98 Gen 2.5 - Upgrade Inquiry - Seeking some advice

MontyTX

New member
Hey Guys, new to the 4WD scene. Looking for some direction on my RIg.

98 Montero 2.5 - 171K
1. Runs great, shifts great but did have the timing belt/pump kit done immediately for peace of mind - 2nd owner didn't have history but also suggested it.
2. Sitting on 33x12.5/15s - will stick w that size
3. Came w Snorkel

Looking at :
1. Want to do a 1.5 - 2" body lift but can't find any part numbers or kits. Don't need a suspension lift. Any help on BL kit? - although not urgent
2. Can a winch be installed on the stock bumper and what would I need?
3. Want to update/upgrade some suspension/steering - will try and tackle the upper/lower control arms/ball joints, inner/outer tie rods, pitman. I'm confident to do this work then get professional alignment. Anything else that I'm missing/suggestions? I understand that these $100 kits from 1aauto, rockauto are frowned upon - any input on those.


So far
1. Timing Belt, Water Pump kit, Plugs/wires, valve cover gaskets - done by mechanic
2. Changed engine oil/filter top off fluids
3. Slowly replacing Trans Fluid - about 4 qts in - 2 qts at a time to not shock the tranny. Will eventually do filter and fluid in pan.
4. Took out the front seats and power washed the front half(cut it across for ease) of the carpet and cargo area carpet. - came out ok but better.
5. Took off/painted roof rack and then installed new cargo Arsken roof rack on top of the factory - will buy new cross bars from HF and reinstall for more stablilty.

Needing -

1. New stereo and speakers - going to run new 6x9s, 6.5 components, new wire for the speakers and new head unit.
a) currently have aftermarket - factory harness was cutoff, terrible install, terrible setup. Don't see amp so just gonna run the new HU and 4 speakers w Noico matting - delays in shipping due to the Rona!
2. Need new driver side Fog Light Lens Cover - not urgent
3. Will install some LEDS add on bar lights.
4. MAJOR NEED - will have to replace/repair Heater Core later on
5. Also doing the rotors/pads soon.

PS - Just came across ADD and they have BL kit any others out there
also - anyone tried the Harbor Freight Winch Plate mount

So much to do

Any help appreciated - wife was not mad, but not happy about this purchase but now she's coming around - understands that our boys gotta be boys and they are enjoying tooling around w our little family project vehicle.

Everyone be safe w this COVID-19

Danny T.
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
Hello MontyTX. Welcome to Montero Ownership, where you can afford to drive your 4x4 like a rental :)

For Body Lifts, I fully, 110% endorse ADD for anything they mfr or sell. They are best, and often only choice you'll have. However https://www.rocky-road.com/montero.html also has body lifts and a few other related bits.

My question is, why do you want a BL? Raises your center of gravity, and 33" tires are more than adequate for what the engine and gearing are set to work with, unless you are building a rig to play in deeper and deeper mud puddles. The Monty is a mighty fine and stout vehicle, but suffers from limited articulation compared to....well, anything other than a Subaru.

If it still exists (wasn't removed previously) the factory amp is under the right rear passenger seat, in a little well covered by a black metal plate. The amp is mounted upside down to the lid of the cover plate, so only remove the fasteners around the perimeter! The factor amp is a fairly low power 2 ohm system if memory serves, so most people opt to replace it by mounting something on the rear wall of the cargo bay, about where the disc player is if you also still have that.
IMG_1219-L.jpg


A lot of people don't worry about the small lower dash speakers, and you probably don't have to either if you upgrade the door A-pillar tweeters and put in decent 2 way 6" speakers in the door. I highly recommend sound matting and speaker baffles in the pocket where the speakers fit. Crutchfield has pretty good specs and write up for the Monty.

With regards to suspension again, instead of BL, I suggest trimming your front bumpstops to get a bit more articulation of of the front wheels, and cranking up the torsion bars just a bit. For the steering bits, again ADD is best source. But the fittings are pretty standardized, and can be found from Napa and others. Quality varies, everyone has run with the ADD parts has loved them.

I do not envy you the heater core job. That is not for the faint of heart.
 

PacS14

Adventurer
Congrats on your ride! Nice to see another Texan! Do the maintenance and enjoy it, then upgrade as your needs grow. I'm in Conroe now, where are you? If you don't want to answer is all good.
 

MontyTX

New member
Hello MontyTX. Welcome to Montero Ownership, where you can afford to drive your 4x4 like a rental :)

For Body Lifts, I fully, 110% endorse ADD for anything they mfr or sell. They are best, and often only choice you'll have. However https://www.rocky-road.com/montero.html also has body lifts and a few other related bits.

My question is, why do you want a BL? Raises your center of gravity, and 33" tires are more than adequate for what the engine and gearing are set to work with, unless you are building a rig to play in deeper and deeper mud puddles. The Monty is a mighty fine and stout vehicle, but suffers from limited articulation compared to....well, anything other than a Subaru.

If it still exists (wasn't removed previously) the factory amp is under the right rear passenger seat, in a little well covered by a black metal plate. The amp is mounted upside down to the lid of the cover plate, so only remove the fasteners around the perimeter! The factor amp is a fairly low power 2 ohm system if memory serves, so most people opt to replace it by mounting something on the rear wall of the cargo bay, about where the disc player is if you also still have that.
IMG_1219-L.jpg


A lot of people don't worry about the small lower dash speakers, and you probably don't have to either if you upgrade the door A-pillar tweeters and put in decent 2 way 6" speakers in the door. I highly recommend sound matting and speaker baffles in the pocket where the speakers fit. Crutchfield has pretty good specs and write up for the Monty.

With regards to suspension again, instead of BL, I suggest trimming your front bumpstops to get a bit more articulation of of the front wheels, and cranking up the torsion bars just a bit. For the steering bits, again ADD is best source. But the fittings are pretty standardized, and can be found from Napa and others. Quality varies, everyone has run with the ADD parts has loved them.

I do not envy you the heater core job. That is not for the faint of heart.
NWoods - Just came across your reply to this thread. I never got notification of the replies this post. I thought maybe I posted wrong or something. You did reply to another more recent one and I did get that one. Appreciate all your input. Thank you.
 

MontyTX

New member
Congrats on your ride! Nice to see another Texan! Do the maintenance and enjoy it, then upgrade as your needs grow. I'm in Conroe now, where are you? If you don't want to answer is all good.
PacS14 - also did not get your reply. Just came across my post and saw your reply. I'm in Irving. I'll have to hit you up any trails out your way - eventually. I think i have me settings set now to get all notifications.
 

PacS14

Adventurer
There's an off-road place in Crosby, as far as trails I haven't really look into it. I'm going out of town for a while again, so I'll keep reading threads again on the meantime.
 

RyanY

Adventurer
In general, aftermarket parts are considerably lower quality than what your Montero was originally built with. This isn't limited to Mitsubishi, it's true for most vehicles - with so many parts being manufactured in China with low-quality steel and typically cheap construction. If you're not a fan of doing repairs multiple times it's recommended to use OEM parts whenever possible Some parts like timing belt components or cooling system parts can lunch your engine if they fail, and it's just not worth the money that you might save by using cheap parts.

On this same subject, there are parts that you're better off having the originals rebuilt rather than replacing when they fail - the radiator, alternator, starter, and axle shafts all fall into this category, as the factory parts are far better quality than virtually any other parts you can get to replace them, and rebuilding is generally cheaper than replacing.

Also, the filter in the transmission is merely a fine mesh screen and does not contain any filter media, so it doesn't need to be replaced. Servicing it is just a matter of cleaning it off with a solvent like brake cleaner and reinstalling.

I have the Harbor Freight winch plate on my 95 SR - it works well though it needs some fab work in order to be welded in with enough strength to be usable.
 

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