37s for Montero gen 2?

[Montero_expert]

Hey everyone, looking here for suggestions, think of a summer project, to put 37s on my Monty, what are the things that are will be required, maybe any suggestions or something, here is my plan:
Re-gear to 5.29
ARB front air locker
2.5 inch lift
2-3 inch body lift? - not sure on that
I think that is it? I'm not really sure, can somebody add a recommendation, is it really difficult, but worth it? I'm just going on 35s, but thinking to get 37s later, looking toward to hear some feedback, thx

 

[Toasty]

Hey everyone, looking here for suggestions, think of a summer project, to put 37s on my Monty, what are the things that are will be required, maybe any suggestions or something, here is my plan:
Re-gear to 5.29
ARB front air locker
2.5 inch lift
2-3 inch body lift? - not sure on that
I think that is it? I'm not really sure, can somebody add a recommendation, is it really difficult, but worth it? I'm just going on 35s, but thinking to get 37s later, looking toward to hear some feedback, thx

That'll about do it, I'd highly recommend getting the 3.15 transfer case gears or swapping the 4:1 T-case or better if you've got an SAS on the horizon.

 

[Montero_expert]

That'll about do it, I'd highly recommend getting the 3.15 transfer case gears or swapping the 4:1 T-case or better if you've got an SAS on the horizon.

Hm, would you highly suggest to SAS swap it for 37s? Or it will do it on IFS?

 

[Toasty]

Hm, would you highly suggest to SAS swap it for 37s? Or it will do it on IFS?

The IFS can hang with 37's but it's a lot more maintenance, you'll be doing ball joints and UCA's at least yearly (sometimes more) and replacing (bent) idler arms nearly every trip out. It's not like you'll be experiencing lots of broken parts (throttle control dictates this) but the wear will be extreme. I went the SAS route, the built D44 handles it well enough. Aside from some breakages due to failed steering stops it's been pretty solid given how much harder I'm wheeling now and things like suspension bushings and tie rod ends I'm getting way better service life out of. You WILL wheel harder than you think and even with the most built 1/4 ton (Toyota) or 1/2 ton axles you will not escape ball joint wear which is still a thing but not as frequent.

 

[Montero_expert]

The IFS can hang with 37's but it's a lot more maintenance, you'll be doing ball joints and UCA's at least yearly (sometimes more) and replacing (bent) idler arms nearly every trip out. It's not like you'll be experiencing lots of broken parts (throttle control dictates this) but the wear will be extreme. I went the SAS route, the built D44 handles it well enough. Aside from some breakages due to failed steering stops it's been pretty solid given how much harder I'm wheeling now and things like suspension bushings and tie rod ends I'm getting way better service life out of. You WILL wheel harder than you think and even with the most built 1/4 ton (Toyota) or 1/2 ton axles you will not escape ball joint wear which is still a thing but not as frequent.

Hm, thank you for your comment, I already got the Chromoly Idler Kingpin and will order brand new idler arm to install one, but looks like solid axle at the front will be way better for the offroad, do you know what will be a range for solid axle swap, if we are not talking about coil overs, and something crazy, just a basic lift but to swap the axle, how hard would that be (and how expensive?) and you got dana 44 from a JK or JL?

 

[plh]

Hm, thank you for your comment, I already got the Chromoly Idler Kingpin and will order brand new idler arm to install one, but looks like solid axle at the front will be way better for the offroad, do you know what will be a range for solid axle swap, if we are not talking about coil overs, and something crazy, just a basic lift but to swap the axle, how hard would that be (and how expensive?) and you got dana 44 from a JK or JL?

1990 Montero V8 project

One of the byproducts of the V8 swap on my '98 was a surplus drivetrain that I picked up just for the rear sump oil pan (1999 SC400 donor). Unfortunately as it turned out I needed a rear sump pan from a GX470 ?. What to do with a spare drivetrain? Sometime later I heard that a good friend was...

expeditionportal.com

Toasty's '98 Montero Build

I picked up a 1998 Base Model last Saturday, no sunroof, cloth seats and white single stage paint. A few dents but in otherwise good condition except the engine which is badly seized. The plan is for a more street friendly machine that still knows how to party off-road. PA_JERO and I tried to...

expeditionportal.com

 

[Montero_expert]

1990 Montero V8 project

One of the byproducts of the V8 swap on my '98 was a surplus drivetrain that I picked up just for the rear sump oil pan (1999 SC400 donor). Unfortunately as it turned out I needed a rear sump pan from a GX470 ?. What to do with a spare drivetrain? Sometime later I heard that a good friend was...

expeditionportal.com

Toasty's '98 Montero Build

I picked up a 1998 Base Model last Saturday, no sunroof, cloth seats and white single stage paint. A few dents but in otherwise good condition except the engine which is badly seized. The plan is for a more street friendly machine that still knows how to party off-road. PA_JERO and I tried to...

expeditionportal.com

AH, I was trying to find that link, thank you =)

 

[Toasty]

AH, I was trying to find that link, thank you =)

The '90 I'm doing on the cheap, I haven't totaled it up yet but I've probably spent close to 2K on parts and materials and I got the front JL axle for free. I do all my own work and I still need to buy some more things but it rolls and steers at this point. I'd say if you hunt for deals on parts and have connections you can probably complete an SAS for under 4k doing everything yourself. If you pay someone expect to add 8-10k to that price maybe more.

 

[Montero_expert]

The '90 I'm doing on the cheap, I haven't totaled it up yet but I've probably spent close to 2K on parts and materials and I got the front JL axle for free. I do all my own work and I still need to buy some more things but it rolls and steers at this point. I'd say if you hunt for deals on parts and have connections you can probably complete an SAS for under 4k doing everything yourself. If you pay someone expect to add 8-10k to that price maybe more.

Have you posted anything about your '90 SAS project, will be nice to see the progress, 4k is not bad at all, and yes, I'll be doing that by myself, paying somebody to do that job is insanely expensive, only thing that I consider, I know if doing SAS, then putting coil-overs is way easier, however more expensive, still haven't figured how to make that worked, but that's project so, have you experience any death wabble's after sas or some sorta breaks ?

 

[Toasty]

PLH in this thread posted my project threads. No death wobble at any speed or condition BUT I have had a few issues, the big one was that my knuckles were allowing too much steering angle which was great for my turning radius but caused me to break axle shafts pretty early on. I didn't know that was the reason for the broken axles so I upgraded to RCV's which are good for more steering angle. This worked great until I had a steering stop flatten at the knuckle (common issue) but I didn't realize it and I ended up stripping out an RCV as it would steer so far that the spline engagement was like 50%. Shortly after that I leaned the truck into a boulder at full lock (squished stop side) and snapped a steering sector shaft. Made a bad day for everyone.
Anyway, I got knuckles with cast in steering stops now and my turning radius is like a regular guy and I've done some crazy hard wheeling without issue. There's a few things I'd do differently if i had it to do over but they're minor or things I ended up changing later like crossover steer instead of inverted T, I have the parts I just need to install them before I go out again.

 

[Montero_expert]

PLH in this thread posted my project threads. No death wobble at any speed or condition BUT I have had a few issues, the big one was that my knuckles were allowing too much steering angle which was great for my turning radius but caused me to break axle shafts pretty early on. I didn't know that was the reason for the broken axles so I upgraded to RCV's which are good for more steering angle. This worked great until I had a steering stop flatten at the knuckle (common issue) but I didn't realize it and I ended up stripping out an RCV as it would steer so far that the spline engagement was like 50%. Shortly after that I leaned the truck into a boulder at full lock (squished stop side) and snapped a steering sector shaft. Made a bad day for everyone.
Anyway, I got knuckles with cast in steering stops now and my turning radius is like a regular guy and I've done some crazy hard wheeling without issue. There's a few things I'd do differently if i had it to do over but they're minor or things I ended up changing later like crossover steer instead of inverted T, I have the parts I just need to install them before I go out again.

Oh I see, okay, is there any specific front solid axle you would suggest, like from old JK's or maybe JL's since they are little more better or so?

 

[Toasty]

Oh I see, okay, is there any specific front solid axle you would suggest, like from old JK's or maybe JL's since they are little more better or so?

The JK axles are kinda terrible, really weak housings and they bend even with sleeving them or trussing them so best bet is to get an aftermarket JK housing for rock crawling. The JL axles are supposedly better but I haven't researched them much, I just used the JL axle because I got a deal on it. The Bronco and Wagoneer Dana 44's are really stout but they're not cheap or super easy to get anymore, I'd recommend like a custom housing D44 or Toyota 8" or if you want junkyard parts just getting Superduty axles because they're cheap and easy to get plus if you need more strength later the sky is the limit.