Thoughts on this gen 2.5?

[shmabs]

Well it looks like my montero sport will be sold tomorrow and im on the hunt for a replacement. The idea is to get another rig and put a some cash in the bank. This will be my winter DD when i can't ride the bike, and the family camper/wheeler. I am considering a full size montero for a few reasons.

I have come to like the 3.5.
Factory rear locker
Bigger wheel wells on the gen 2.5
More room than my sport had ( i dont need it, but its nice to have)
Should have slightly better parts availability than my sport, im basing that on the fact that i could seemingly always get parts for a montero, but never the sport, locally anyway.
Side opening rear door


From my research the gen 2.5 will have:

the 200 hp SOHC 3.5, and will not have the butterfly valves (which i have read can be problematic)
4.27 gearing, this is a step in the wrong direction from the 4.90's in my sport.

Is this correct?

Thoughts on this one in particular?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/3019831157.html

Talked to the owner, he said 17mpg on a trip to LA and 180 +/-5 psi across the board on compression

[4D55 Performance]

It looks great, I always liked that Alaskan blue or what ever they call it.

[eurosonic]

Ive had mine close to a year now, been very happy with it. Really like the wider body of the 2.5Gen. The 4.27 gears is a downer, but gets me by with 33s ok for now.


The blue monty in the ad is a pretty nice, looks very clean. Has subtle additions that are nice to have.

[scrubber3]

It sure is nice. I'd buy it for sure in a heartbeat!

[Clem]

I test drove that one maybe nine months ago or so before I bought mine. It seemed to have a shimmy in the front end and slight miss. It didn't have the new wheels and tires and I don't think the timing belt, tune up and alignment were done yet. He said the compression was good, but didn't have documentation. I think the work was done be a relative. There was also the four wheel drive system that didn't seem to fully or properly engage. I liked the color and non-US marker lights and it had the pajero rear step at the time. I ultimately went with a '99 with about 96K miles and properly functioning four wheel drive system for $5,000.

Maybe the four wheel drive system started engaging/disengaging properly with use. If I were you, I'd go drive it and make the decision myself. Make him an offer. The worst he can say is no.

Good luck with your decision,

Clem

[shmabs]

Clem,

Your post is very valuable to me, thanks a bunch. He told me that the all engine and alignment work was very recent, and told me about a "blinking 4wd light". I wasn't surprised to hear that, most of them that i looked at when i was shopping for my sport had that problem. 4k is a lot closer to my budget, and after speaking with him for a while today, it seems like there might be some room to work on the price.

Other than what you mentioned were there any other big issues? I'm not expecting perfection from a 99 with almost 200k, but any insider info would be great.

Thanks

Mike

[SOFpirate]

The blinking 4WD light typically isn't that big of a deal. Just keep cycling it and it'll eventually work itself out 90% of the time.

[Clem]

The guy was very nice and seemed up front about everything. The truck was pretty clean from what I remember. It didn't appear to have been in any accidents and he seemed to keep it really clean. I was pretty close to buying it, but with a fully functioning Monty with about half the miles available, my decision was pretty clear. I think he was asking about $5K or $6 at the time and he said he would probably just keep it and enjoy it for awhile. That was before the additional work was done. The blinking 4wd light might be the solenoid and I don't know how hard they are to get to or how much they cost. He had been cycling it for quite awhile trying to get it to work properly and that was nine months to a year ago. He had taken it to the Hollister OHV park at least twice and was driving it pretty regularly from what I can remember, so I don't think cycling is the cure.

HTH

Clem

[scrubber3]

The guy was very nice and seemed up front about everything. The truck was pretty clean from what I remember. It didn't appear to have been in any accidents and he seemed to keep it really clean. I was pretty close to buying it, but with a fully functioning Monty with about half the miles available, my decision was pretty clear. I think he was asking about $5K or $6 at the time and he said he would probably just keep it and enjoy it for awhile. That was before the additional work was done. The blinking 4wd light might be the solenoid and I don't know how hard they are to get to or how much they cost. He had been cycling it for quite awhile trying to get it to work properly and that was nine months to a year ago. He had taken it to the Hollister OHV park at least twice and was driving it pretty regularly from what I can remember, so I don't think cycling is the cure.

HTH

Clem

It's 99 dollars for the vacuum solenoid. Sets on the front right wheel well and takes 5 minutes to replace. It's fairly idiot proof too. I can find a part number for you if you decide to get it. 99% of the time, this fixes the problem. If you can check the resistance on each side, and get back with me on your readings, I'll be able to tell you of its bad or not too.

[shmabs]

I actually just went through this on my sport, i found one side of the solenoid stuck open reading 0 ohms resistance, my solution was to directly supply the solenoid with 13.5 volts directly from my battery. It opened the solenoid and combined with a thorough cleaning of the connectors was all that was needed. The connectors, while somewhat weather tight, are subject to foreign contaminants and water falling from above and get trapped in the bottom of the connector. the solenoid wa also only available through mitsubishi, and IIRC there weren't a whole lot of them that had them here on the west coast.