ends up being thirsty if cruising for long periods of time.

Only thing is with yours being the 3.0 version it won't be that simple to put the 2.8 into it,the bellhousing on the back of the engine is quite big,which is why the 2.8 models have a slight factory body lift.

A good thing to know is both the 2.5 and the 2.8 diesels are very tuneable with little effort,and it can make a big difference to the power

Good info, thanks for the advice! I'll keep an eye out for a 4M40T. Think the bellhousing would fit with a little "massaging" with a hammer? I'd like to stay away from body lifts as I already have my front and rear steel bumpers and winch and I'd rather not have to relocate all of that.

 

[off-roader]

And the 2.5 is quite low geared for cruisin

That's would be fine by me. I'd just throw bigger tires on her. Besides iirc, the td's come with 4.9:1 r&r gears instead of the SR's 4.63:1 gears. So with an engine transplant his gear ratio wouldn't be the same and his rpm would be a tad less.

of course if he builds it for overlanding using smaller tires it could be an issue.

 

[ca18_sean]

It has nearly new 33's on it, so I don't plan on changing tires in the near future. Plus there's not a ton of rock crawling venues in Florida! I will be using it mostly for trips up to Georgia and North Carolina and maybe some camping in the Everglades and the Keys.

 

[ca18_sean]

Need a little help finding a part that's bugging me... the center console ashtray. Lol.

The one I'm missing looks like this (brown):

I can't find it on any of the Mitsubishi dealer diagrams?

http://www.oemmitsubishiparts.com/p...teid=214331&vehicleid=1207741&diagram=6280311

Anyone have a part #? Or better yet, anyone have a parts truck with one they'd like to sell?

 

[eengler2]

Any progress on matching the body color green for your molding?

 

[ca18_sean]

Any progress on matching the body color green for your molding?

The sample from Durabak wasn't close at all... so not really. I kind of gave up on that for now.

Just been working on maintenance things. Did brake pads/rotors, repacked the front hubs, ball joints, bushings, steering damper, alignment and balance, all new fluids, and a few other things last weekend. It drives like a new truck! I got a new Idle Air Control stepper motor, tensioner pulleys, and fuel filter to install this weekend.

It's having a slight stalling issue. It dies at probably 1 out of every 50 stoplights... Always fires right back up, so I'm pretty sure it's just the idle air motor. I'm getting ready to take it on a 1500 mile road trip up to North Carolina to do some snowboarding, so I'm making sure it's 100% good to go

 

[ca18_sean]

It's having a slight stalling issue. It dies at probably 1 out of every 50 stoplights... Always fires right back up, so I'm pretty sure it's just the idle air motor. I'm getting ready to take it on a 1500 mile road trip up to North Carolina to do some snowboarding, so I'm making sure it's 100% good to go

Ok. So I replaced the idle stepper motor with a brand new one. Ordered a Beck/Arnley part from Rock Auto and it showed up in a Mitsubishi box. So it's an OEM stepper motor. Replaced the fuel filter. Replaced the air filter. Replaced the o2 sensor. Replaced the catalytic converter...

The truck STILL dies randomly. It does it without warning. I'll just be sitting at a stop light, go to hit the gas and look down to see the truck shut off while idling. HELP!

 

[grandpa]

I had a similar problem with the engine trying to die at a stop. My problem was that the timing belt needed to be replaced. After replacing the timing belt the problem went away. The thought was the old belt was stretched enough to cause the timing to change when the rpms dropped. When was your timing belt replaced?

 

[ca18_sean]

That's an interesting idea... hmm. It doesn't do it regularly. Probably only 1 in ever 100 stoplights now that I've changed out all those parts. The rest of the time it idles rock solid and smooth. Like I said, I don't even usually realize the engine is off until I go to hit the gas to leave the light.

I wanna say he replaced it at 140k, and I'm at 166k now. But I really can't remember. He may have said 120k. Timing belt/water pump is on my to-do list because it's definitely getting old, even if there haven't been enough miles to require a change.

 

[Monterorider]

Ok. So I replaced the idle stepper motor with a brand new one. Ordered a Beck/Arnley part from Rock Auto and it showed up in a Mitsubishi box. So it's an OEM stepper motor. Replaced the fuel filter. Replaced the air filter. Replaced the o2 sensor. Replaced the catalytic converter...

The truck STILL dies randomly. It does it without warning. I'll just be sitting at a stop light, go to hit the gas and look down to see the truck shut off while idling. HELP!

Shoot. That's a lot of parts to replace. IMHO None of those would really cause those symptoms. Mostly likely you are running too lean.
I'd still look carefully at stepper motor. At some point many many moons ago back in KC it started to die on me regularly. I replaced stepper motor at that point. It mostly fixed it but would still die occasionally though still had unstable idle. It proved to be mangled O-ring between stepper motor and throttle body. I managed to jam it. Check yours! Did you get a new one with replacement servo? You can get a matching one at NAPA or some other store. Some people recommend cleaning throttle body but I think it's voodou.

Another possibility is pressure sensor on steering pump. There should be a wire connected to steering pump. It's easy to disconnect when working on engine. It is supposed to increase RPM during idle if you turn steering wheel even lightly otherwise it could stall the engine.

Timing belt/water pump was done around 120-125k 10+ years ago. It's been awhile but I doubt it's the reason either.

 

[ca18_sean]

Shoot. That's a lot of parts to replace. IMHO None of those would really cause those symptoms. Mostly likely you are running too lean.
I'd still look carefully at stepper motor. At some point many many moons ago back in KC it started to die on me regularly. I replaced stepper motor at that point. It mostly fixed it but would still die occasionally though still had unstable idle. It proved to be mangled O-ring between stepper motor and throttle body. I managed to jam it. Check yours! Did you get a new one with replacement servo? You can get a matching one at NAPA or some other store. Some people recommend cleaning throttle body but I think it's voodou.

Another possibility is pressure sensor on steering pump. There should be a wire connected to steering pump. It's easy to disconnect when working on engine. It is supposed to increase RPM during idle if you turn steering wheel even lightly otherwise it could stall the engine.

Timing belt/water pump was done around 120-125k 10+ years ago. It's been awhile but I doubt it's the reason either.

I figured with over 150k on the clock and 20 years under it's belt it was time to replace most of those parts! Other than the stalling issue, it's running like a champ! I will pull the stepper motor out and check the o-ring. It came with a new one, but I may have installed it incorrectly... always a possibility! Throttle body cleaning is relatively easy to do, just need to get a fresh gasket for it, although I agree I think it's voodoo most of the time.

I haven't really done much to the front of the motor, but I'll double-check the pressure sensor on the p/s pump. Timing belt/water pump are on my to-do list, but with no leaks and under the required mileage it's not hot on my plate. The A/C compressor is making nasty noises, so with Florida summer coming up I ordered a replacement compressor, dryer, and receiver.

Ok, back to the build part of this thread! I need a little help choosing wheel size/offset. I'd like to get a matching set of 5 steel wheels. The options I've found are 16x7 with 4 inch backspacing (+0 offset) and 16x8 with 4 inch backspacing (-12 offset). I understand the stock size is 16x7 (+10 offset), so the 16x7's would be nearly identical to stock. However even the -12 ones will only be ~1.3 inches farther out (35mm). I'm leaning towards the 16x7's, but the 16x8's might fit my 285/75R16 tires better?

Thoughts/opinions?

I'm also going to be repainting the bumpers and my new sliders/roof rack I'm building with black monstaliner. I just re-did the deck of my boat with tan monstaliner this weekend and it looks AWESOME. I'll take pics as I go along

 

[eurosonic]

I say got with a 16x8, with a negative offset. That will give you an option to upgrade to a wider tire in the future.

Here is mine with a 16x8 0-offset. Im looking forward to switch over to a -20 offset.

 

[off-roader]

Ok, back to the build part of this thread! I need a little help choosing wheel size/offset. I'd like to get a matching set of 5 steel wheels. The options I've found are 16x7 with 4 inch backspacing (+0 offset) and 16x8 with 4 inch backspacing (-12 offset). I understand the stock size is 16x7 (+10 offset), so the 16x7's would be nearly identical to stock. However even the -12 ones will only be ~1.3 inches farther out (35mm). I'm leaning towards the 16x7's, but the 16x8's might fit my 285/75R16 tires better?

I think you have the offset figures backwards. 4" of backspacing on 8" wide rims is 0mm offset and on 7' rims is -12mm offset.

Both will likely fit fine and it may be tough to tell the difference visually.

Also, 7' rims will make it difficult to go beyond a 10" wide tire or so. If you're going after the safari look that may be ok but if you ever decide to upgrade tires to a wider width for better protection/floatation/traction, you may have to upgrade your rims as well.

HTH.

 

[ca18_sean]

I think you have the offset figures backwards. 4" of backspacing on 8" wide rims is 0mm offset and on 7' rims is -12mm offset.

Both will likely fit fine and it may be tough to tell the difference visually.

Also, 7' rims will make it difficult to go beyond a 10" wide tire or so. If you're going after the safari look that may be ok but if you ever decide to upgrade tires to a wider width for better protection/floatation/traction, you may have to upgrade your rims as well.

HTH.

I've been wrong before, but not usually with wheel fitment... lol. I come from a world of ridiculously lowered cars and mm's to spare on clearance Previous cars:

Anyways, this is the chart I've used in the past. The conversion from offset to backspacing isn't quite as simple as 4 inch backspacing on an 8 inch wheel is zero. I don't fully understand how they do the conversion, but the table makes it easy.

And this is a nifty offset calculator to play around with different width/offset/clearance numbers. I wish it gave you the option of backspacing because that seems to be the standard for off-road wheels, but with the chart and this calculator you can pretty easily calculate everything out.

http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Wheel-Offset-Calculator

I'm a big fan of the safari skinny tire look, and I think it gives the truck much better road-going characteristics as well! But you're right, it does limit my tire choice in the future if I decide to go wider for whatever reason... hmmm. Decisions decisions... Lol.

 

[ca18_sean]

I say got with a 16x8, with a negative offset. That will give you an option to upgrade to a wider tire in the future.

Here is mine with a 16x8 0-offset. Im looking forward to switch over to a -20 offset.

Man I love your truck! Thanks for a pic to show how an 8 inch wide 0 offset wheel fits Anyone else with pics and wheel specs is welcome to post! I searched a similar question on 4x4wire and found some interesting discussion about width and offset but most of the pic links are dead...