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87 Dodge Raider - Beadlocks & Grabbers

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truck-oholic

truck-oholic

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truck-oholic submitted a new Build:

87 Dodge Raider - Beadlocks & Grabbers

View attachment 230452 So, I am still working on the 77 K5 but have been spending a lot more time lately on this 87 Dodge Raider that I picked up for . . . wait for it . . . $1,200!

This thing is freaking awesome. These were only made/sold in the US from 87 to 90 and are really just rebadged first gen Mitsubishi Monteros. It has a 2.6L carbed 4 cylinder, 5 speed manual trans, manual shift 2:1 t-case, and 4.625 gears in the axles from the factory. This one is sitting on near new 32" Falken Wildpeak ATs wrapped around some soft 8s. The exterior has been bedlined but there is not a single dent anywhere on this thing and all the glass is good except for 2 small chips in the windshield. Every single accessory I have tried so far works including the factory radio and AC! For $1,200 this thing drives AMAZING. Super stable, plenty of power for the tire size, handles VERY well for an SUV.

Now the bad. The engine has a pretty bad knock from the bottom end. Here is the weird thing though. It doesn't smoke, oil pressure seems fine, and the knock goes away under load. It only does it at idle or when throttle isn't being applied. PO said his buddy told him it was probably rod bearings but it would last a long time as is. The bottom end on these engines are basically built like a diesel so it is very rare that there are bottom end issues. I dropped the pan and cleaned it out. There was quite a bit of debris in it and more scary, a 1/4" lock washer. Put some magnets in there, a new gasket, sealed it up and put some fresh oil in with new filter. No difference.

So . . . unless I can get the engine diagnosed and fix it myself, I am just going to run it as is until it blows up at which point I will be putting a 4.3L V6 in with either a NV3500/231 or a SM465/241. May or may not swap the axles out but if I did I would go Ford 8.8 and Dana 44 with double triangulated rear suspension and parallel 4 link or standard 3 link up front. I would also be stretching the axles front/rear as much as possible with some comp cut style fender trimming.

Anyway, the immediate plans are custom tube bumpers front and rear, custom sliders, and rear seat swap with a roll bar for seat belt attachment. The stock rear seat in these only has 2 belts and I need 3 so I am going to put in a rear seat from an Isuzu Amigo. Will require some modifying of the front of the rear wheel wells but won't interfere with tire clearance.

Ordered some 1" body pucks from DIY4X so I am...
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Read more about this build here...
 
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If that 2.6 Mitzubishi is the same as the K cars used,they have a balance shaft and I think a second timing chain to drive the shaft...
I have read that balance shaft did give trouble on some engines,making disturbing knocks and vibrations--and somewhere I read you can just "remove and discard the balance shaft" and the chain that drives it..I think it was in the instructions for a timing chain kit where I read that..

There is a Mitsubishi Montrero or a Raider right down the street from my house,that has been parked under pine trees for at least 10 years,maybe 15!..I dont know if someone has plans for it,or if it was just plopped there after it blew up or something...it has sat so long its probably beyond repair,probably break in half if you tried moving it maybe..looks decent on the outside from the street 35 feet away though..
 
oooooooommmeeeeerrrrgggeeeerrrrdddddd! I had one of these in highschool. Most fun with $500 I have ever had. I bought mine for $300 and then :hack: the fenders. Stuffed some 31" thornturds under it and cranked the torsion bars all the way up. That raider was a blast. I always have wanted to buy another one someday and do a SAS with one.

:popcorn:

Here was mine in highschool. Rhino lined cheap paint job, trimmed in douchebag monster energy green accents, and on thornturds :doah:....What was I thinking.







 
diesel4me said:
If that 2.6 Mitzubishi is the same as the K cars used,they have a balance shaft and I think a second timing chain to drive the shaft...
I have read that balance shaft did give trouble on some engines,making disturbing knocks and vibrations--and somewhere I read you can just "remove and discard the balance shaft" and the chain that drives it..I think it was in the instructions for a timing chain kit where I read that..
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I have read that most people that do the balance shaft elimination wind up having even bigger problems a year or two later as a result. If I can get a mechanic to tell me exactly what it is without tearing into it then I will fix it but I really don't want to chase it around sinking a bunch of money into it when I could just do a 4.3 swap and instantly double my horsepower.
 
83ChevyK5Blazer said:
Very cool, my friend had one growing up, he swapped in a 4.3 and did a little body lift, thing went anywhere!
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That one looks pretty damn sexy. Was it a V6 originally before the 4.3 swap. If so, did he go to a different trans too or somehow adapt it to the 4.3? The 2.6L 4 cylinder is good for 110 hp from the factory but the 3.0L 6 cylinder is like 145 hp from the factory and had a stronger manual tranny behind it than the 2.6L. 4.3 is good for almost 200 hp stock.
 
Mr.Clean said:
Here was mine in highschool. Rhino lined cheap paint job, trimmed in douchebag monster energy green accents, and on thornturds :doah:....What was I thinking.
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So what did you wind up doing with it? Sell, trade, scrap?
 
truck-oholic said:
So what did you wind up doing with it? Sell, trade, scrap?
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I was young needed the money to buy a decent car because I was going to start commuting to college, so I sold it. I am pretty sure I broke even on it after having it an entire summer and beating the snot out of it on the dunes and in two tracks. That truck would go anywhere in the woods. It was so tiny.

My favorite part of those trucks is the suspension seats. Those seats were awesome!
 
83ChevyK5Blazer said:
It had a v6 originally, if I remember correctly he put the engine/trans/tc out of a s10 blazer in it.
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Yes, this was my very thought. There is a moderately built S10 for sale locally that has the exact combo I would want and has a dana 60 rear and dana 44 front and worn 37 TSLs. Guy only wants $2,000 but I am pretty low on funds right now so I can't justify it.
 
truck-oholic said:
I have read that most people that do the balance shaft elimination wind up having even bigger problems a year or two later as a result. If I can get a mechanic to tell me exactly what it is without tearing into it then I will fix it but I really don't want to chase it around sinking a bunch of money into it when I could just do a 4.3 swap and instantly double my horsepower.
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It might have excessive end play--I've seen engines run for years with as much as 1/4" end play,knocking at times and sounding threatening,but they kept on running..one friends 390 T-bird had at least 1/4" end play,you could watch the balancer float in and out while it knocked at idle--put it in drive it'd quiet right down again,and no noises while it was pulling a load--coasting down a hill or sitting at a stop sign,it'd start clacking and knocking eratically...

Seen a old straight 6 Mustang with the same issue--push the clutch in and all knocking ceased--let it out and it'd start whacking!--sometimes that car would toss the fan belt,the crank moved so far out..owner "fixed" it by replacing only the main bearing that had the thrust surface on it,but it probably didn't last long..crank was likely scarred where the thrust load was placed..

We owned a 2.6 in a Dodge Aries that held up very well,considering my brother kept driving it after the lower radiator hose clamp rotted off it and let the hose blow off,drove it all the way home about 10 miles--still ran after I fixed the hose and refilled it with coolant,but it lost a lot of compression and started smoking..a friend bought it and did a quickie ring job without pulling the engine out--even honed the cylinders !..to my surprise after it was re-assembled it ran better than ever,and he gave it to his wife,they drove it several more years..(only had about 50K on it when the hose came off)..

We also had a Mitsubishi pickup at the junkyard with a 2.6 ,we got it for scrap when it needed an engine--we put one from a K car in it and we drove that thing everywhere to do small deliveries,often overloaded to the hilt..our boss loved that truck,said "it runs on other cars fumes",never seemed to use much gas,and he said "I'd hop in this thing and go to Florida without a second thought"...sadly the frame rotted out in it and it sagged behind the cab so bad it was no longer roadworthy..

I would probably do the same thing--swap in a bigger,better engine ,and enjoy the better performance though...you'd probably have a tough time finding a 2.6 up here thats any good now..all the vehicles of that vintage are pretty much extinct now..
 
Yeah, they aren't too easy to come by and I've read that if you are doing a rebuild you should use an aftermarket head so that is even more money I don't want to spend on it. We'll see how things play out.
 
I miss my little Raider. Sometimes I feel I never should have traded it in.:doah: I may eventually pick another one up some day.

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296289

I did a Turbo swap on it, V6 front diff swap with Starion LSD in it, and was going to swap out the stock rear LSD axle with a Montero Sport Locking Diff (like an ARB). I had the longer rear shackles and cranked torsions on it. Fit 33s pretty nicely like that.

When I swapped in the Starion motor it didn't have the balance shafts in it. That PO had ditched them a few years earlier. I did the same thing when I had my Conquest as well and never had any issues.

I would definitely go with a new head if rebuilding your motor. When I had issues with the Raider's head I ended up pulling 6 or 7 different heads and kept coming up with junk. So I went and bought a new M28 casting for it.

Only thing I'd do differently if I picked up a another Raider or Monty would be to swap in a more modern motor and start with a V6 model. It was cool having a Turbo 2.6L Mitsu motor in the Raider. But aftermarket support sucked and finding some parts for it sucked. Starting with a V6 model you end up with the larger front diff section and coil sprung rear end. There seems to be more regular Montero's out there vs the Sports so its easier to find a locking rear axle for it. I'd also toy around with the idea of doing a solid axle swap instead of the IFS.

Z
 
cwn_anwyn said:
I miss my little Raider. Sometimes I feel I never should have traded it in.:doah: I may eventually pick another one up some day.
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Just read the "build" thread. That is a damn shame you had to get rid of it. I can appreciate you doing all the upgrades with Mitsubishi stuff but I am just going to go Chevy drivetrain and Ford axles when it comes time.

Btw, I know a guy with a 90 V6 4 door Montero that has had a lot of upgrades like those you described and he is trying (not very hard) to sell it for $3,000. I offered him $2,000 a few weeks ago but he shot that down.
 
My mom had an 87, I grew up stealing it at night to joy ride. Later, I had a mitsu mighty max pickup and did the turbo station swap too. 2.6 injected turbo, built head, and a 57 trim made that thing FAST!
 
Got the 1" body lift half way installed. Pucks are in but need to get some longer 7/16" grade 8 bolts and then make 1" drop brackets for the fan shroud. Making good progress on front winch bumper. Should have it all welded together and bolted in sans round tube wings by the end of the weekend.
 
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