Central Axle Disconnect. Alows the shift on the fly in and out of AWD.

Well, finished a 2" body lift today with the grasscat's help.

Met up shortly after 9. Ate breakfast at a local place. By 10:30/11:00 we started in earnest... figuring out where each body bolt was and began the unbolting process.

Unbolted the front and rear bumpers, removed the side steps, and was working on the on the body bolts when around noon we got a call from Russell that he was about 15 minutes away so we washed up a bit and drove over to my place.

After probably an hour or so we had my blue monty (bubba) ready for towing.

We said our farewell's (a tear in my eye) and headed back to the grass cat compound to complete the body lift.

It all went pretty smoothly and straight forward with only a couple of calls to Carlos & Adam for insight/advice.

We finally wrapped it all up just after 6:00. We washed up and headed to the local pizza joint to grab a bite to eat. Ended up catching the last half of the 4th quarter which looked like the best part of the game with all the action.

No pics yet. Will take a few tomorrow and post them up. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

So do 35x12.5" MT's fit w/out any mods to the bumpers after the 2" BL? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

unless you lifted your bumpers they'll need to be trimmed.

OK. I'll just remove the end caps for now. I'll ultimately be replacing the bumper though.

just saw this post where you were asking about 4.90s. Here is the info I can provide on the upgrade:

yes and no, some sports had them, some didn't........I did a lot of research on this when my brother was looking for them.

Yes, I have 4.90s in my SR, I bought them brand new, part numbers are:

MR124860 Gear Kit+fr Diff

MR124858 Gear Kit+rr Diff

I think with shipping they are like $900 or so, but there is a better way but requires more leg work:

when my brother put on 35s on his 99 montero, he also wanted 4.90 gears in both diffs. I saved him some money by locating the third member and the front diff for only $500 out of a montero sport. Here is the catch:

1. you need to locate a 2001-2004 montero sport with the 3.5L engine that can donate both front and rear diffs

2. ask them to verify that it does have 4.90 gear ratio in both axles

3. have the part yard give you the VIN from the doner truck

4. take VIN to a reliable parts dealer and ask them for the part number for the front and rear ring and pinion gear kits for that specific VIN

5. If the part number they give you matches the part numbers I gave you above, work a deal with them. I got the rear third member and front diff shipped to me for $500 which was $400 cheaper than buying the gears brand new.

6. I haven't cracked open the diffs to see if the gears will actually work yet, but according to VIN and several part number checks with different sources, they are the same exact part and should work.

also, these 4.90 gears were also fitted in some of the early gen III monteros, I just haven't nailed down exactly which ones yet.

using the VIN and cross checking the part number should do it though. I think 2001-2002 full size gen III monteros had them too, but use the VIN to verify part numbers.


HTH and if you have any other questions, let me know.

This is all quite interesting,,,and I'm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />as usual.

So does a 01-04 3.5 M.S. have a high or low front pinion????

And no CAD?

All M.S. 4wd are 4.9???
(all 2wd I've seen are 4.36)

and the rear is 9.5"????

what's the front,,8",,???

Sorry if this is redundant <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

not sure I have the answer to all your questions, but I will say that there are two different sizes of 4.90 ratios in the montero sports. that is why I suggest doing the vin check to get the part number and see if it matches. that is the only safe way when getting them from a part yard.

Just consolidating my build process...
New Safari 'like' snorkel documented here.
New BFG 35x12.5x15" MT KM2 tires documented here.

Front and rear tube bumpers and new roof rack here.