Host of gen 3 questions

[Kaibab]

I purchased my 2001 Montero last year and have been really impressed with it so far. As you guys have talked about, the former owner did not keep up on the maintenance, so I have been picking away at that as time and money allow.

One of the first things I did was have one of the local shops flush the transmissions. The regular it with their transmission fluid. As I read more I hear that folks warn about not using the correct fluid. How important is using Mitsubishi fluid vs standard ATF of the correct type?

The truck is going into the shop for the timing belt in a few weeks, other than doing the full kit, water pump, tensioner and gaskets what else do you recommend?

I have a small amount of smoke upon startup, and I am attributing that to the valve seats, oil consumption is about a quart per 2000 to 3000 miles (I am chasing down all the oil leaks one by one). What oil consumption have you guys been seeing and how much of an emergency is it to replace the seats?

Lastly, what do you think the long term mileage should be on these things? I hear folks say that the old land cruisers were good for 250000 miles between rebuilds, what is your experience as the odometer heads past 150000?

Like I said, so far this has been a good vehicle, I just want to ask the community what their thoughts are.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Change that ATF and use the correct fluid, you said you read it for yourself and folks are right on this.

 

[Kaibab]

On my to do list, how many miles do you have on your 1998?

 

[jeep-N-montero]

On my to do list, how many miles do you have on your 1998?

I think about 161k, we own 5 vehicles and it doesn't see many miles compared to my DD.

 

[normal_dave]

On a 2001, if you are doing a timing belt kit, go ahead and have the front cam seals replaced. Part cost is low, shouldn't hurt too much on the labor.

Passenger front cam seal, when leaking drips right into the alternator, and over time will kill it. Also is one of the mysterious ways oil gets out of the engine, but seldom appears on the driveway...

Replace your rear camshaft o-ring(s) (Our Sport has 2), again low cost, but another famous leak spot that lots of "mechanic shops" miss.

Replacing your valve stem seals is doable, but not for the faint of heart. I used a Fel Pro kit for mine, Rock Auto has them on close out now for an incredibly low price. It was night/day difference for our "ol smoky". The fix involves removing each of 24 valve springs, popping off the old seals (this was for me a real pain), carefully seating the new ones, rinse, lather, repeat...did I say 24 times? Some use the rope in the spark plug hole trick at TDC, I was able to charge each cylinder with my air compressor and used the Lisle valve spring tool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1DmJQ4Fods Don't misunderstand, I'll do it again without hesitation when the time comes on my '02 Montero Limited.

As far as oil usage, on our '03 sport with the 3.5L, I used to really have to watch the oil, and seemed I was always topping off. I guess except for the smoke and headache, it really wasn't an emergency, since I put up with it nearly a year. It started quite mild, but eventually got to the embarrassing point. I really was worried about the difficulty of the job, and the possibility it would not fix the problem, but now I'm irritated I waited so long, as it is like a new truck in the oil usage/smoke respect.

Valve cover gaskets, I like to use the OEM only, carefully straighten the gasket channel in the valve cover, small bead of sealant between gasket and cover, gasket should stick out past the metal on the cover a fair bit, then place on head, and as soon as you think you have the bolts snug with a 1/4" ratchet, they're probably already too tight and will leak. Really, take it easy here.

I also just did a complete radiator flush and fill finishing with distilled water and concentrate coolant. I disconnected the hoses at the rear heater and followed this procedure. It takes several flushes and some time, but what a difference it made.
https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=333356&postcount=2

Oh and ATF, I used a global spec in our Sport because it was all that was readily available at the time. It was "ok" but there really is a difference in the SP-III in Mitsubishi transmissions. I'm changing it out with an OEM filter in the next week or so. Btw, my frustration in finding genuine SP-III at a decent price has been rectified. (insert commercial here) A dealer not too far from me-Terry Reid Hyundai, Cartersville, GA has genuine Hyundai SP-III on the shelf at $ 6.68 per quart based on 12 quarts, and said they would ship anywhere, but the shipping cost added might not keep it competitive. I have to say after 30 years of dealing with dealer parts counters, that had to be the most pleasant transaction ever, hence my desire to tell the story here.

As far as engine life goes, my theory is many Mitsubishi's die way too soon due to poor maintenance. Sure there are a few gremlin headaches to handle, but once you decide "that's just how it is" and take care of them, I find them to be extremely well built and reliable vehicles. DougC on justanswer was advising me on a coolant issue several years back which I thought was a blown head gasket. Turned out to just be a failed coolant crossover pipe. In our discussion he indicated you really had to work hard to lose a head gasket on the 3.5L, and that our cylinder blocks had an unusually high nickel content and were much tougher than most give credit for. I'm not planning to get rid of either of ours, and I hope my wife's truck doesn't get wrecked, because I don't think she is willing to drive anything else, and of course they don't make them anymore here. Good thing I'm willing and able to maintain them.

Quoting the old Mission Impossible..."Good Luck, Jim"

 

[coffeegoat]

On the valve stem seal removal/replacement project there will be a tutorial/walk through here soon, I'm taking pictures as I go and as Normal_Dave notes it's not super hard but it's certainly tedious and a bit fiddly. Don't even bother without buying the Lisle tool, I spent 2 hours to get 4 valve apart with a standard valve spring compressor and 2 minutes to get the remaining 8 done with the Lisle tool. Because you have the 2001 if I'm not mistaken the rear camshaft seal on the drivers side is not an O-ring, it's just RTV sealant, be wary when you get to it.

Finally, if you're going to dive in and work on the valve seals you should seriously consider the rope method vs pulling the heads. I thought it would be relatively simple to get the heads off, it's not. Plan on another 1-2 full hours of tear down work plus hours of cleaning/etc to get the heads fully refurbished....

 

[Kaibab]

Look forward to your write up from coffeegoat not that I will have his skills. But atleast I can get a real good idea of what I am looking at. When I do the valves what on the fuel rail should I be looking at?

I have done the o ring but the driver side cam seal with the rtv has been frustrating me since my hands don't fit.

Thanks for the help.