Gen 2 Montero SR vs. later Gen 2 Trooper

[78Bronco]

The third row in a Montero is great for little people but it is no good for adults.

[LaOutbackTrail]

The third row in a Montero is great for little people but it is no good for adults.

I'm 5'11 and can sit back there for short trips around town, but you're right, any real distance wouldn't be fun. If you need third row space for adults, buy a Suburban or Excursion.

[BigSwede]

I think you answered the IFS toughness question, a Montero would not break with 35" tires. I have not even heard of breakage issues with 37 and 40" tires. It's a really tough IFS. My stock Montero averages 20mpg in the city and 24mpg out on the open road.

It is worth noting that the 2 CVs I broke in 5 years were both in extreme (stupid) circumstances. One was a full throttle, high speed hill climb in deep snow...got airborne and popped the CV when I landed. Most drivetrains have trouble with shock loading like that. The other was while trying to climb an undercut ledge with one wheel, on Golden Spike trail in Moab. I should have just picked a different line.

Point being, I wouldn't expect any breakage in normal expo duty.

[Cee-Jay]

Well, did you find one yet?

Still looking, thanks for asking. I've pretty much decided to go Montero instead of Trooper. The Montero SR is a more expensive initial purchase, but it seems to me that it's cheaper in the long run given my very simple build plan. Intially anyway, I'll just set the shocks to stiff, throw on some skinny 33"s and perhaps add some body armor/recovery points. In contrast, adding a rear air locker and lifting a Trooper a few inches to allow for 33"s would, at the end of the day, burn through the intial savings and ultimately cost more than a Montero SR. It's a rare vehicle that can except 33"s with no lift and little to no rubbing... and it comes with an air-actuated rear diff lock? Pretty good deal.

Only one other 94+ SR has gone on sale since the one I wrote about a few weeks ago... a 1996 w/ 150k miles sold in in just a few days for $3400. There are not a lot of them out here for sale lately. There is a $2000 '93 with engine issues, but I want the 3.5. Also a 99 Montero, but it doesn't have the winter package and the guy wants $4800 for it.

[nwoods]

I thought my Montero was a 94, but I know it had a 3.0L V6, with manual transmission. It was an LS model. The engine was from Chrysler and made getting parts (like the water pump and alternator) super easy and cheap (compared to Mitsu dealer prices). Great truck. Only reason why we sold it was that I never really fit in it, and then the kids didn't fit when the toddler car seats got enormous. The Trooper is roomier inside, and has a nicer dash, with a few more nice features, like one touch windows and the rear barn door is nice, but that Monty just kept going and going...

Pre-lift and pre-33's:

[Cee-Jay]

The Trooper is roomier inside, and has a nicer dash, with a few more nice features, like one touch windows and the rear barn door is nice[/img]

Yes, the Trooper has a lot going for it. I like it better than the Montero in a number of respects.

My boys are small now (5 and 2) so space isn't a huge issue yet. That being said, in the back of my mind I still consider throwing a lift and 35"s on 2500 Suburban and calling it good for the next 20 years... but I'm not sure it's really practical. My wife would never drive it, it would barely fit parked out on my narrow street and size might be an issue on some trails. On the other hand, parts a plenty and zero space issues. And it's not like I'm planning on extreme trails here... just your run of the mill high clearance 4x4 trails. I've probably planned out six or seven different rigs on paper (K5, Ramcharger, XJ, Wagoneer, 98-01 Trooper, Gen 2 Montero, Suburban) and I've done some basic research on a bunch of others. I need to stop treating this as the one vehicle to end all vehicles and just try something that makes sense, knowing that I can always sell it if I decide I like something else better. The bottom line is that any of the vehicles I've considered will be perfectly fine for my purposes.

One thing I like about the Montero SR is minimal investment... don't need to pay for a lift, don't need to add a locker or lsd... just plug in some skinny 33"s and start playing. If my dreams of family adventure travel never come to fruition, I won't be stuck with a money pit of an adventure vehicle that never gets used and is worth jack (given that most of the "improvements" I make will decrease the value of the vehicle, or at least not add much). Montero seems like a safe choice.

[LaOutbackTrail]

In reality, Cee-Jay, that's why I chose the Montero. Granted I paid $1500 for a truck with 115k miles with known issues, the issues are being worked through now and the truck will be ready to go anywhere before too long.

I love the fact that I didn't have to spend $1500+ for suspension and $3000+ for locker and gearing... it just made all the sense in the world to get the montero. People say parts availability is scarce. We just practically rebuilt the engine. Sure, the local parts store doesn't have everything on their shelf, but I've not had to wait more than 48hrs for parts. Plus, everything I've gotten was manufactured in Japan.

[BigSwede]

Not sure you got the best advice on Troopers...you don't have to lift a Trooper to fit 33s, and even if you do it is cheap, $170 for a set of OME coils and crank the front up to match. Certainly nothing like $1500. And most of them have rear LSDs as well, though not a locker.

Oh well, enjoy your Montero, they are nice too!

[LaOutbackTrail]

Not sure you got the best advice on Troopers...you don't have to lift a Trooper to fit 33s, and even if you do it is cheap, $170 for a set of OME coils and crank the front up to match. Certainly nothing like $1500. And most of them have rear LSDs as well, though not a locker.

Oh well, enjoy your Montero, they are nice too!

My comparison was to the Toyota vehicles....

Besides, there is always a cheap way to do something....

Troopers are great trucks too, was a difficult decision, but ultimately I preferred the Montero.

[Cee-Jay]

Not sure you got the best advice on Troopers...you don't have to lift a Trooper to fit 33s, and even if you do it is cheap, $170 for a set of OME coils and crank the front up to match. Certainly nothing like $1500. And most of them have rear LSDs as well, though not a locker.

Oh well, enjoy your Montero, they are nice too!

Big Swede, my understanding (mostly from reading on Planetisuzoo) was that skinny 33s will fit on the Trooper, but that they will rub. In contrast, flotation 33's only rub a little on the Montero and skinnys will probably be good to go. Yes I agree that the lift is relatively cheap on a Trooper.... but avoiding a torsion bar crank (even a small one) is usually a good idea in my opinion. Everything else equal, 33s with no crank and no rub is better than 33s with crank and no rub. Also, based on my craigslist vehicle search over the last several months, Montero SRs are $500 to $1000 more than similar Troopers... so the spread is not that wide to begin with (not when you factor in OME lift + a locker).

Please tell me though if you disagree that skinny 33's will rub on a Trooper with no lift. Not always easy for me to seperate out the generaly accepted facts as understood by the hardcore guys from the opinion of one guy who's brother knew a guy that ran 44"s on a welded GM 10-bolt and never broke an axle, etc. I am very much a rookie and am prone to making mistakes on things like this.