Hi my name is Manuel, im a long time follower but new member of this group. I wanna say thanks for letting me be part of this great forum. I wanted to start be showing you guys my truck, first off, im a medical student here in puerto rico, in 2nd year and a partime old car restorer when time can let me do so, i work with my dad. i recently started working on 4x4 cause i always wanted one, but never had the money to get one till now. Its a 93 mitsubishi montero, and to say the least im surprised me how much power these little trucks can put out. Its a 3.0L engine, i did headers for it, air ram intake, e3 sparkplugs, body lift, 2.5 exhaust well u name it, but i have no idea how to work the drivetrain. this is my first 4x4 ive never worked on some like this. I just wanted to see if someone on the web can orient me on what i can do, tranfer case upgrade, gears, (right now there 4.6 something). the engine is very powerfull due to upgrades, but i wanted to upgrade the drivetrain. any ideas pointers??? I have extensive experience doint upgrades, like the bumpers and stuff, by my self, its mostly a mudder, here in puerto rico, the people are not really into rock crawling, anyway thanks and open to suggestions

here is a pic of it



also just wanted to share my other cars

I have a 58 corvette 283 all original, and a 67 sting ray
427 big block tri power all original, a 69 302 camaro rs/ss
and a 1936 dodge ram custom 383 stroker 500hp+

i have some other projects but still working in them ford
roadster hot rod, but still in the making...

The drivetrain on these is bulletproof. Do you have the factory locker? Also, the montero sport came with factory locker and 4.90 gears and it's all a direct swap.

There are taller to case gears available from marks 4wd.

Holy Bumpers Batman!

Maybe it's just the perspective in that photo but your front bumper looks absolutely massive!

Welcome to the Wire!

Changing the axle gears to 4.90s will give you back a little bit of the gear advantage that you lost with the larger diameter tires - they're available new from Mitsu or you can find used ones in Montero Sports (Nativas in Puerto Rico, although I'm not sure if they came with the same equipment there as in the 50 states).

If you don't have a rear locker, the factory air locking rear axle that came in the Montero SRs is an easy transplant - you'll need the factory air compressor and controller of the donor vehicle also. There is an ARB front air locker available, as well as an "Aussie Locker" passive locking front differential.

You'll need to do more research to verify which axles you have currently, since the PR market Monteros weren't exactly the same as the ones we got here in the upper 50.

Welcome to the wire. Can't wait to see more pics!

Nice car collection by the way! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Thanks guys, yeah i saw marks 4x4 upgrade to the t-case, its something i can think about doing later on, not sure were i can get that done, hopefully ill find someone, i know a lot of gear heads, but they have never worked with a monty i think. Also, yeah here there are alot of nativas/montero sports here and people have many parts for sale, i need to look at the engine bay, there is a tag that tells you the information. im looking foward to swapping 4.90. I have a dodge ram, swapped gears, 3.92 to a 5.56 and the change was amazing, from 4.654 to 4.90, its still an upgrade, 35 inch tires takes it toll on the tranny, although its a manual, so it does very good. And you guys are very right, that t case is bullet proof, it will take on any hill. As for the locker, right now i have an lsd, and the locker is in my garage, but not sure if i should swap, im thinking about installing an arb air pump...

so for now, i will do the 4.90 swap, and probably lockers, but i am unsure about doing the ausier locker or arb, i have heard that ausier is a rock solid pasive locker, but i dont think it can drive in highway ( i usually drive her to the mud sites ) not sure if i need to install locking hubs or just go with the arb better??? does anyone have a ausier locker installed and tell me what its like?

oh yeah btw, the bumper i big jajajajaja i like making new roads if i can <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Wow, that is a huge bumper! Love the cars. Especially the Camaro although I'm sure most will prefer the Vette's or that '36.

The transfer case gear swap is actually pretty straight forward but you will need some tools like a good way to remove circlips, a dremel to grind out part of the transfer case that obstructs the bigger low gears, and of course your standard assortment of wrenches, sockets, etc. It can definitely be done over a weekend if you're not in a rush or a long work day if you are. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I have an Aussie Locker installed and yes, you will need manual locking hubs in order to drive it on a solid surface.

If you have a Mitsu air-locking rear axle you cannot use an aftermarket (ARB) air pump to operate it - it provides way too much pressure. The factory air locker operates on something like 6 psi and the ARB is something like 60 psi - if you can regulate the ARB down to that point you might be okay but using the factory locker pump is a much safer option.

wow thanks guy, great info, well now i know, ryany thanks for the heads up, 60 psi is alot, wow that can full up my tires like a water bottle, and offroader, cool tip, will do the swap on another t case just in case, ill just buy it off a junkyard, probably will do on summer time or after summer. I will show my update slowly on the truck, right now me and my friend are working on the interior. thanks for all the infooooo <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

also one last question ive read that mark doesnt do a 3.15 no more its a 2.70, although im a mudder more than anything else, im fine with a 2.70, if i wanted a 3.15, do i have to custom order or is it 2.70 period, i guess any will do, but just asking?

Nearly a year ago I tried endlessly to get a group buy going on our forum & other forums overseas. It was hard to get straight answers and commitments. I lost some steam and the deal kinda didn't happen. Everything was pretty ready to go, but couldn't get the info from everyone & sync it all.

I think the new gears would be close enough tho without having to do a group buy

Not sure about the 3.15:1 availability. When I got mine I was hearing it might be the last one available. Main reason they stopped were the tech issues with buyers not understanding what they needed to do to install them since cutting of the x-case was needed. If you do contact him, tell him Ray (the Yankee who had them ship a set of gears to my hotel in Melbourne while I was there) says hello.