I recently purchased a 94 montero for my son. 103k original miles. I have put in a little to get it running fantastic, but it also had a lot of body roll. I tried replacing the worn out shocks with Bilstein HD (all 4). The ride is greatly improved by not the body roll. Any suggestions where i can start if there is a problem?
Or is there a mod I can do cheaply(!) to improve this. 1994 was before all the consumer reports issue on flipping so maybe car was just engineered this way? I'd still like to improve it. It is very unsafe at highway speeds. Thanks.

 

Welcome to the boards. Have you checked the sway bars and springs?

 

Check for what? I had a mechanic and myself look at it. Bushing are ok, a littel cracked.. How does a sway bar wear out? What about the springs? Just let me know what to look for. But I doubt it is either of these. thanks.

 

What is "a lot of body roll"? Compared to what? You are making a very broad and subjective statement that is impossible for any of us to interpret correctly. Are you comparing the body roll of the 1994 Montero you just bought to other Monteros you have driven? To other SUVs? To your car? To what?

All SUVs have more body roll than cars of the same era but the Montero is one of the most stable and well-mannered SUVs that ever came out of the 1990s. If you want your Montero to handle like a car, you should have bought a car. 103K is nothing on a Montero so it's unlikely that anything could be worn on the suspension so badly as to cause excessive body roll, other than the shocks which you already took care of. Maybe you just have unrealistic expectations for a vehicle of this type.

 

Ok I will try to clarify. It is unsafe and very unstable anything over 40 mph. I have owned burb, trooper,LR And rented many others. It rolls excessively compared to these. I would NOT characteriize it as stable or good hwy manners. I must Improve it. If anyone in Austin area I would love for u to drive.

 

Under inflated tires or the wrong tires could cause this problem.

 

get an alingment put air bags in the rear coils and remember that this truck tips the scales at 5200 lbs

 

the tires are Fuzion radial A/P M+S, 30x9.50r15LT and inflated to 34-36PSI. Are these tires incorrect? I also recently had the alignment performed at Firestone and it is perfect, but if I remember correctly they said the back doesn't need (or they cannot) align the rear. Is that true or just too complicated for them? Should I try a rear end alignment at Mits dealer?

What are airbags in the rear coils? send me a link if you can.

Also I never heard back on how to check the sway bars and springs. Any thoughts?

Thank you.

 

Check the tag inside driver door for correct tires. I just put new tires on mine (1994 montero sr) and they are different from what you described. My tire press is 50 lbs. I think this may be your biggest problem. Low press will make the vehicle feel mushy and when you turn the steering wheel back and forth while driving it will feel like your on ice. I do know alignment wont help you and worn sway bar bushings wont do it unless one side is completly off. Check your tires and put the max press stated on the tire in them and see if that help then you'll know your on the right track.

 

The labels says P265 70R15 110 H. Frnt PSI 26 and rear 32 PSI cold. These "look" like they are stock (no big mud tires or low profile). It looks like every other stock montero. You think that could make a big difference? What tire goes up to 50PSI??!!! Do you like you tires? recommend a brand? Thanks.

Also- how cracked can the sway bar bushing be? when is it a problem. They are there, cracked, but seem ok (but I didn't see them new).

J