Just acquired my "new" 87 SWB 2.6L Monty and I've been combing the forums and founds lots of threads of use...but....all the pics seem to be gone, which makes it kinda hard to figure out...in particular the body lift write ups...anybody know where I can locate some visuals?

Don't bother. It's simple to do. Look under your truck. You'll find body mount points on each side. You'll find the corresponding access holes above each mount point in the body. In some cases you'll need to remove something like the carpet, rear tail lights, etc. in order to access it.

You'll need to do a few things in addition to simply replacing the mounts...
1) remove the lower fan shroud since the fan will hit it. An alternative and a much better option would be to relocate it lower on the radiator. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />
2) Uncoil some of the brake system hard lines coming from your brake booster.
3) adapt your bumper mounts to raise the bumper higher. Alternatively you can also install aftermarket bumpers which you've modified to raise the bumper height.

HTH.

Welcome to the Wire!

If the threads you're looking at are pretty old and have lost their pics, try looking in some of the newer threads - body lifts are a pretty common subject. Congrats on figuring out the search function as its a little cantankerous.

I'd recommend going to mitsubishilinks dot com and downloading the FSM for your Montero - it's invaluable if you're doing any work on your truck. There's probably a diagram with the body mount locations as well as replacement procedures in there.

Thanks for the welcome :-) I already got the FSM from the FAQ, I am greatful to have found that! It will invaluable I'm sure. This is my first 4x4 rig so I am excited to get started!
This is my Monty:

I've always loved trucks, and have a daily driver that is my pride and joy, but this is my first trail rig. This is the work I usually do:

Two totally different worlds...so I've got a bit of learning to do...

My plans at the moment are to do and undercoating treatment to the nose and wheel wells, do a fun camo paint scheme, 2-3 body lift, 33" tires, fab a roof rack, grill guard, and rock sliders for the rockers, and add a set of headers and weber carb to the 2.6L..nothing much but it will be fun still :-)

Edit: I got it for free, due to rear brakes being locked up, which turned out to be shoes soaked with fluid from leaky cylinders swelling against the drum...good for me <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Awesome! And a great price too! Your plans sound pretty solid and there's a lot of good info to be had here. My only question is about the body lift- why do you need it? 33's can fit fine without it and it'll only raise the center of gravity, which is not all that desirable. You want to lift it just enough to fit the tires, and in this case 33's don't require it.

Any rubbing with 33's? And what is the recommended wheel width and offset for that size? If I don't have to lift it that would be even better..I was thinking I would need to to give plenty of room for wheel/suspension travel.

All you need to know:
http://www.4x4wire.com/mitsubishi/tech/wheel_faq/

Thank ya sir <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

I'm gonna say you will want a little bit of lift, especially if you're planning to run 33's. But, it depends on the kinds of wheeling you do.

Monteros don't have a ton of ground clearance compared to other 4x4 SUV's, so any little bit you can do to keep your rocker panels or diff off of the rocks is a good thing. I wouldn't worry about "center of gravity" with something as modest as a 2" lift.

The other thing to think about is engine power; spinning 33's will make the engine feel a tad anemic.

An inexpensive option for your lift would be to install aftermarket rear springs (I think I've read Gen2 LWB springs will also work), and crank the torsion bars up front. This is what I had done on my '91. I had 32's on that truck.

This worked out well.







...remember, if you put on sliders, you're losing 2" of clearance at the rockers. I would do the lift just to get that clearance back.