Tell me more about these Monteros

[Soviet Joy]

There are no issues with one year having notoriously bad engines or transmissions (or whatnot), are there?

So it sounds like a late 90s LS will work just fine for me. A lot of them on Craigslist seem to be a bit higher than what Edmunds suggests. This one is asking nearly $5000 while Edmunds says its worth about half that. How accurate is Edmunds with regards to what a dealer will sell the Montero for?

[eurosonic]

I have a few monteros for sale. PM for details.

[4D55 Performance]

There are no issues with one year having notoriously bad engines or transmissions (or whatnot), are there?

So it sounds like a late 90s LS will work just fine for me. A lot of them on Craigslist seem to be a bit higher than what Edmunds suggests. This one is asking nearly $5000 while Edmunds says its worth about half that. How accurate is Edmunds with regards to what a dealer will sell the Montero for?

That one you have linked is a Montero Sport/Challenger. They are great rigs and they are very reliable but only seat 5 passengers. A member over on 4x4wire has over 540k miles on his, but he just bought a replacement because his engine finally gave up the ghost this week. The fullsize Montero is built on a heavier frame, larger axles etc. The Montero Sport is based off of the Mitsubishi Pickup that they sell over seas. The fullsize Montero was the vehicle used and dominated the Dakar Rally. This is a picture of a fullsize Montero. The fullsize Montero has a much larger aftermarket than the Montero Sport. I don't think they ever offered snorkels, sliders, bumpers etc for the Montero Sport.

To answer your other question, the 12 valve 3.0, 24 valve 3.0, DOHC 3.5 and SOHC 3.5 are all very reliable and are capable of going 500k miles with out service. I prefer the SOHC over the DOHC because the DOHC had butterfly valves in the intake. While it is rare that these valves fail, it can be catastrophic when they do. Several owners have remedied this issue and it does not seem like a very difficult mod. More DOHC owners also seem to report a puff of oil burning on start up due to leaking valve seals. This puff is very minimal and pails in comparison to the Isuzu oil burning issues where there are burning 3 quarts between oil changes. I doubt you would ever have to add oil to the DOHC in between oil change because of this issue. Some people prefer the DOHC because it was rated for 215hp instead of 200hp like the SOHC. Despite this discrepancy in horsepower, both the SOHC (1997-2000) and the DOHC(1994-1996) made about 225 ft lbs of torque. To me the SOHC seems slightly more refined, but the DOHC is an amazing engine as well. I also have owner a 12 valve 3.0 and it was a great engine and parts were very easy to find.

Jaos Montero
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Roger"s Montero
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Toasty's Montero on 40's
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Angelo's Montero
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[rxinhed]

Here is a well-prepared Sport:

http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showfl...=0#Post1259520

For thought...

[shmabs]

as far as axle differences between the sport and full size montero; my sport with the 3.5 has the 9.5 inch ring gear, 31 spline rear axle, and the 8 inch ring gear front. From what i have seen, this is the same as the full size montero's. Many replacement parts list for both applications.

Mike

[Soviet Joy]

Those are some gorgeous Monteros. While I will keep my eyes open for full-sized Monteros, I'd totally buy that one on 4x4wire for $3k. Too bad it's probably sold by now.

Thanks to everyone in this thread for helping me out. The Montero community seems a lot friendlier than others (*cough*Jeep*cough*).

[4D55 Performance]

as far as axle differences between the sport and full size montero; my sport with the 3.5 has the 9.5 inch ring gear, 31 spline rear axle, and the 8 inch ring gear front. From what i have seen, this is the same as the full size montero's. Many replacement parts list for both applications.

Mike

You are right, some sports do have the larger axles but if i remember correctly, they are not compatible with the axles found on the fullsize montero. This makes it dufficult when trying to fit a locker into the montero sports. The sports had a lot of variations during there run. The earlier sports had rear leafs and smaller engines while the later models offered rear coils and larger engines. If you are considering a sport I would look for one with the factory rear locker.

[Soviet Joy]

So how does a Montero compare against an XJ, FJ80, or a Discovery?

[LaOutbackTrail]

So how does a Montero compare against an XJ, FJ80, or a Discovery?

Compared to XJ- The Monty has fewer squeaks, rattles, and shimmys. More power. More refined.

FJ80/FZJ80- Monty has much better fuel economy. More noticeable hp/ less torque. Monty has smaller interior. Cruiser has solid front axle. Bolt ons galore. Too common in the expedition-ing world (for my tastes.)

Discovery- They have very similar styling. I love Disco styling, but thats where my love ends with them. I've worked on several and while they're relatively easy to work on, the engineering is mindboggling stupid. You'd think the folks that nearly conquered the world would have employed someone with some sort of common sense when designing the trucks.... Honestly, I couldn't own a discovery after dealing with the ones i've dealt with. Again, better fuel economy. Better handling.

[4D55 Performance]

So how does a Montero compare against an XJ, FJ80, or a Discovery?

I have owned 2 FJ80's and an XJ. My buddy across the street has owned 8 Disco's and says they are a love hate relationship. First thing you need to know about a disco is they all leak oil. The head gasket needs to be replaced every 80K miles or so. Over the last 15 years all but one of his disco's has left him stranded at one time or an other and he is not a heavy off-roader. He usually gets stranded on the freeway. The head lets go with out any warning. He has also had electrical, transmission and a catastrophic tcase failure on the freeway. A few months ago he sold his last disco and he is happy to be disco free. It was an amazing one of a kind 2 door with a pickup bed. This was the only disco that never failed him. This rig had an amazing custom built roof top tent.

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It's easiest easiest for me to compare the FJ80 to the Montero. I have owned 2 of each. Both of my FJ80 were 1996 model years. the second one had the lockers, 3" OME lift, 33" tires, Safari snorkel and several other goodies. While it was very capable offroad I had several complaints. Fuel mileage is 13-14mpg and it does not matter if you are in the city or on the open road. The rig is very under powered and the tranny is not very refined when compared to the Montero. The other major complaint I had was with leg room. The Montero has lots more leg room and head room in all 3 rows. I am about 6'8" and I can sit comfortable in the second row of a Montero with the front seats all the way back. My 7 year old struggled to sit comfortable in the second row of our FJ80 with the front seats all the way back. As far as cargo space is concerned, I think the Montero has a bit more room inside, but I could be wrong. Another thing to consider is while the Montero is an IFS, it is more robust than the Toyota solid axle. I would not hesitate to run 37" tires and a front locker on the Montero's IFS. It is a very stout and over built IFS. The Montero's 9.5 rear is much stronger than the 8" rear found on the FJ80. The other thing that annoyed my about the FJ80 is there are no cup holders, not one in the entire vehicle. Heated leather was never offered, it only has one power outlet, while the Montero has 3 power outlets. The FJ80's spare is mounted under the rig and acts like a huge anchor when offroading. So plan on having to pay an addition $2000 to address this issue on the FJ80. THe Montero's spare just mounts to the rear door and oversized spares fit just fine on the Monteros rear door. The other major difference between the two is the tcase. The Montero offers a 2wd, AWD, 4hi and 4lo. The FJ80 only offers AWD, 4hi and 4lo. The FJ80 does not offer 2wd high and the 1994-1997 model years while the larger engine and lockers can not be modified for a 2wd mode. Don't get me wrong, the FJ80's are great rigs, and they can be modified to to overcome most of there short comings, but it would be much cheaper to do an SAS to a montero, than modify an FJ80 to over come all it deficiencies and the Montero would still get 6-7 better mpg. Those mods to the FJ80 would include a rear bumper and tire carrier, gearing solutions for both front and rear axles, a custom built tranny and torque converter, aftermarket heated seats, etc. All of this can easily add up to $8-10K. Don't get me wrong, I think the FJ80 is a great platform, but if you can get past the idea that the Montero has IFS you will be shocked how great these rigs are. Here is a pic of my last FJ80, it's kinda hiding behind my truck.

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The XJ is kind of a difficult comparison. The XJ is not very refined, it's parts like the axles are only big enough for mild mods, it squeaks, rattles and rides rough. The doors are paper thin, the engine is powerful, yet noisy. The tranny shifts rough, the AWD mode is worthless because of torque steer. The three great and redeeming qualities are the 4.0L, the coil sprung solid front axle, and there durability. Out of the box a Montero with a rear locker will run circles around the XJ.