Eurosonic's Montero 2.5Gen Build Thread

[mrwizard]

Thanks, this forum is a great resource for mods.
Not all 2.5gen's come with rear locker. Look out for a winter package, it should have a rear locker. The switch is next to the 12v plug below the stereo. Good luck on getting that 98, hopefully its what you want. Those are kind of hard to come by.

Yeah, I've been sitting on my hands for awhile now. This one came up awhile ago and the guy wasn't keen on negotiating the price for a few weeks. On a whim I gave him a jingle and asked if he still had it and would consider an offer. He was super open and dropped the price $600 just over the phone. He lives way out of the way for most people and hasn't had a single person come out to look at it. I'm hopeful to snag it this Saturday if everything works out.

Thanks for the input on the winter package. That's what I thought. If I don't get the pictures tonight, I'll give him a call tomorrow.

{End Thread Hijack}

 

[eurosonic]

Over the weekend went for a drive over the Strawberry Pass then camp at Utica Reservoir,

check out the pics and write up here>>> http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...climb-over-Strawberry-Pass-CA-(picture-heavy)

 

[RttH]

Great pics and write up! My transmission would get too hot so I ended up installing lower (low range) gears. This fixed the issue, although expensive. your truck even looks similar to mine.

 

[mrwizard]

Great looking trip. I get my hands on our '98 tomorrow afternoon. How difficult would it be to put an aftermarket tranny cooler on? Do these have them stock either integrated with the radiator or stand alone? If so, are they undersized and would an aftermarket one help? Seems like that would be something to fix straight away to prolong the life of the trannies on these.

 

[Monterorider]

Stock cooler is really nice, large, separate unit. Running large tires with stock 4.272 R&P this is a known issue. Installing 4.9 R&P solves all those problems. Lower low range definitely good but doesn't help on hwy

 

[eurosonic]

Where can I find 4.9 r&p gears, or at least anything lower than my current setup?

 

[off-roader]

Stock cooler is really nice, large, separate unit. Running large tires with stock 4.272 R&P this is a known issue. Installing 4.9 R&P solves all those problems. Lower low range definitely good but doesn't help on hwy

Yup... for some the acceleration & power are just not enough with say a 33-35" tire. Lower gearing fixes that by getting you back into the correct rpm range for the engine's power/torque curve.:sombrero:

That said, if you're fine with the performance of the larger tires w/out the replacement gears, then you don't necessarily need to change them to a lower ratio gear set.

 

[eurosonic]

Yup... for some the acceleration & power are just not enough with say a 33-35" tire. Lower gearing fixes that by getting you back into the correct rpm range for the engine's power/torque curve.:sombrero:

That said, if you're fine with the performance of the larger tires w/out the replacement gears, then you don't necessarily need to change them to a lower ratio gear set.

Since I got the 33s, the truck really felt more sluggish in acceleration and overall performance. Especially when Im loaded with all the camping gear. After a recent trip to the mountains I really need to look into the lower gears. I had to stop 3-4 times because the A/T light was coming on.

The other day I drove my buddies 95 SR, it was so much quicker in acceleration, felt like a completely different truck.

 

[Monterorider]

Mitsu dealer with luck they usually don't stock it. Or junk yard Montero XLS 01-02 or Montero Sport with 3.5L 2001+. Although swapping used R&P could sometimes be an issue. Upfront you can just swap diff case in rear Sport diff case will work but you will have to swap locker internals.

 

[off-roader]

Since I got the 33s, the truck really felt more sluggish in acceleration and overall performance. Especially when Im loaded with all the camping gear. After a recent trip to the mountains I really need to look into the lower gears. I had to stop 3-4 times because the A/T light was coming on.

The other day I drove my buddies 95 SR, it was so much quicker in acceleration, felt like a completely different truck.

Have you flushed your radiator fluid and checked your cooling system out? With mine I don't have cooling issues on the AT unless I'm going less than 25mph on off road uphill climbs regardless of outside temps and being loaded down for a trip (keep in mind I have not fan shroud currently).

That said, I am actively focused on reducing weight and anytime I can reduce the weight of gear I'm carrying, I do.
EX. No cast iron cook-wear, lighter weight aluminum pans, plastic tubs instead of a wood drawer system underneath my sleeping platform, etc.

 

[eurosonic]

Have you flushed your radiator fluid and checked your cooling system out? With mine I don't have cooling issues on the AT unless I'm going less than 25mph on off road uphill climbs regardless of outside temps and being loaded down for a trip (keep in mind I have not fan shroud currently).

That said, I am actively focused on reducing weight and anytime I can reduce the weight of gear I'm carrying, I do.
EX. No cast iron cook-wear, lighter weight aluminum pans, plastic tubs instead of a wood drawer system underneath my sleeping platform, etc.

Yea, I flushed the entire system bout a month ago. My AT light comes on when I was going rocky uphill for about an hour at avg of speed of 2-5 mph or whenever crawlin. When over 20 mph, I'm ok.

 

[off-roader]

Yea, I flushed the entire system bout a month ago. My AT light comes on when I was going rocky uphill for about an hour at avg of speed of 2-5 mph or whenever crawlin. When over 20 mph, I'm ok.

That's quite common then and simply upgrading to 4.6x gears won't solve it. The main problem is, you're simply not pushing enough air through the radiator to cool the transmission fluid. You can alleviate it by adding a switched ground to your AC cooling fan to allow you to turn it on in these situations. This works well for most owners.

HTH.

 

[eurosonic]

Good point, I might as well try that.

As far as lower gears, I think it would definitely let the transmission and engine run a bit more efficient.

 

[Monterorider]

My 92 has 4.875. I've never seen temp light come on off-roading. The only time it showed up was towing 5000lb trailer (my Frontier on u-haul transporter) up steep mountain pass on I-40 when you enter Appalachian mountains. Very long grade, steep ascend. I've seen few people have similar issue with Gen 2.5s those in Colorado in particular. All were alleviated with 4.9 gears.

 

[off-roader]

My 92 has 4.875. I've never seen temp light come on off-roading. The only time it showed up was towing 5000lb trailer (my Frontier on u-haul transporter) up steep mountain pass on I-40 when you enter Appalachian mountains. Very long grade, steep ascend. I've seen few people have similar issue with Gen 2.5s those in Colorado in particular. All were alleviated with 4.9 gears.

Those 4.90's help avoid it tremendously.

The outside temps and type of wheeling have a lot to do with it. For example, in the winter, it rarely happens if at all but in +90* summer weather and crawling off road or going up inclines at slow speeds it's definitely more common. I'll check with CAP510 if it happens on his rig w/ 37's and 3.15:1/4.9:1 gears (x-case/r&p).