Just bought a 96 Montero SR...joining the crowd

[mike5]

I've been reading the forums for a bit now since going off roading recently with some friends. As a result of the off roading, I developed a desire to get a car and do it myself. After some research, the Montero seemed to be the right choice. So long story short, I picked up a 96 SR with roughly 165K. CA car, no accidents, original paint, no damage to paint or body. I think it is in pretty good shape, but there are a couple of items I have some questions on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

- The stereo seems to not work. I think it wants a code inputed. Is this as simple as pulling the stereo, getting the serial number, and calling the dealer? Will they charge me for the code?
- The third row is missing. I don't really have a use for it, but assuming I wanted to source it, how hard is it to find used and around how much does it go for?
- The transmission has an A/T button. I noticed flipping to one side gives a PWR setting. Does it do anything when flipped the opposite way? I ask because no dash light comes on.
- The sunroof works but its super slow. I'm guessing something is wrong. Is this common? Any ideas?
- On a related note, are the sunroofs known to leak water or are they pretty good?
- And of course tires, I want something bigger that does not rub or present any issues. Are 33x10.5x15 it or is there something larger? Also, I don't want to pay an arm/leg. Any brand/model recommendations or any place I can look to find a used set?

Thank you for putting up with the newbie questions!

I'm planning on having it serviced first before doing any cleaning. So please excuse the picture. I just wanted to include it for proof:-)



photo.JPG

[off-roader]

- The stereo seems to not work. I think it wants a code inputed. Is this as simple as pulling the stereo, getting the serial number, and calling the dealer? Will they charge me for the code?

Call Mitsubishi Motors of North America at 1-888-648-7820, M-F 7am - 4pm Pacific time with your radio's serial number in hand.

- The third row is missing. I don't really have a use for it, but assuming I wanted to source it, how hard is it to find used and around how much does it go for?

Yes, they can be difficult to find since most never remove them. I do have a set up in N. Cal which you can have for $150. They're a two tone lt tan/dk tan.

- The transmission has an A/T button. I noticed flipping to one side gives a PWR setting. Does it do anything when flipped the opposite way? I ask because no dash light comes on.

It's a 3 position switch. Forward is power. To the back is 'hold' which starts your transmission in 2nd gear for low traction situations like snow/ice.

- The sunroof works but its super slow. I'm guessing something is wrong. Is this common? Any ideas?

Clean and relube the mechanism. You'll need to remove the inner roof liner though.

- On a related note, are the sunroofs known to leak water or are they pretty good?

No, they're pretty good.

- And of course tires, I want something bigger that does not rub or present any issues. Are 33x10.5x15 it or is there something larger? Also, I don't want to pay an arm/leg. Any brand/model recommendations or any place I can look to find a used set?

Yes those fit with a bit of torsion bar cranking. 35x12.5's fit w/ a 2" body lift and the right wheel width (8" minimum) and are what I'm running.

HTH.

[mike5]

Thanks so much for all the info! I really appreciate it. I think I will hold off on the 3rd row as I don't have a need for them at the moment.

I think for tires, I was thinking of 31x10.5x15. From what I've read, those fit without doing a thing. So that'll be on my list...just need to find a good deal on new or used.

Couple of updates:
- I pulled the instrument cluster today to replace some bulbs. It was a pain in the *** to disconnect the harnesses. One of them, I just could not remove, so I left that one on and was able to get to the bulbs. I replaced the Drive bulb and rear left wheel bulb. I could not find the HOLD bulb. I looked at the four that were in that area and they all seemed ok. It's no big deal. On a side note, Autozone had the bulbs. Sylvania 2721 6.5v, 9.8w. They came in packs of two.
- I also pulled the stereo and got the model#, ref#, and S/N. I noticed a four digit code written on the stereo itself. Tried it twice, but got ERR. So I'll just call Mitsu tomorrow. Just to make sure, when I put the code in, I hit tape...right?
- I also replaced the alarm remote battery, and now the light on the remote comes on. But what do I need to do to program it to work with the car?

One more question: what kind of power steering fluid does this truck take?

Thanks again,
Mike

[zukrider]

im running 33-1050-15 km2 on stock rims. only thing that rubbed was the plastic trim on the running boards. i removed them cause i think there useless. no rubbing now.

nice find, and welcome to the group!

[mike5]

Interesting. I don't have the running boards on mine:-) If can run 33x10.5x15 without having the crank the front up or anything else then I'll turn my search into that direction. Now to find a deal...

[red87]

I'm also running 33x10.5s, just in the BFG AT flavor. They fit perfectly with no lift.

[zukrider]

here's a pic



thats with the rails still on.

[mike5]

Nice. Looks perfect. Now to find a good deal...

[LaOutbackTrail]

And here is the truck with 33x12.50s. I recently installed Old Man Emu heavy springs in the back for increased load capacity. But very minimal height difference ~1" now that the springs are broken in.

[mike5]

Update (after a very long while):

It's been a long few months and I've had to learn a lot about the Montero, along with spending a lot more than I wanted to spend on this car…but I think I've made some progress. I think I'm finally at a point where I can start using it. I'll have to start driving it again to see if it really is ok, but I hope it will be.

So this is what I've done so far:

When i bought the car I noticed a bad idle right away. I took the car to my mechanic and had the following done:
- Changed fluids on front differential, rear differential, and transfer case
- Changed tranny fluid and filter (using original fluid and aftermarket filter)
- Cleaning of throttle body

The above did not solve the idle issue though. And soon enough I also had a high idle all the time. In addition, I noticed that sometimes the car did not start and I'd have to wait a good 20 minutes before it would start. I thought it might have been the idle control valve, so I bought a used one…but that made things worse. So back to the mechanic. They did the following:
- Replaced the EGR solenoid and EGR pipe (both were broken/leaking air)
- As a precaution they also replaced the MFI relay

During this time at one point while getting gas, I noticed a wet spot under car. After starting it, all the coolant drained. It looked like mud. As a result the car was towed to the shop. The following was done:
- Replaced bad hose
- Flushed and replaced fluid
- As a precaution I had them change the fan blade because there were cracks everywhere on it
- Changed radiator cap

The above steps made the idle a lot smoother but it would still have a high idle at times and not start randomly. After talking to some people and thinking about it I decided the best thing to do is keep driving it until the check engine light came on. Sure enough a few weeks later it did! The code showed a bad coolant temp sensor (which was effecting AF ratio and idle). I bought a sensor from auto zone and put it on. Sure enough it solved the start issue and idle issue. But while replacing this piece, I noticed that with the engine cover removed I could hear a loud vacuum leak coming from the valve for the plenum. This got me concerned as I began to worry that the butterfly flaps might fail and the engine might be toast. Additionally, in the last month at times the car would start and it was also misfiring, sometimes it would go away and sometimes it would not. When I checked the code once, it showed a misfire on cylinder 1. So this last week the car went back to the shop and I had the following done:
- Replaced plenum and gaskets
- Replaced plugs
- Replaced ignition coils
- Mechanic noticed the coolant sensor's top wiring connector was bad, so he replaced that as well.

After getting it back from the mechanic, the misfire came back. So back to the shop it went. They took it all apart and replaced the plug wires. Didn't solve the misfire. Long story short, it was an injector. So once they replaced the injector, the misfire stopped.

I've also had to do the front rotors/pads and bought some AT tires for the truck (32" tires). Ironically enough, when the front brakes were done the car started pulling to the left. Don't know why, but I guess I have to do an alignment now…it was perfect before. The only things I can imagine are the timing belt and water pump. I'm in no rush though as I'm tired of poring money into this thing.

-------

After all the above, I finally had the opportunity to take the truck on a trail! I took it to Rowher Flats yesterday along with a buddy who has a lifted Bronco with BFG ATs. Lets just say I was able to go everywhere he was able to.