First time off road with the '97

[Twisted Noodle]

So it's been a while since I've posted a whole lot. Last year I was writing about possibly buying the Monty and asking questions about the valves, n pistons having a party when the timing belt went on Vacation... Well, I got everything rebuilt and back together. I have
to say that I'm really impressed with this little fella'. The 3.0 has no ***, but other than that, there isn't to much I don't like. It's comfortable, rides great, and gets a lot of looks, mostly because mine is only about 1 of 5 that resides in the Western NY area..(j/k)
I don't care (yet) about the lack of horsepower, I just have to leave for work a bit earlier. As you all know if you get to crazy with the go pedal, gas disappears fast..

So I joined a local 4x4 club (www.fingerlakes4x4.org) and went on a 4x4 101 class/excursion. the class talked about the basics, terminology, right and wrong way to use a winch, r/ww to use a highlift jack, ..etc. The owner of "Aussie Locker" was even there to talk about differentials (he's also a member of the club). I got a chance to talk to him out in the trails, he is a very knowledgeable guy, really a class act.
So as I arrived with a couple guys I met on a local off road forum, both in their Ford Raptors, I got a lot of unusual looks, maybe even a few smirks from the more "seasoned" members.. When we grouped up they made sure to put "The guy in the Montero with the street tires" in a group with a bunch of winches.. There were over 80 trucks there, 95% Jeep Wranglers, all flexing their suspensions and showing off their "goods"..        


They even had a catered lunch by Moe's, who joined us on a couple trails.







This guy in the red cherokee was a lot of fun.. I couldn't believe what that little truck could get through.


It's funny (now after my experience) to see the guys with the big "bad ***" trucks with the lifts, and thousands of dollars invested in their truck, that really are not that capable off road. Like this guy.



 He had a nice truck, but after a couple hours and a lot of resources to keep his truck off of the trees, and out of the holes, he gave up and went home.. By this time I had already discovered that when I put my truck in 4-low, all 4 wheels are actually pulling..

 Here we were waiting for the guy in the chevy to get through an obsticle. I wish I had a picture of 6 guys with straps tied to the truck so he didn't slide sideways down the hill..



 In the end I had a lot of fun, and was really impressed with the montero's performance off road. It was muddy as hell, and yes I did get stuck a few times, and learned some lessons on the importance of keeping momentum... Here is me on a winch being pulled up a hill.. Poor little wrangler had to strap it's *** to a tree so I didn't pull him down with me.. lol

 





 I walked away with a bit more knowledge, alot of "high 5's" from those same "seasoned" members that were giving me smirks, and now a burning desire to make my monte more capable off road.

[monty98]

Nice report, glad some other people were shown the capability of the montero sport. Sounds like it was a fun time, the 4 lo is a very capable feature of the monty, would be nice if it was lower, but it's pretty good for a factory selection IMO.

Those full-size pickups with all the lifts and the big tires always look so "bad ***" on the road (sometimes I don't think so) but they serve no real function because they just don't have the right weight distribution or proper clearances and are just too bulky and dangerous to be on technical trails.

Looks like your sport had a good run, let us know when you're ready to get that thing lifted a little bit (cheap$ and easy) and get some new shoes on there!

[ES_97Sport]

Welcome back! Nice to see one of the originals off road! I have two '97s. Great vehicles!!

Bought this one new in Jan of '98.


Just bought this one year before last. Work in progress.



It's funny you should mention Raptors. The owners of the shop I wheel with just bought two new ones a bit over a year ago. One of the owners does actually wheel his with us out in Moab occasionally. Doesn't work so well here in CO, though. Too big and too wide.

Yea, let them smirk. I've embarrassed more built up vehicles with my almost stock Sport than I can count over the years. Does them good to let a little wind out of their sales occasionally.

... By this time I had already discovered that when I put my truck in 4-low, all 4 wheels are actually pulling.. ....

KIM, that this ONLY happens if you have traction with all four wheels. There's no difference between your Sport and a Subaru, in that respect. Just 'cause you have '4-wheel drive', doesn't mean you actually have 4-wheel drive. Same goes for everyone else you were with in stock vehicles.

...It was muddy as hell, and yes I did get stuck a few times, and learned some lessons on the importance of keeping momentum...

Momentum is great. Until you slide into something. And, until you start breaking things. Good tires and gearing are unbeatable.

... Poor little wrangler had to strap it's *** to a tree so I didn't pull him down with me.. lol ....

Been there. Mitsus are a bit heavy for Wranglers to be anchoring.

... Sounds like it was a fun time, the 4 lo is a very capable feature of the
monty, would be nice if it was lower, but it's pretty good for a
factory selection IMO ....

Blea! More sane would have been at least 2:20:1 or 2:72 to one. 1.92:1 is dang near useless in the rocks.


Before you bash something up you'd rather not ...

1) Replace the stock nerf bars with skids. All-Pro Off Road makes an excellent set that fits the Sport if you're not interested in having some built. See my pic of my big Sport.
2) Get a skid plate under that front end before you whack the front diff. No one sells one but I can give you a template if you need it.
3) If you're going to keep playing in the mud, like monty98 said, "new shoes"! Get a set of rims if you want to keep driving on the street with your current tires and slap on a set of 31" or 32" Yokohama Geolandar M/T+s. Stay away from A/Ts - especially the BFG A/Ts!!!
4) Manual locking hubs for the front and a steering stabilizer.

These are damage control and safety and IMHO should be on every Sport before a winch, lift, or anything else. Not specifically M/Ts, but appropriate tires. YOU need M/Ts if you're going to play in the mud, though. Last, if that's the stock exhaust, you probably want
to trim off the last four inches of the exhaust tip. That catches on
EVERYTHING. A sawz-all can take care of that. Drop an 1"/1.5" below
the body or so and trim it off parallel to the body.

5) Take the rear sway bar end links out when you get to the trail and put them back on before you hit the pavement.

This one will give you a ton of rear articulation. Enough to well and away compensate for the lack in the front and a front open differential for a couple years probably. When and if you reach the point of that not being enough, then you can put an ARB in the rear and keep going and growing.

6) If you just CAN'T LIVE without a lift - OME.

They produce a good, short low maintenance lift with excellent street qualities and good behavior off road.

I wheeled this way for quite a while - without the ARB - and not only kept up with the moded Jeeps and Toys, but embarrassed the crap out of them on a regular basis. Know the strong points of the Sport and use them and it'll amaze the hell out of you.

At some point you're going to need to get an ARB bull bar (or something) for the front. The biggest problem with long wheel base vehicles is the approach, departure and break-over angles. The front plastic 'bumper' is going to get in the way in the not too distant future, especially without a lot of lift (which you DO NOT want right now). Best fix the problem before tearing it off. Also, a band-aid for the rear is a hitch. That'll offer quite a bit of protection from tearing off the rear plastic bumper - also not a piece you want to tear off.

There are things you can do to help pick up the power.

Lastly, a suggestion for future wheeling trips - take the spare OUT from under the vehicle and stick it in the back. You can put it back when you get home. There are times when you won't be able to get your spare out from under your Sport and I've seen people tear holes in the spare because it sits so low and our departure angle sucks at that height.

Edward