SONICMASD's 97 Montero Build Thread: The General Li
- Thread starter SONICMASD
- Start date
SONICMASD
Adventurer
5/26/16 - Speaking with Toasty, I learn that he has a 98 LS that he just picked up in a trade for his Mighty Max Crawler and is looking to sell. So I take a look at it and decide that even though I've already put in a good amount of sweat and $ into The General Li, this new rig has too many advantages to pass up.
The new rig shall be know as Betty and here are the specs:
Pros:
98 Gen 2.5 LS
200,750 miles
4.9 AWD Conversion
Manual AISIN hubs
Rear Factory Air Locker, Front Detroit Locker
OME Rear Coils
KYB Gas-A-Just Shocks all around
Front Suspension Seats
Bluetooth Stereo
Trailer hitch and trailer brakes installed
Currently sitting on 35x13.5x15 Toyo MTs
Mechanic owned for last 40k
Timing belt service, cooling system, tune up, valve stems all done 40k ago
Lower ball joints done recently
Cloth seats are all in good shape, not all torn up
The Cons:
Dirty Interior - nothing a few hours of work can't fix though
Broken Door Lock Actuator
2nd Row seats won't tilt forward
Power Mirrors don't work
Rear Defroster doesn't work
Tierods and Idler Arm are bad
Cracked passenger side exhaust manifold
Transfer case shifter fulcrum has disintegrated
Rocker panel damaged on passenger side
Front fenders bashed in with a hammer to clear the 35s
Mud flaps gone to clear the 35s
Rear bumper has some damage, it backed into something
So by going from a 97 SR to a 98 LS I'm losing the moonroof, nicer trim, and white ball transfer case shifter. And most importantly I'm losing 40,000 miles because the General Li is at 161,000. But the General Li needs maintenance that has already been done on Betty. The General needs new lower ball joints, and is leaking a little oil from the head gasket (no oil is mixing into the coolant) and cam seals. And the valve stems are burning a little oil though not enough to warrant replacing them anytime soon. But the main reason is that I like the look of Gen 2.5s a lot more and I'm getting all the drivetrain upgrades that would take me years and thousands of $s to eventually get to.
I've started the process of taking all of the add-ons off of the General and moving them to Betty. I'm swapping the JAOS skid plates, bullbar, offroad lights, and ladder.
I haven't decided on tires yet. Even though the General has an amazing set of 33x10.5R155 BFG KM2s on there, I'm leaning towards 33x12.5R15 ATs for Betty. The extra width should make the vehicle more stable and with the 4.9s I'm not concerned about the extra weight/friction. The annoying part is finding wheels with all the specs required to run this size is not easy.
The new rig shall be know as Betty and here are the specs:
Pros:
98 Gen 2.5 LS
200,750 miles
4.9 AWD Conversion
Manual AISIN hubs
Rear Factory Air Locker, Front Detroit Locker
OME Rear Coils
KYB Gas-A-Just Shocks all around
Front Suspension Seats
Bluetooth Stereo
Trailer hitch and trailer brakes installed
Currently sitting on 35x13.5x15 Toyo MTs
Mechanic owned for last 40k
Timing belt service, cooling system, tune up, valve stems all done 40k ago
Lower ball joints done recently
Cloth seats are all in good shape, not all torn up
The Cons:
Dirty Interior - nothing a few hours of work can't fix though
Broken Door Lock Actuator
2nd Row seats won't tilt forward
Power Mirrors don't work
Rear Defroster doesn't work
Tierods and Idler Arm are bad
Cracked passenger side exhaust manifold
Transfer case shifter fulcrum has disintegrated
Rocker panel damaged on passenger side
Front fenders bashed in with a hammer to clear the 35s
Mud flaps gone to clear the 35s
Rear bumper has some damage, it backed into something
So by going from a 97 SR to a 98 LS I'm losing the moonroof, nicer trim, and white ball transfer case shifter. And most importantly I'm losing 40,000 miles because the General Li is at 161,000. But the General Li needs maintenance that has already been done on Betty. The General needs new lower ball joints, and is leaking a little oil from the head gasket (no oil is mixing into the coolant) and cam seals. And the valve stems are burning a little oil though not enough to warrant replacing them anytime soon. But the main reason is that I like the look of Gen 2.5s a lot more and I'm getting all the drivetrain upgrades that would take me years and thousands of $s to eventually get to.
I've started the process of taking all of the add-ons off of the General and moving them to Betty. I'm swapping the JAOS skid plates, bullbar, offroad lights, and ladder.
I haven't decided on tires yet. Even though the General has an amazing set of 33x10.5R155 BFG KM2s on there, I'm leaning towards 33x12.5R15 ATs for Betty. The extra width should make the vehicle more stable and with the 4.9s I'm not concerned about the extra weight/friction. The annoying part is finding wheels with all the specs required to run this size is not easy.
Last edited:
JohnnyBfromPeoria
I'm Getting Around To It
I've run narrow wheels with 12.5 width tires, as in, I had my Toyo 33x12.5-15's on 7" SR wheels, I have a set of BFG 33x12.5-15's on a set of 7" SR wheels, and I have a set of BFG 35x12.5-15's on 8" wheels. They all wear and handle just fine. I've never lost a bead aired down to 15 lbs, either.
John B.
John B.
SONICMASD
Adventurer
Hey Johnny, thanks for the info. Have you only had one problem with Bfg tires? And if not, do you think any of this could be a result of the narrow rims?
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