The Half Monti

[ChargerX3]

Ok. Mighty max is built 2/90 and the Montero was built 11/88. I’m good then right?

[Jeff V.]

Should be all set.

[ChargerX3]

Well things just keep getting better and better...

Friday started tearing down the rear axle. Got the drivers off and found this. Yea all the bearing grease is oozing from mixing with the diff fluid. The seal you see is eaten up and failed. You might also see some of the damage to the housing



How about the axle shaft Steve? Yea, not good.



Damage to housing after cleanup.



Passenger side, much the same, but the seal hadn't fully failed yet.



You might ask yourself what caused all of this. Well, I did. The 3rd members are identical except for 2 things. One is LSD and the other is open. The second is that the LSD has no backing block to push back against the bearings to help seat them. Without it my axle shafts just float in and out about 1/2", as well as up and down because there is no back pressure keeping them in place.

My original diff looking in the axle shaft.


Angle from the center block.



The LSD. Notice no block to obstruct





Little side by side comparison.



Did I manage to fix everything over the weekend? No. Truck looks like this:



Im waiting on new axle seals to come in mid week for it. Hopefully they are correct sized. Ordered them from Napa, so I dont have to worry about returns if they are wrong. Plus their products are pretty comparable to OEM.

The axles arent going back in. Turns out my 90 Max has the same axles minus being leaf vs Coil sprung. That means I can just pull the shafts and brakes and slide them back in place.

Im putting the OEM diff back in until i find a correct replacement. Does me no good having a broken Montero that I cant enjoy the mountain trails in. Open diff should be fine until i find a complete 1st gen Monti axle, or proper early 1st gen LSD.

[aaronatstate]

Will the factory air locker fit??

[ChargerX3]

No and yet yes. No, there arent any 9" lockers around that will drop in (OK, there is rumor that a few did make it to the US, but very limited). I can swap over a Montero SR 9.5" rear axle with air locker, but there are several disadvantages to that.

1) Axle width grows 1.5" on both sides, so it wont track the same as front. My Max is already like that.
2) Gain discs but have the hassle of trying to tie in the E-brake lines. Not an easy task. Again did that to the Max.
3) Driveshaft wont bolt up to 3rd member of a 9.5". Will have to get new shaft or alter the exiting one to fit.
4) Not certain the spring perch geometry is the same for my Monti as an SR. Can cause driving and DS complications.
5)Would then have to route electrical and air to the rear differential. Not as big as a deal as most of the above.
6) Added weight. The 9.5 rear is noticeably larger and beefier than the 9". Yea it would be bulletproof, but so is the 9". Its the same size as a Ford 9" and those are drag racing reliable. I wont ever snap a 9".

[Jeff V.]

You need to find one of those unicorn 2nd gen 3.0L Monteros with the locking LSD.

Oh, and some of the 3.0L Sports had hybrid LSDs. I totally forgot about those.

[ChargerX3]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]You need to find one of those unicorn 2nd gen 3.0L Monteros with the locking LSD.

Oh, and some of the 3.0L Sports had hybrid LSDs. I totally forgot about those.[/quote]

I’m intrigued but you have me hoping on the impossible. Lol

[vr4]

Wait .. They put the locker in an LS/RS? I found have sworn it was an SR only thing (and not all of them. I've seen a couple without)

[Jeff V.]

ASA and the service manual show a differential that's both an LSD and an air locker. :d ontknow:

[ChargerX3]

SR obviously but up to 2000 full size monteros could be had with lockers. Jeff has found that the some sports Carry them too but those have got to be super rare.

[ChargerX3]

Update:

Took the Max axles out of my spare rear end and put them into the Monti along with the stock open differential. Things went back together relatively smoothly. Just had to swap out a couple shims to make sure tolerance were tight. None of that 1/2" slop BS!

While I was at it i torqued up the front torsion bars to just below the snubbers. Raised it quite a bit and took the slop out of the front end. Camber might be off a bit you think?






I then decided to take her for a joy ride this weekend. There is a dirt trail that goes up to an old Crystal Mine just inside of California. Trail isnt too crazy and it gives the monti a chance to stretch its wheels a little. Some areas there was nobody around for miles.




Finally arrived at the Crystal Mine. Yes, you can harvest crystals out of the ground here. Some are bigger than your hand, but they are very hard to find. Most are necklace sized if you are lucky.




This is the view from the top of the mine looking towards the east. The mountains you see with trees on them are California. The mountains you see further off with little to nothing on them are Nevada. Its rather interesting to view from either side.




Anyways truck runs good. Actually glides at 70mph which is surprising for how much of a brick it is. Now ive just got to figure out what the next step is to get LSD back.

Speaking of LSD. Got uber lucky with a 98 Sport 3.0L and nabbed this too this weekend. Same gears and all.





I think i will hold out for a 4 door 1st gen that I can grab the rear axle out of. That way I can use the new Hybrid-LSD rear 3rd member. Then I should be set.

Enjoy a couple pics of the outing.

[vr4]

I'm gonna crush a 4dr 1g one of these days... If I ever get to it

[ChargerX3]

Lol. Let me know how that goes and if you want to get rid of parts.

[DCIV]

Will you turbo one of these things already!? I want exactly what you have but with a 3.8 turbo.


Coop

[ChargerX3]

Lol. Just get one already.

The motor is a fresh rebuild so I’m in no rush to swap it out yet. Lots of other things I would rather tackle on her.

Honestly the 91 Ram would be the ideal turbo candidate for me other than no room for an innercooler. I’ve already got a 1st gen TT motor on the side yard. Just not enough time.

[DCIV]

I can’t even find a 3.8. I have my local pull a part notify me but without that I would have to eBay them at like 1k. If I’m gonna do one I would want to do it pretty cheap. So that doesn’t work out very well.


Coop

[ChargerX3]

I can get you a nice one for $300 here. Come on by with your truck and we can load it up.

[DCIV]

[quote=""ChargerX3""]I can get you a nice one for $300 here. Come on by with your truck and we can load it up.[/quote]

You know how far away you are right? Still prob cheaper to come to you is the sad thing.


Coop

[ChargerX3]

Gas is cheap right now...

Ill let you take the monti for a spin in the mountains.

[Chris GTO TT]

You can come see what real mountains look like. The Rockies and the Sierra Nevada!