1988 Mitsubishi montero

[iipswitch]

Just purchased a 1988 montero 4x4.
Engine blew on me.
Wanted to put a v6 3.0 liter montero engine in to it. Not sure if it fits with my 5 speed transmission or if it even fits under the hood without having to do modification.
Possible rebuild kit as well.
Any suggestions, tips or tricks ?

 

[hooligan shmulligan]

If it had the 4 cyl it'll be a lot of work to switch the the 3.0. Not many SWB came with v6, the transmission ,engine mounts and fuel tank are different. If you're looking at doing a v6 swap I'd look at doing a Chevy 4.3 out of a S10 blazer. It'll have the driver drop 231 transfer case. The low range gearing in the 231 is worth the swap alone. Montero's have piss poor gearing and the only fix is the Marks4WD t-case gears out of Australia. The gears work good I have them in my 86 SWB. My LWB build is using a 4.3 4l60E NWF doubler and Bronco Dana 20.

 

[iipswitch]

Oh awesome ! Figure I’ll just rebuild then. Would this 4 cylinder be able to sustain a 4.5 inch lift with 33’s ?

 

[hooligan shmulligan]

To get 4.5 you'll need the Adventure Driven Design OME springs, torsion bars and body lift. The problem will be your gearing. Some guys did Hyundai gears in a Gen 1 but the DIY files got corrupted on 4x4wire and ADD forums. Years ago people sourced 5.29 out of Japan but I haven't heard about any in years. The stock t-case has 1.85:1 ratio the case is so small that the lowest gear set from Marks is 2.85:1. I run 31 and some times wish I had 33 but it's a balance with the gearing. If you do run 33 the only way I'd do it is with the Marks gears.