lets talk bellhousings, 4 banger AND V6

hey all.....

even on the Project Zero G pages i can't seem to find anything about v6 bell housing bolt patterns.

I am pretty sure my 87 ram 50 has the narrow block pattern (2.0, 5spd) but i'd like to know if the v6 mitsu engines can use a trans for a wide block or if it is another animal altogether.

i am thinking i might just keep my original trans and swap in a narrow block, 6 bolt 2.4 in place of the anemic 2.0 and do the 3.55 third member swap to get some kind of highway cruising ability out of my truck. but a late model montero 3.8 w/ 250+ hp/tq with dual exhaust and a 5spd (eclipse cpu programming?) would be killer in my short bed, std cab, 2wd, bare bones pickup.

seems like most of the talk on this site is about turning these trucks into a low rider which is sooo not going to happen. my little pickup may only be a 2wd but it can go sooo many places the car can't. i am hoping the people with knowledge about what factory based swaps are possible and what is involved will step up and build up the knowledge base for the rest of us. seems there is very little tech available on older mitsubishi products, compared to the other vehicle projects i have going.

Hi Capev86,

I would agree that your 2.0 liter is probably a narrow block.

I don't know what the v6 engines transmission bolt patten is. One option is to find a interchange manual to see what transmission will bolt to the v6. If you are going to use the Montero 3.8 why not use its transmission.

Your 2.0 liter engine is rated at 90 hp at 5500 rpm and 109 ft. lbs. of torque at 3500 rpm. The 2.4 liter engine is rated at 116 hp at 5000 rpm and 132-136 ft. lbs of torque at 3500 rpm.

This gets you a 29 percent increase in horsepower and a 23 percent increase in torque from a engine that is 20 percent bigger. You only have to do the following: installing fuel injection, swapping engine wiring harness, high pressure fuel pump and lines, swapping the ecu.

Another swap is the 2.0 dohc non-turbo engine. It is easier than the 2.0 turbo engine swap. It is more work that the 2.4 liter swap, but puts out 135 hp at 6000 rpm and 125 ft. lbs. of torque at 5000 rpm.

I have done the 3.55 third member swap and I am very happy with it. At 75 mph my engine turns about 2900 rpms with 14-inch tires.

John

i like stroker motors so the 2.4 is a natural choice over the 2.0.

i'd rather have more torque at a lower rpm so i can use it on an everyday basis, especially if i change out the rear gear for something a bit more highway friendly. i still think the truck will have enough power to do minor towing and hauling duties (i have a '72 suburban C20 for heavy hauling). i plan to run some taller rubber on raider or ram 50 4x4 15 inch rims that look like the stock 14 inch 5 spokes....that will help with reducing cruising rpm a bit too.

i want this to a be a good around town and commuter vehicle (only 5 miles to work on 30mph roads) but also be able to throw it down the highway (trips to boston, up maine, etc) when i don't need to take a car with tons of passenger capacity like my daily driver '97 sable wagon or my vintage burb, but the weather or what i'm doing doesn't allow me to take my motorcycle.

i'd still like to hear what is involved with a v6 swap and if you could use a 5spd from a 3.0 truck and reflash the montero 3.8 ecu with an eclipse 3.8/5spd program. i hate the idea of having to use an automatic to get a bigger trans in my ram 50. the 5spd is sooo much more spunky. i have enough automatic cars, i need the variety.

i found some info....

the v6 bell housing pattern is different and all v6 manual trans were 4x4 only. only factory way to get 2wd with a v6 would be to use an auto trans. my ram 50 is gonna stay 2wd (i like the hot rod simplicity and feel/ride ) and manual trans.

i will have to see if i can use a 2wd extension housing on the 4wd trans. it sounds like the 4 banger and v6 transmissions were in the same family but the guts load from a different direction. perhaps the tail flange pattern is the same so mitsu could use the same transfer case on both 4 and 6 cyl 4x4's?

found out the modern 5 speed behind the v6 Montero is called the V5M31. it can handle the power of the 3.5 and 3.8 unlike the earlier 5 speed that was based on the km132 found in our trucks. there was a rare 2wd/rwd R5M31 version that was available around the year 2000 in the foreign market Montero (aka Pajero). Tough job tracking one down in Australia! The few people that can get you one want serious money for them ($1500 to $2000) due to the rarity and then you have the shipping headache of getting it to the U.S. You would have to change out the center shaft, shifter, tail unit and a plethora of other stuff to delete the transfer case.

To put things in perspective, it cost me $150 to have a motorcycle wheel shipped from "down under" to up here in Maine. I had to go to either AUS or the UK to get an 18 inch "reverse" Comstar wheel from a Honda CX500 because the U.S. spec 500's only ever got the 16 inch rear like on my '81 Silverwing and I wanted a the bigger "stock-looking" wheel to compliment the 19 inch front unit. The CX/GL 500's all had a shaft drive so a chain driven CB model of the same vintage was out of the question because you can't take the wheel apart to change out the center.