Joinin' the Montero Club with a Gen 2.5

[SoCalMonty]

You made a great choice - these trucks are so under-rated it's a joke. The looks on people's faces (especially Jeepers!) when you clear tough sections of trail in the Montero is classic!

You're pretty close to me - I frequent the Death (Panamint) Valley area a lot for off-roading and camping...sometimes Big Bear as well. If you ever want to go wheeling, let me know! Even in stock form, you'll be fine in Panamint Valley and Big Bear with a rear locker.

Welcome!

 

[SoCalMonty]

I wouldn't worry about it. Leave it as is, it will only add character. After a few trips to the sierras you'll be looking like this.

Good ol' desert pinstriping. Some people pay good money for custom graphics!

 

[eengler2]

Looks good without the wood trim. How did you get it off and did you remove it from center console area also?

 

[off-roader]

Looks good without the wood trim. How did you get it off and did you remove it from center console area also?

agreed. You gonna paint the vent valance black also?

 

[jlocster]

eengler2- I used my fingernails and a plastic trim removal tool to scrape the foam tape off...it took awhile. Then I wiped it down with Meguiar's Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner. I left the rest of the wood trim on because it's in better shape.

offroader- Hmmm, hadn't thought about that...I'll probably just leave it alone tho.

 

[shov3lbum]

Agreed, looks much better without the wood trim, never could understand their reasoning for putting fake shiny wood in strips in vehicles...maybe it's an old timer thing? lol. I like the plastic and rubber in my montero sport just fine. oh and welcome to the mitsubishi 4x4 fold, awesome, under rated vehicles, plan to keep mine as long as they keep making spare parts for it!

 

[jlocster]

Ebay to the Rescue

Before


After


Had to use this because the original adhesive had dried out.

 

[jlocster]

Wiring Hell

I decided to add an additional fuse box in the cab to accommodate future upgrades (lighting, CB, etc). So I bought this Blue Sea fuse box (sorry about the reflection). Part# is 5026.


I modded it to allow for two power feeds, one switched and one constant. BTW, I got this idea from a post here.

The original configuration has a single feed with 12 fused circuits at the bottom and a negative bus at the top. This is a view of the back with the rear cover plate removed.


I divided the 12 circuits into two banks of six. The original feed feeds the lower six circuits and the modded negative bus will now be a power feed for the top bank of six circuits. The top feed will be switched on with a relay fed from the "gauge cluster" circuit in the stock Mitsu fuse box using a fuse tap.


Mounted the fuse box to the driver's side kick panel.


Pulled the driver's side fender and ran two 10 gauge feed wires from the battery (8 gauge would've been better but I didn't have any), and 14 gauge wires for the relay and future accessories back into the engine compartment from the fuse box. I also ran coax for a CB at this time.


Tied and wrapped.


Made a mount for 2 40 amp circuit breakers and a 40 amp relay for the switched circuit.


Painted and screwed together. The breakers and relay are generic parts available at any auto parts store.


Mounted and wrapped in the engine compartment.


Finished in the engine compartment.


continued...

 

[jlocster]

Wiring Hell cont.

Fuse box wired up. Had to notch the dead pedal so it would fit.


Finished in the passenger compartment.

 

[jlocster]

CB Install

With the fuse box done I decided to hook up a CB. This one is small, inexpensive and does all the basics.


Also bought a 3ft antenna, spring and mount.


Mounted it under the radio.


Like so.


Next I made a bumper mount for the antenna.


Test fit. FYI, I ran the coax into the passenger compartment at the same time I ran the wiring for the fuse box (see my previous post for pic).


Painted and installed.


Right in front of my face. I may mount the antenna elsewhere in the future if this set up gets annoying on the road.


Continued...

 

[jlocster]

CB Install cont.

Next had to check SWR and tune the antenna. Best I could get was 1.6 on channels 1 and 40.


Finally, I installed the radio/CB. There's a pretty large gap next to the CB, but that will have to wait for another day.

 

[nwoods]

I really enjoy what you are doing with this rig. I am very impressed with your efforts to baseline the mechanical condition of it. I don't know how to do those things, but I just bought a monty with 181k miles and I figure it needs doing! I also like the idea of moving the seat heater switches, but that antenna location....not so much

 

[Imnosaint]

Welcome to ExPo and to the most underrated 4X family in the U.S. You've gone Auzzie on the antenna location, which seems to work well downunder. I'm considering the moving mine when I get my front bumper sorted out. I appreciate the detail both in your writing and your pics and will be emulating your fuse box mod. Good work and inspiration for us all here.

 

[SoCalMonty]

Top notch work. I'm envious!

I like the fuse block! I'd love to do something similar, but I'm not that good with electronics/DC theory. I wanted to do 2 fuse blocks, or split it like yours...one constant 12V, and the other switched.

What would I use (maybe an Amazon link since I don't know all the proper lingo) if I wanted a "junction block" or "distribution block" under the hood, so I don't have to run 3-4 ring terminals to the battery? I wanted to do this first as I've got an electric rad fan that I need to wire up!

 

[jlocster]

Thanks Socal...I am by no means an electrical expert, so take my advice with a grain of salt. Check this link out here. The six circuit fuse box mentioned in the link would better fit in the engine compartment...I found the 12 circuit one I used is a little too big to squeeze in the Montero engine bay comfortably. Six circuits would prob give you plenty of room for your electric fan and other accessories. The resettable circuit breaker used in the linked post is available at most auto parts stores for about $30 and is heavier duty (higher amp rating) than the smaller ones (lower amp rating) I used.

Saint, thanks for the kind words. Just as a point of clarification, the fuse box mod is not my original idea. I copied the method posted here. Its a excellent post with good descriptions, photos and wiring diagrams.