Se7en62's '99 Montero Gen 2.5 Overland Build & Adventures

[Se7en62]

Everything has arrived, so hopefully I'll get the CV's, UCA's, TRE's, and LBJ's done this weekend. - The 'attic' net came in and turned out to work perfectly.

 

[brad2274]

Link to the net you used? i got one on amazon but its too weak to support like anything lol

 

[Se7en62]

Link to the net you used? i got one on amazon but its too weak to support like anything lol

Yeah, it's the 16" x 32" from Powertyte.

 

[raysobi]

I love reading your thread along with many others, keep them coming!

 

[MummifiedCircuitry]

Any pics of the cargo net loaded up? Wondering how much it sags.

 

[Se7en62]

Any pics of the cargo net loaded up? Wondering how much it sags.

Yeah, the image above shows the cargo net. It doesn't sag at all and is pulled tight, extending from just behind the front head-rests all the way to the middle of the cargo area. - Last night i did install the SafariStraps cargo divider and will post pics of it shortly. My weekend of wrenching was hijacked by my wife's plans to buy new furniture, so Saturday was spent visiting 10 different furniture stores in search of the right couch.

 

[Se7en62]

Yesterday, I picked up the steel for this weekend's fabrication. My buddy and I are going to build a full-length roof rack measuring about 96"x50" and using (8) Surco GM100 5.5" Gutter Mounts. The dynamic-load requirements for this rack are to provide a stable platform for our CVT Mt. Shasta RTT, which weights about 170 lbs, a pair of loaded Pelican iM2700's around 20 lbs each, and some misc. items like recovery boards and lights; I'm guessing a total of about 265 lbs. The static-load when we're camping will increase to 600 lbs with my wife and I inside the tent with a backpack.

Below is the list of materials I bought (UPDATED w/ WHAT WE USED 5/12/18):

• 8 Surco GM100 5-1/2" Gutter Mounts - Weight: 2 lbs
• (2 @ 21") 3" x 1" 11ga (0.120") Rectangle Tube - Weight: 6 lbs/ea. = 12 lbs
• (2 @ 96") 2" x 1" 11ga (0.120") Rectangle Tube - Weight: 18 lbs/ea. = 36 lbs
• (1 @ 48") 1" OD (0.083") CREW Round Tube - Weight: 0.8 lbs/ft. = 3.25 lbs
• (8 @ 48") 1" x 1" 14ga (0.083") Square Tube - Weight: 4.12 lbs/ea. = 32.9 lbs
• (2 @ 48") 1" x 1" 11ga (0.120") Square Tube - Weight: 5.7 lbs/ea. = 11.4 lbs
• (2 @ 8" x 24") 3/4" 9ga Extruded Steel - Weight: 0.5 lbs/ea. = 1.0 lb
• Total Weight: 98.5 lbs + Welding Wire

I'll revise this list with what was used, as I DO NOT expect this rack to end up weighing over 100 lbs. I had actually incorrectly ordered the first time, then kept some of that order as well as the new material for the revised design/order. I'm moving forward with a target weight of under 90 lbs*.

 

[Se7en62]

We finished the fabrication of the roof rack Saturday. It's final measurements are 96" (L) x 50" (W) and based on a metals calculator it weighs around 98.5 lbs. There's dedicated space for my CVT Mt. Shasta Extended RTT which is 54" (L) x 48 (W), recovery boards, two Pelican iM2700 cases, and water storage. We also used some round tubing in the rear to use as awning mounts using some Rhino Rack parts. The side awning will be secured with a couple pieces of 3"x3"3/4" angle iron, cut into 1" strips. Now I need to take it down, prep it for paint, drill a couple holes to mount the Pelican's, and paint it. Then it'll be finished.

We used a couple 'templates' of 1x1 tack-welded to a pair of the mounts to check outside diameter of each gutter-mounted crossbar.

Then we mounted the side-bars and adjusted the height of the gutter-mounts 2 and 3.

Once we knew everything was square, my buddy started tacked, then welded all the other crossbars and support structure.

It fits perfectly, it's balanced, and wind-noise is minimal with only a steady low-hum from about 45mph and up that doesn't increase in noise with speed.

 

[ssatellite]

Well done, looks great!

 

[Se7en62]

Had a breif studder in the RPM earlier this week. After a breif conversation on the Montero group on FB I came home and inspected and cleaned my EGR valve. That didn't work, so I ordered a new one off Amazon for $45 and installed it today. These are really easy to swap out and it's obvious when they are bad. In my case, the diaphragm was all torn up.

I'll report back any changes in behavior this weekend.

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[Se7en62]

I've been noticing that I have a consistent voltage drop between the 14V+ I see when driving, versus the 10.8-11.2V I see when I'm at a stop but still in gear. To remedy the issue, I've decided to upgrade my factory grounds and power wires in a kit referred to as "The Big 3."

I wasn't impressed with most of the store bought or pre-assembled "Big 3" kits. Instead I decided to build my own from parts readily available on Amazon. I went with 1/0 to give me plenty of room for upgrades on both the alternator and battery side. My current alternator is the factory 100A unit, but I plan to upgrade that in the future.

• IWISS 5-50mm (10-1/0 AWG) Crimping Tool w/ Cutter ($30)
• EWCS 1/0 AWG Extra-Flex Welding Wire - 50' Red/Black ($55)
• Selterm 1/0 AWG 3/8" Stud Eyelet Lug - 5 Pack ($8)
• Selterm 1/0 AWG 5/16" Stud Eyelet Lug - 5 Pack ($8)
• Crimp Supply Military-style Battery Terminals ($18)
• TemCo 3/4" Marine Heat Shrink Tube - 4'/ea. Red/Black ($13)

I'll be installing all this tomorrow and will make a follow-up post with more pictures. The only thing I'm still considering is adding a 350A breaker or ANL fuse near the battery to protect the 1/0 AWG wire from shorting in the event of an accident and causing a fire. I can always install that later, so we'll see. Maybe some of you have some valuable input or advise for me.

 

[Salonika]

If the factory wiring contact points are clean you shouldn’t have any issues. As for your EGR, they are only activated when engine is under heavy load, when are you experiencing the stutter you posted about?

 

[Se7en62]

If the factory wiring contact points are clean you shouldn’t have any issues. As for your EGR, they are only activated when engine is under heavy load, when are you experiencing the stutter you posted about?

I already replaced my EGR and the stutter hasn't reoccured. I'll report back if it does come back, but for now I'm focused on an electrical issue.

The "Big 3" is done and the flickering lights on the dash persist. They flicker and the interior lights dim anytime I'm stopped and in gear. The second the revs come up, the light get brighter but the flickering persists.

I'm thinking it's either the alternator ot the harmonic balancer. I'll go and see if I can get the alernator checked tomorrow.

Couldn't it also be caused by a bad harmonic balancer? If the balancer's inner rubber bushing has come loose from the outer pulley, that could cause the crank pulley to spin at a lower RPM than the engine RPM.

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[zerodrift]

Alternator/voltage regulator I'd say. Harmonic balancer doesn't fail quite like that in my experience- having it spin partially free would generate considerable heat and plenty of wear as the rpms increase. Not to mention noise. Alternatively- some fail and the pulley just falls off entirely.

With a multi meter- can you see any voltage fluctuations while at idle? You could have another bad ground elsewhere I think.

 

[Salonika]

There is a section of the FSM that details the location of every ground in the whole truck. I’d check and clean each one. Do these lights flicker with the engine off?