Thanks guys!!!

After reading the last few posts and thinking about this half the night I went back down to the shop, mocked everything back up and took the measurements myself.

All the dimensions are the same between the 3.0L and 3.5L. So, yes, the bell housing, clutch, flywheel and 3.0L manual transmission starter from the 3.0L absolutely will bolt to the 3.5L engine without any modifications or special parts.

The difference is in the backing plates for the 3.5L automatic and the 3.0L manual. THAT is where we went sideways. Instead of using the transmission bell housing or manual trans backing plate to check everything they were using the backing plate from the 3.5L automatic. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" /> Of course, it offset the starter slightly outboard. Their measurements were also out of wack on the engagement. I have no idea what happened there. This is why I dislike not being able to do this stuff myself. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

The manual transmission backing plate still would require a lot of tweeking, though. There's just too much of a difference between the back of the 3.0L and 3.5L and the oil pans. Its easier to take a dremmel to the automatic backing plate to move the holes slightly inboard for the starter than try and weld in a bunch of sheet metal or make a new backing plate.

So, all that's resolved. Only thing left is to drop it in the bay and see what there is to do with the motor mount brackets.

Again, thanks guys. The jog to my thinking was very helpful!

Edward

[edit]
I did speak to several places that actually do make flywheels. Useless exercise though that may have been. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

10,000 RPM
$450 for the first flywheel, $400 thereafter. You supply the starter ring gear. They'll make a lighter one or a heavier one, per your specs.

Fidanza Engineering
makes Mitsu flywheels; apparently already makes a flywheel for the 3.5L.

Standard Flywheels
you supply the starter ring gear.

All of these are steel flywheels, not aluminum.

Almost finished. Got the exhaust patched back together on Thursday. The exhaust shop did a really crappy job so it'll need to be redone but it's legal. Tech drove it about 15 blocks back to the shop. There are major clearance issues between the track bar and oil pan. The 3.5L pan is really a pain in the rear end. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

So, between the oil pan and losing about 1" of clearance do to settling - didn't know the 3.5L weighted that much more than my 3.0L - there's only .5-.75" of clearance sitting flat on the ground. Not even enough to drive it back home. Friend of a friend is cutting the back off the pan and I've got new coils on the way. Should have it back to driveable next week.

Motor mount brackets were kind of a pain without direct access to a welder. We took a set of 3.0L and 3.5L motor mount brackets and separated the stand-offs from the engine plates (just snipped the Mitsu welds), swapped the 3.0L stand-offs to the 3.5L plates and welded them back together. Ended up using the existing 3.0L '97 motor mounts (rubber isolators).

On a more positive note - it runs. Started right up even with no exhaust and no O2 sensors. Sounds good!

We had to use the 3.0L throttle body, TPS and IAC. Lengthen the wire for the temperature gauge a few inches, and replace the PS belt with the one for the 3.5L. A few of the wire loom brackets needed to be tweaked just slightly. The throttle cable bracket that mounts to the manifold need to be modified just slightly so the throttle cable would reattach to the throttle body.

That's it. So far, so good. Once the pan is done and the new coils are in its test time. Keeping my fingers crossed....

Edward

Awesome! That's quite the undertaking compared to what i went through, but that was pulling an old 6G74 from a montero and putting in a new style 6G74 from a sport in and i have the stock suspension. Did the throttly body swap, oil pan swap, motor mount mod and the temp wire lengthen. Hope you really feel the gains in power, GOOD WORK <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Would be a lot less of an undertaking if I was doing it all myself, but at this point if I had to do it myself it wouldn't get done, so.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I was going through the oil pan today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I think enough can be chopped off without getting into the oil pickup so I can get it home under its own power and maybe drive it back and forth on the highway enough to make sure everything is ok. But, a custom lower half is in the works. Can't move the engine forward, can't move the track bar down and I can only pick the chassis up about 1-1.5" (not enough). So, looks like I'll loose probably a quart out of the sump. Not good. Figure I'll do like the Moroso pan and go forward. Plenty of room between the engine and radiator support to add a couple inches of pan there.

Edward

why not use a rear sump oil pan and pickup off a montero.

As far as I know, the body and sump are the same. Is that incorrect? All the pictures of the Montero pan I can find look like this ...



BTW, anyone willing to part with the down pipe and y-pipe from a 97-00 3.5 SOHC Montero (version without the CATs)?

Edward

They are completely different, the montero's oil sump is opposite of that one and the body is a bit different as well.

As fot the Y pipe PM PA_JERO and ask him, he should have one he'll never use.

Sorry, guys. I'm Montero illiterate. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I presume you all are talking about the 96-99 3.5L SOHC pan assembly? Can someone post a pic? Been surfing for the last couple hours and haven't had any luck.

Thanks, Toasty! Will do.

Edward

The oil sump you have a picture of is a Montero Sport, the Montero sump does not extend forward as that one does.
If you have the ASA program look at the images there.

Got it. Don't have the ASA program- looking at Mitsu's parts database docs. But, I finally found it and I see what you're talking about.

I think it's a wash. With the Sport sump, the entire section from the dip stick to the rear needs to go away. If the diagrams are to scale that means I'd have to cut off almost half the Montero sump, anyway.

I actually have more room in the front to regain capacity so I think I'll stick with the Sport pan as a starter.

Edward