Been lurking for a bit and reading up on the Monteros a ton. I've been looking for a cheap, reliable 4wd car to do a short commute in, drive in the snow, and some light off-roading to access trail heads. I currently have a Sprinter but want to try and keep miles off it, and despite not driving much, its been a bit much as a daily. That said I've settled on a Gen 3 and have been looking around to find one. I like the idea of the super select transfer case (as I think the 4h would be perfect for snowy roads when we go skiing). I already have a project car with the sprinter, so with this I would like to find a car that requires as little mechanical work as possible. That said I found one locally that has a bit of history and thought I would tap into the collective wisdom of this group for some thoughts.
The basics are its a 2001 Limited with a 159K on it. The interior leaves much to be desired as the seats and benches leather are well worn and cracked/torn in spots and would need seat covers at a minimum and a full on replacement if I could pull some seats from somewhere. There is some hail damage on the hood, but no cracks in the paint. The tires are mismatched currently and would need to be replaced. Here is where it gets interesting. The individual selling it has another Montero and is a mechanic and was going to rebuild the engine on the one he drives. Turns out he ended up replacing the engine in his personal car completely and was left with parts to rebuild an engine and went in search of a used Montero that wasn't currently running. He found one where the engine had overheated and stopped running. As a result with parts he had on hand he has done new heads, new timing belt, water pump, tensioner, and all new gaskets from the heads up. He claims it is the updated crankshaft pulley bolt in there and that both cam seals and rear cam seal have been done. The 4wd currently isn't working on it as it seems that it was mostly driven in 2H. and not driven in 4wd drive often. He is going to replace the 5 sensors on the transfer case this week and has already lubed the vacuum actuator rod in preparation of replacing the sensors. I also spoke with him and he said he would replace the fluid for differential, transfer case, and transmission if I'd like (which I would).
With that said I went and drove the car yesterday and the engine seemed to run really smooth. Brakes seemed to have about half the pad life left (based on fluid levels) and rotors didn't seem warped (no shaking) under hard breaking. There was a bit of a shimmy at higher speed, not sure if its an alignment issue or the fact that the tires were all over the place (5 mismatching). That said it seems like the major mechanical components have been addressed. Which brings me to the big question, is that fact that the engine had overheated cause any major concerns that might creep up later? Or since its been addressed should I not worry about it and be glad I found a car that has been brought up to speed and had all the major maintenance items done?
The basics are its a 2001 Limited with a 159K on it. The interior leaves much to be desired as the seats and benches leather are well worn and cracked/torn in spots and would need seat covers at a minimum and a full on replacement if I could pull some seats from somewhere. There is some hail damage on the hood, but no cracks in the paint. The tires are mismatched currently and would need to be replaced. Here is where it gets interesting. The individual selling it has another Montero and is a mechanic and was going to rebuild the engine on the one he drives. Turns out he ended up replacing the engine in his personal car completely and was left with parts to rebuild an engine and went in search of a used Montero that wasn't currently running. He found one where the engine had overheated and stopped running. As a result with parts he had on hand he has done new heads, new timing belt, water pump, tensioner, and all new gaskets from the heads up. He claims it is the updated crankshaft pulley bolt in there and that both cam seals and rear cam seal have been done. The 4wd currently isn't working on it as it seems that it was mostly driven in 2H. and not driven in 4wd drive often. He is going to replace the 5 sensors on the transfer case this week and has already lubed the vacuum actuator rod in preparation of replacing the sensors. I also spoke with him and he said he would replace the fluid for differential, transfer case, and transmission if I'd like (which I would).
With that said I went and drove the car yesterday and the engine seemed to run really smooth. Brakes seemed to have about half the pad life left (based on fluid levels) and rotors didn't seem warped (no shaking) under hard breaking. There was a bit of a shimmy at higher speed, not sure if its an alignment issue or the fact that the tires were all over the place (5 mismatching). That said it seems like the major mechanical components have been addressed. Which brings me to the big question, is that fact that the engine had overheated cause any major concerns that might creep up later? Or since its been addressed should I not worry about it and be glad I found a car that has been brought up to speed and had all the major maintenance items done?
