Change out wheelbearings? I just got all new ones from Rockauto.com (if you guys haven't checked them out or found them already, they have some kick butt prices but you have to look them up as Monteros) for like $30 delivered for both sides. And they deliver stupid fast. I have bearing pullers and drivers but how much dissambley does it require to get to them and do you think I should just go ahead and put new tie rod ends and such under their while I have it apart? I got a trip planned back home to Rausch Creek and im trying to get all the parts together that are the common weak points to take with me. I have heard mention of idler arms, is that the same as a pitman arm? I wish I knew some more about these little guys to know what to bring with me cause I love rock crawling. What else are potential weak points in the front end? Are the track bar and tie rods beefy enough to handle 33x10.5 if I crawl like I got some sense about me? I plan on bringing junk yard front and rear driveshafts and axle shafts front and rear. I dont want to break on the first day of a 4 day weekend of mayhem. I will have onboard air setup by then with the front bumper as the tank to make trail side fixes easier. The guy I bought it from had it disconnected but he threw it in with the deal. Sorry for so many questions but thats the only way I know of to get answers from guys with experience. And also, we are planning the trip either the first or second weekend of October for Rausch Creek and anyone's welcome but fair warning, their will be alot of beer drank so I dont know how "kid friendly" it will be but my dogs have harnesses built specifically for them so they will be back there swinging around having the time of their life.

1. Front or rear wheel bearings?

Fronts are like any other floating axle, remove wheel/tires, remove brake assm., remove locking hub assm., remove c-clip for CV shaft, remove retining screws and inner lock assm., pull hub off and go. The bearing races are press fit.

Rears are easier, pull wheel/tire, pull drum, drain oil, pull brake backing plate and yank. The axle and bearing will follow as a unit.

2. The idler and pitman arms are on opposite sides of the chassis and control the motion of the drag link. The pitman arm is attached to the steering box. The idler arm pivots on a sub-assembly with wear-prone bushings.

You likely will not have issues with driveshafts. Many here wheel these little trucks with 33 or 35 inchers. One even goes mudding with 38.5s with all stock drivetrain.

Drinking in excess and wheeling are not good friends. Responsible consumption is better. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

To use the search function, select that icon above, go to the data entry line and type something. I use simple words. Select the Mitsubishi forums or a specific username, select the timeline for your search. There are many, numerous, multitudinous complaints about the search engine on this site...you are not the first/last to mention difficulty.

Russell

Wheel bearings: The outer bearing comes right out when you get the retainer out and remove the hub. The inside one comes out easily after gently prying the seal out. As long as the races are in decent shape, you probably don't need to replace them, but a brass punch in the appropriate size will get them out. I assume you know what you're doing when it comes to packing bearings, etc.

Idler arm isn't the same as the Pitman arm. They are on opposite sides of the center link. Pitman comes off the steering box, idler holds up the passenger side. They, along with the tie rod ends are very robust and likely won't break with you running 33's. The idler, especially, gets sloppy and will affect on-road handling in the form of wandering while you hold the steering wheel still. It's easy to check steering; have an assistant turn the wheel (engine off) from one side to the other in the "loose" area before it actually turns the wheels. You lay on the ground and look at the various steering components to see it any of the joints have sloppiness to them, i.e., they're not transferring the motion to the next part.

If you're going to pull the hubs off to change out bearings, take a look at the front half shafts that power the front wheels. If the boots are torn or if you've noticed clicking from the front end in 4WD, it may be time to re-boot or replace them.

I think you may be underestimating your vehicle. The AZ Crew wheels rocks, big ones, and nobody packs extra driveshafts simply because they don't break. I have seen a couple of broken tie rod ends, but you'd have to be getting into some v-e-r-y serious stuff to do it. Since they're small, you might want to throw in an inner and an outer in your spares.

The two doors with leaf springs don't even have to worry about the rear control arms on the suspension. If you had a V-6 with coil springs, we'd advise you to change out the arms for some from a Gen 2.

Hope that helps.

John B.

All this info helps immensely. Their are parts stores all around that park that stock parts for yotas and jeeps but im kinda looking forward to busting out a convertible raider and my experienced spotter and taking it where the 37" chromed out street jeeps cant get through. These trucks were well built with all the skids underneath. I just dont want to break a simple fix that should have been expected on the trail and ruin everyone elses day. When I had my Tj, on 35's i bent my tie rod into a U shape and destroyed the track bar from the pressure of the wheels pushing together in the rock garden and ended up using two high lift jack handles and a sledge hammer to sleeve the tie rod and an on board welder to and the same sledge to beat the track bar back and weld some flat stock to it to keep it going for the rest of the weekend. Needless to say I got home and ordered the Currie Setup. Now I just gotta decide to go for 33's or 35's. I do plan on doing an SAS over the winter and I know I wont wear out a set of 33's over the summer. I plan to cut the crap out of the fenders and put on a 2" body lift. Luckily here in Indiana they dont give a crap and will only pull you over for having lights out and there are no inspections out here.
Oh, and the front end is tight as can be, it doesn't have any slop in the steering and runs straight as rain down the road, I just cant figure out where that drone when under power is coming from? And the bearings were a cheap buy.

My Raider (2.6l, 4-cyl) had a "drone" sound, but it was at transitional throttle, going from coasting to accelerating or vice versa. On mine, it was from having add-a-leafs in the spring pack. On a short wheel base Montero, the trucks with an automatic transmission have a short rear driveshaft. The add-a-leafs altered the pinion angle enough to make the u-joints angry and they made a noise as described above. Longer shackles would have been a better bet.

Don't know if this has anything to do with your rig (you should put your vehicle particulars in your signature so we know what you have), so take that as a 'for what it's worth.'

Jeep drivers are frequently surprised what these trucks can do...without spending big dollars replacing factory parts that you shouldn't have to replace, providing they were made tough in the first place. Monteros are made tough.

John B.

Well I found out what it was. My rear diff was completely empty. For some time now I guess its been leaking around where the drive-shaft mates to the third member.
I couldn't figure out where all the oil came from under the back of the truck when I bought it (about 75 miles ago) and today while driving down the road, every turn I would make it would sound like I had a Detroit in the back.
I went to the store and got some Lucas 80/90 and filled it up after draining the little bit that was left in there. After taking it for a test drive I pulled over and looked under the truck and oil was dripping from that seal.
I dont know what the proper name of that seal is but I did read in my manual that I dont have to remove the third member to replace it, just drop the drive shaft.
One good thing was that it drives alot quieter now. I just hope I didn't destroy the rear since ive only driven it about 2 miles here and there back and forth to work.

"pinyon" Seal. You'll need to pull the pinyon flange to get to it so be prepared to use a long Cheater bar and a 6 point socket...I believe the flange nut is staked so its best to get a new one. Pay close attention to the the torque spec when re-installing the flange nut.

Hey mods, can you change the name of this post to something about bearings??? Just sayin! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Done! He's still learning about forum etiquette so thanks for being nice about it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for not flaming me again. This thread has kind of "evolved" from a noise I couldn't figure out to someplace to start looking so sorry about the title.
Thanks for the heads up on the Pinyon nut.