GenI Build Tread Need a little help

RMelton

New member
I kind of fell into this thing by accident, but have been very impressed with it and have become a big fan of the Montero plateform since. I have a 1989 Raider V6. It is the best $875 I ever spent. I have about $1,300 in now with the tires, coils, racks, starter, and front rotor/pads I had to put on it.

I spent a good 10 hours the other day reading through treads on here to get some ideas. I have finally decided what I want to do, but now I can't find some of the info.

I plan on swapping the rear axle for a GenII SR axel. I have found a 1992 at a local salvage yard. Will it work?

I have already swapped the rear coils for those of a GenII and cranked the front t-bars. I want to remove the rear sway bar and but some longer travel shocks on. I found a tread the other day that had some good info on this, but I can't find it now. There was someone who said there was a whole thread on 4x4wire about which kyb shocks will fit either stock or extended. I looked for a few hours last night and can't for the life of me figure that site out. Anyone have a link or the part numbers????

I plan on putting an Aussie locker in the front as suggested by someone on here. (thanks for that info)

Anyone know where I can find a winch capable front bumper??? or am I going to have to have one made. I saw that some people have used bumpers made for other vehicles and had them modified to fit.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

plh

Explorer
I plan on swapping the rear axle for a GenII SR axel. I have found a 1992 at a local salvage yard. Will it work?

A '92 SR might or might not have a locker. Most were not. However most '92 SRs had 4.88 gears so that will not work with your '89 which more than likely has 4.62 gears as you would be mis-matched to the front.

A better choice would be from a '95 or '96 SR as the gearing will match @ 4.62 and will be a bit stronger 9.5" ring gear. (your '89 and the '92 will be a 9" ring gear). Its best to swap the entire rear assembly - wheel to wheel as they say - to gain rear disc brakes as well.
 

RMelton

New member
A '92 SR might or might not have a locker. Most were not. However most '92 SRs had 4.88 gears so that will not work with your '89 which more than likely has 4.62 gears as you would be mis-matched to the front.

A better choice would be from a '95 or '96 SR as the gearing will match @ 4.62 and will be a bit stronger 9.5" ring gear. (your '89 and the '92 will be a 9" ring gear). Its best to swap the entire rear assembly - wheel to wheel as they say - to gain rear disc brakes as well.

Thanks for the info. I just talked to salvage yard and it has a locker, but if the gearing doesn't match it wont do me much good. I'll refocus my search for at 95 or 96 and see what I can come up with. I plan on doing the wheel to wheel swap as you mentioned so I get the disc upgrade.
 

Oso

Forest Defecator
95/96 is the way to go. Those are the only years with a compatible tailpiece from the driveshaft. You'll want that from the donor as well. The splines match perfectly to your gen 1 shaft. Any other year and your looking at $$$ to get the shaft attached to the rear end.

KYBs work just fine with that setup, and they ride well to boot. Its the same set up I have in my rig.

If you can weld or have someone who can there is a kit avail for jeeps that works well. Dirtboundoffroad.com. I think it's called the extreme winch bumper.n It'll need to be adjusted for your front end but it's affordable if you buy it as a kit and can weld or know someone who does. Others have had luck with local tradeschool students who use it as a shop project. Just an idea.

Aussie lockers are great . Have one of those too. One thing to know - the set up might require shims to get it centered within spec. If your outside of spec it will void the warranty. I looked for a month and could never find a set of shims that would work. In the end we made a set at a friends machine shop.

A starion lsd will also bolt into your front differential. And it matches the SR rear end for 95/96. I started out with an lsd. Ran it hard off-roading all the way up the Baja. It was pretty ************. I can't begin to think how many times I thought I was screwed and then it grabbed and I drove right out.

If you want an SR axle check out row52.com, there are currently several SRs in junkyards within 100 miles of the 94710 zip code. That is as of 4pm today. The website will put you in touch with someone to pull it out and possibly ship it to you.

Good luck with your build!
 

RMelton

New member
Thanks X13 for the info. You don't happen to have the part numbers for the rear kyb's do you???

I just got back from the local salvage yard. I was able to get both fenders with inner liners, front left turn signal assembly, the hood, the filler pc below the grill, two tube step bars, a trailer hitch, and the left rear tail light lens of of a 1987 Raider for $280.00 out the door. The only thing they didn't have that I wanted was the passenger side mirror. I'd say I did pretty well. The hitch alone is $135.00 new. I wasn't planning on painting this thing, but now that I'll have a pretty straight body I guess I need to pick a color. I'm thinking FDE or OD green.
 

RMelton

New member
Well, It's been awhile since I've been on here. Been busy with life and kids. Did get the rig painted with the help of my 86 yo grandfather. Had a great time "working" with him. It turned out pretty well. Got my additional relay/fuse box installed and wired up to my lights and the air compressor for the 99 SR axle I picked up. It has been regeared already to match my front end. Just ordered one of the last remaining aussie lockers for the front. Here are a few pics. Need to get a current one. You can see my wifes future rig in the background.
 

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RMelton

New member
That photo of your grandfather working on your rig is priceless!
Thanks plh. I had a lot of fun working with him. We redid my first truck together 20 years ago when I was 15. He has some great stories. I was a little disappointed with we finished....
 

RMelton

New member
Which bumper did you end up using? It looks great on your rig.

blaqsad I used the e-autogrilles bumper for and 80 something to early 2000's jeep. Had to do a little rework to frame ends for it to fit. Basically cut the ends down and fit a small section of 4" tube steel to the ends for the bumper to bolt to. That way, any jeep bumper is bolt on from here on out.
 

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