How to 4.9 Gear Swap (Regear) your Montero

4.9 gear swap!! You've heard about it, people say you should do it, but is it worth it? in this video i show how to do this job on your 2001-2006 montero and explain some of the benefits. This really is my favorite modification and It's one of the coolest things about the monteros. For reference: The 2001 and 2002 XLS models of the 3rd gen montero are the ones with 4.9 gears. All other 2001-2006 Models come with 4.3. I later have swapped in an LSD to mine (also from a montero), some special models come with 4.9 LSDs and those are the best bang for buck swap. If you have any questions, post them in the comments bellow and i'll try to get to them!

[@trey4341]

Thank you so much for making videos on the montero. It is hard to find those kind of videos about them. I've had my 02 montero limited for 7yrs now, I love it... I wish more people would know how great they are on and off road.

[@montanamontero]

Happy to do it! I’ve learned a ton over the years and I hope to pass it on for years to come

[@risleem]

Wow! Very cool. I wish I had a buddy like you to help me change mind. Now I have very good direction on what to do. Thanks!!

[@olamabambi4193]

Great work guys. A well presented and explained video. Congratulations on learning my bolt cutting trick. This is the only video I have seen that explains cutting the bolt of the differential front hanger. It will definitely help a lot of people out there. As for bench pressing the differential down to the ground. I would say definitely not as it could fall on you and break bones or kill you. The differential is very heavy please use a trolley jack.

[@jime.angulo4151]

Great video with very useful information.. Thanks You!

[@scottmoore6957]

Hi from Australia :) i have a gen 4 Montero (we call them Pajero's :D) and these models are 3.9s from factory so im doing thw swap to 4.3s out of a petrol (gas) one in the next few weeks, mine is a manual and super high geared, motor has some good torque but isnt good at slow :D thanks for the video. for anyone else watching Gen 3 and Gen 4 models share the same diffs, i wish i could get my hands on a set of those though as long as they arnt flogged as they are lsd if im not mistaken

[@yourchava]

those diffs look heavy duty!!

[@IanJesting]

Thanks for this man! Great instructions. I'm really wishing I would have snagged the diffs out of a xls I found at the junkyard a while back..😭 all the other ones I've found are limited..

[@4x4adventuresoverlandingin68]

Great vid, good instructions, very helpful!

[@montanamontero]

Glad it was helpful!

[@dennistromp2045]

Hey man awesome videos inspiring! I need help finding torque specifications for nuts and bolts assemby for the rear and front differential Keep up the good work mate!

[@MrBlahblahblah75]

I picked up a parts car for a hundred bucks. But of course this was after spending an arm and a leg for one of the parts I needed at the junk yard. Doing the 4.9 swap on my vacation as well and rebuilding my cv axles. Sad thing is I got limited time to scavenge what I need before I got send the parts truck to her final destination and I find out new parts I need every day

[@omodingsimon5853]

Good video and very informative, thanks for sharing. i have 1990 pajero wagon . what gear ratio can i swap to so as to achieve a better fuel millage

[@montanamontero]

Thanks! Gear ratio has everything to do with tire size. So it depends on what tire size you are running, and how it compares to the stock tire size

[@randindragonheart4558]

Great vid, thanks for the info. If you are looking to install (air) lockers, would you then need to get lockers that are specific to the 4.9 gear ratio?

[@montanamontero]

nope, any lockers that are designed for the car should fit regardless of gear ratio

[@lookitzdan1lo]

Question, can you just upgrade the rear or you have to do both front and rear? Thank you

[@williamjohnson4787]

I'm new to this whole thing, but would both the front and rear differentials come with a "differential assembly" part on a scrap yards website? I guess I'm wondering what the two parts I should be looking for are technically called or what their part number is. Thanks all!

[@henrypaul16]

Great videos. I’m excited to work on my gen 3. Can you please share where to find all black leather seats? Mine are cream with rips and damage. I really want you change it .

[@montanamontero]

It came on a few different limited trim packages

[@MrHoppo3000]

I’ve owned my 92 Pajero (Australia) for a while now. Just about to take the plunge and “upgrade” to a 2004 3.8L NP Pajero. This 4:9 swap will be the first mod I do. Probably the only significant mod as the car I’m buying already has all the goodies on it. Including a rear locker. Which I can’t wait to test out.

[@Felipe_Leal17]

Do you happen to have a guide for the Gen 2/2.5 ? lol I have a 98 Montero imported from PR with the 3.0 but have no idea what I’m looking for in parts or how to do it. I’m going for 33s and going to 4.9 was the recommendation in the forums

[@montanamontero]

i don't, but if i ever do the swap again i'll film it

[@JS-wc4xs]

So with the better gears are you able to tow anywhere close to the rated 5000# in the mountains? I'm talking like at 7,500ft-11,000ft. Since the rated (from the manufacturer) towing capacity is at sea level, towing capacity up in the Rocky Mountains is going to be significantly less than at sea level. I'm wondering if changing out to the better gears/ratio would help to increase the overall towing capacity at such a higher elevation? If it would help, by how much? Like the most you have been able to tow on the highway at over 7,000ft?

[@montanamontero]

Most i've ever towed was 4,000lbs at 5,000 feet. it did a pretty good job, but i spent a lot of time in 4th gear, going 65 or 70.. and slower up passes. definitely helps though

[@tayloreverett6975]

In Montana are there quite a few monteros with these gears in junkyards or is it pretty few and far between

[@montanamontero]

there are none that i know of

[@underdogoverland]

I'm getting ready to do this swap. I'll be taking the 4.9s off my cousin's XLS and replacing his with my 4.3s(his is going to the wreckers), is there anything that didn't quite make it into the video that you wish you had known before the swap? This is the most comprehensive guide I've found online, and it looks really straight forward, I'm just curious is you have any additional advice that you could think of way after swapping.

[@montanamontero]

Awesome man! 1 thing i've learned since doing this a few times is that if you have a big enough impact gun you can get the bolts that go through the diff into the aluminum cross bar out and that means you don't have to cut the bolt next to the gas tank. but that's about it. it's really a pretty straight forward job!

[@TaliAlba33]

​@@montanamonterodid you change out both diffs on the Montero? (Front and back one?)

[@lancefrederickzabala2477]

Does this work with the short wheel base model as well? Also is this a good mod even without changing the size of your tires?

[@montanamontero]

yes it will work with any gen 3, but i would not recommend this without a tire size change

[@lancefrederickzabala2477]

What gear ratio is the front you switch from? Is it fine to only change the rear gear? Or do you have change the front as well?

[@montanamontero]

you need to change both! i switched both from 4.3 to 4.9

[@enriquebechet1]

Hey brother , I’m Following your videos. I already found my 4.9 . Is there enough room to use a big impact wrench to loosen the top bolt to avoid the cutting bolt?

[@montanamontero]

Yes there actually is! It’s kinda a pain, and I’ve only been able to successfully remove the rear diff 1 out of 5 times that way. But if it works, that will save you a few steps and some time. Good call!

[@enriquebechet1]

@@montanamontero thank u

[@enriquebechet1]

Can I drive the car if I only swapped the rear diff so far ?

[@jorgevasquez5674]

What size is your front gear? And what is the new size? My montero have 4.900 rear gear 2004 montero 4m40 2.8L. Can i put a 33" tire? Thanks

[@montanamontero]

i'm unsure, but i think it's an 8" front ring gear. i'm currently on 4.9s and running a 285/75/16 tire

[@JS-wc4xs]

Alright now I'm confused. The salvage yards only label the 01-06 monteros as either sport or limited. If thats the case how do I find a xls model? Also would it harm other components if I used a 4.9 gear front diff with a 4.3 gear rear diff?

[@montanamontero]

You might have to get the van and check it if they are labeling it like that. There is a Monteros sport, but it’s a totally different vehicle and the deaths won’t work. And yes, you will do a lot of harm if you run two different gear ratios. You must replace both

[@Expedient_Mensch]

Don't even dream of doing that! And the tyre sizes must match too, or else you are going to trash your drive system any time you engage 4WD mode, even worse with LSD or lockers.

[@Margebadze]

as i am driving JDM Pajero 3, it has 3.0 engine, but it has already 4.6 gears, but i have 33inch tires, car drives but i can feel that power is not enough any more, so what will be your recommendation is there any difference between 4.6 and 4.9? is this worth it? will i feel the difference?

[@montanamontero]

it will make a difference, but it wont be as noticeable as a bigger jump.. it depends on how much it would cost you to regear it. if it's as easy as what i did in this video, go for it!

[@Margebadze]

@@montanamontero thanks for the inforamtion, it will cost about 200$ to swap the gears (actually diffs).

[@VeneerDept]

If I go from 31in tire and 15in wheels to a 35in tire and 16in wheel with a 2in lift. Will I have to regear?

[@montanamontero]

You never “have” to regear, but performance will suffer greatly and you will wear out your engine and transmission

[@Everything_Evan]

Do you get the diesel over there? I can get near 30mpg in that.

[@montanamontero]

nope, only gas unfortunately

[@introversion993]

What’s your personal reason for not going 35s? Price of the subframe drop or making it harder to tow loads?

[@montanamontero]

a few reasons. the biggest is clearance, i can fit 33s fully stuffed, full lock, no issues. 35s" would require a subframe drop like you said, and i don't want to go that direction with this build. 33"s have their limits, but the gearing makes it climb really well so i'm content with where it's at

[@IanJesting]

I hear u start breaking cv's pretty easily after 33" also

[@pierogillio]

Diff carrier are the same?? Just ring and pinion are different??

[@montanamontero]

Yep!

[@MFRiley]

Would you say 4.9s with 33's feels peppier than 4.3s with 32's?

[@montanamontero]

i think so.. but then again, there is extra weight in a 33, but compared to a 32 i think it's still a better advantage

[@DSERUR24]

So the dif is from a montero, just the xls one? So if i am going to buy a montero should i look for the xls montero that has the 4.9 diff?

[@montanamontero]

That’s right, same exact diff with different gears for the xls model. Personally, I would shop for a 03-06 one, they have a better motor

[@DSERUR24]

@@montanamontero got an 03 for 1000 bucks looks like it was sitting for a long time so fuel pump bad and injectors probably cloged. This week will start fixing and i will do a lot of the upgrades you did for lights the diffs , armor and some more motor upgrades like cahtch can and clining. Will be going to colorado to blanca for first road trip probably will copy your wheels set up to😅.

[@murtagon4460]

I'll be making this change too, but Chat GPT tells me it might increase fuel consumption due to higher engine RPMs. Of course, the chat is a machine and I would like to rely on experience. For me, it's important that the car uses less fuel because I'll be using it for work and hauling :). I drive at 60-80 miles 95% of the time.. What do you think, I hope I don't get the opposite effect and "to have high consumption at 70-80 miles". (I'm currently with 33" tires but it's very likely that I'll switch to 32").

[@montanamontero]

if you don't increase your tire size, you will hate a hit on MPG, if you are hoping for the best MPG, stay completely stock. but with 33s the 4.9s helped with everything EXCEPT cruising at 80mph. then my RPM is too high and it suffers. but honestly, nothing gets good mpg at 80 haha

[@anthonyluna874]

Hey can I put 4.900 on my montero 2006 with the 5 speed trasmision?

[@montanamontero]

Yes

[@HealthSupercharger]

Is this possible on a 98 montero sport

[@montanamontero]

yes, assuming that their is a model that has a different gear ratio that you would like

[@HealthSupercharger]

@@montanamontero You know what would be nice to have a higher ratio in the transfer case like a 3 to 1 or 2.7 to 1 because i hear that montero only has 1.9 to 1 ratio for low gears.

[@robertdillard4844]

Do you have the 3.5l or the 3.8l engine?

[@montanamontero]

3.8

[@user-hj5cf2hw5g]

@@montanamontero so you regear 4.9 gearing to 3.8pajero??

[@puriajinkya]

can you help me to get one of those to india

[@montanamontero]

good luck!

[@stestar09]

Did you just say - 11 to 12 mpg ?

[@montanamontero]

yep

[@pco1984]

Get a buddy or bench press it out... Or have your buddy bench press it!

[@montanamontero]

also a good move!

[@pierogillio]

I’m having a hard time to find the 4,9 ratio gear 🤦🏻‍♂️🥵

[@montanamontero]

They can be hard to find. Took me about a year of searching

[@pierogillio]

@@montanamontero is the same part number that the one on the 2001-2004 Montero sport

[@tluva1020]

Does it provide any benefits for stock, or just slightly bigger tires? Such as 265-75-R16 (32in) ??

[@montanamontero]

it actually could create drawback if fitted to a stock truck. it would make the engine rev too high for how fast the car is going which would end up overworking the motor and also making your top speed slower

[@beyondthesky7472]

Great job! Which V60 Montero models have the 4.9:1 final gear ratio as standard? The 4M41 Diesel probably doesn't. Maybe the 2.8 TDI (4M40)? Regards

[@montanamontero]

not sure on all the model names, but the base model or XLS 01-02 have 4.9

[@beyondthesky7472]

@@montanamontero Which engine/drivetrain configuration do these base models have? Thank you 🙏🏻

[@montanamontero]

@@beyondthesky7472 these would have the 3.5 with the 4 spd trans

[@dennistromp2045]

Hey man awesome videos inspiring! I need help finding torque specifications for nuts and bolts assemby for the rear and front differential Keep up the good work mate!

[@montanamontero]

Thanks! I found all my torque specs from the factory service manual. You can download them from “Mitsubishi links”. Or just punch it into google and it will probably show up