Tell me more about these Monteros

Soviet Joy

New member
I've been looking at vehicles around $5000 for my camping rig. I've had several people tell me to look at Mitsubishi Monteros. Aside from their Wiki page, I can't really find a nice description of them. It seems that thy come in 2wd as well as 4wd. Do all of them come with CDLs or only certain models? How is their on-road ride? And how do they compare to Discos, ZJs, and Fj80s?
 

off-roader

Expedition Leader
Whether you are looking to use it for basic camping, running overlanding trails, Sierra Nevada mountain trails including some moderate rock crawling, or even rubicon/Dusy/Fordyce heavy rock crawling trips, the gen1&2 Monteros or Montero sports are going to be very capable in my experience both as a driver (gen I & II v6 Monteros) and observer (Montero sport and 2.6 I-4 Monteros).

My current favorite and IMHO the more capable rigs are the gen II SR's with the 3.5l DOHC engines, closely followed by the gen 2.5's with the winter package (w/ a locker).

Mine is running 35x12.5/15's. To fit the tires I had to use 15x8" wheels, a 2" body lift (4crawler.com), 2" toyota Sequioa coil spring spacers in back, and I cranked the front torsion bars for an added 1.5" lift up front. No engine, drivetrain, or gearing mods required.

With aftermarket bumpers, rock skids, and packed for the trail, I still get ~12-14 mpg with careful driving.

Id say if your on a budget, they're exceptionally hard to beat as an off road rig.

IMHO its weak spots are the valve guide seals, and relatively limited selection of aftermarket bolt ons. That said most owners here have easily found ways to get around that.

HTH.
 

scrubber3

Not really here
A montero does not come in 2wd. Only 4wd versions are available. The montero sport can be had with only 2wd, but those are an entirely different vehicle. You'll find that they are one of the most capable stock vehicles out there. With just a little work, they will go darn near anywhere you point it. I've ran my rig with some extremely built Toyota rigs and it followed them into everything but the stuff that required a body cage and 36"+ tires. These guys had some wicked machines and knew how to drive them for the purpose they were built for. When I go out, I am very confident that I can get to anywhere I want and back home again. Some key points to remember- make sure the timing belt is maintained properly, don't fret the little puff of smoke you get every now and then as it is normal for these to let oil slip by the valve seals. Ideally it is best to change them, but it doesn't amount to much so long as you aren't producing a smoke screen as you don't want to ruin your catalytic converters. Other than that they are a very solid platform to get you and you stuff out there in the thick. I have around 5000 invested in my montero total including 5 new BFG KM2s. There are several build threads on these if you'd like to research what you can do to them. I have one in my signature if you'd like to check it out. There are quite a few nice builds on here that can get your imagination going. And every montero comes with a CDL.
 

Soviet Joy

New member
Oh, that's great that they all come with CDL. I thought I read that only certain models came with them. What kind of axles do they have? Are they solid like a Jeep or is it an IFS? I'm guessing they're not unibody vehicles, like Cherokees. How difficult are they to work on? The only thing I've ever done extensively is helped out a friend with his XJ, so compared to that.
 

geocrasher

Observer
I'll chime in. I've owned a '69 Land Cruiser wagon, several Chevy trucks and a 1990 Toyota V6 5spd pickup for comparison, and some other lesser vehicles. My Gen 1 4cyl 5 speed Raider (a re-branded SWB 2dr Montero) has very high mileage and a mechanic told me to junk it and get something more reliable. He couldn't have been more wrong. With some parts replacement and maintenance I'm getting 13-15mpg with it, it goes everywhere I've pointed it. My '69 LC Wagon was a basket case, but I got a good feel for Cruisers with it, and the Toy pickup was a great truck. My Raider compares favorably among them. Its is very very well built and I can, even with 338K miles on the truck, go anywhere I want with confidence. I don't do hard core rock crawling and the like, but I have no qualms about taking it to remote places.

All Monteros are independent suspension in the front with a solid axle in the back on a standard ladder frame. There are many solid axle conversions out there. But, the IFS is very very tough and I personally wouldn't bother worrying about swapping it.

In conclusion, Monteros are vehicles designed with a world wide market in mind. They are tough, incredibly well engineered and as reliable as you can get for any price.

Also you'll want to visit this site for info as well: http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB69&page=0
 

Soviet Joy

New member
I'm guessing as far as the models go, whats the difference between the LS and the SR? Is there a Haynes or Chilton manual for Monteros?
 

scrubber3

Not really here
I'm guessing as far as the models go, whats the difference between the LS and the SR? Is there a Haynes or Chilton manual for Monteros?

These are both 2nd generation. The SR comes with a locking rear differential and a 3.5 liter engine, as well as leather seats and a sun roof if that's your thing. Oh and anti lock brakes I think.

The LS comes with a 3.0 liter and for the most part open rear diff. Cloth seats and no sun roof and can be had with antilock brakes. (less that can go wrong) the only real advantage the SR has over an LS is the locking rear differential. This is easily resolved with an axle swap from an SR. The extra half liter in the SR provides just a little more horse power but is a more complicated engine.

The 2.5 generation montero is a nice compromise between the simplicity of the LS and the locking real differential and extra power of the SR. Only drawback to these is the gearing.... But it is sought after because to most it is the best looking and can fit a bit larger tires as the fenders are bubbled out.
 
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What is a 2.5 generation?

A gen 2.5 is very similar to a gen 2, but there are several differences. Gen 2.5(1998-2000) has a 3.5L SOHC engine instead of the DOHC found on the gen 2. The gen 2.5 also has blister fenders. The gen 2 had plastic fender flares on the SR models. The other major difference was the 4.27 gearing found on the gen 2.5. The gen 2 had 4.63 gearing. There were several other small differences like headlights, higher quality leather, premium sound etc. All in all the gen 2 and the gen 2.5 are the same vehicle. I personal prefer the gen 2.5 because it looks awesome with blister fenders and the I believe the SOHC is a bit more reliable.
 

Soviet Joy

New member
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?
 
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
6298804794_e0d043ce66_z.jpg
 
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shmabs

Explorer
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
 

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