New owner of a 98 Montero

[TheMole]

Hey all just picked up a 1998 Alamoana Green Metallic Montero with 192k miles from the original owner a few weeks ago and just wanted to introduce myself. This is my first full-sized SUV and am still adjusting to driving it (original shocks don't help on those sharp turns). I'm glad to be a part forum as it is an excellent resource which has helped me to resolve common issues with this car. Looking forward to contributing where I can!

Still learning about the car, but below are some of the current things I need to do. Will update this thread as things are completed.


Recent maintenance completed by previous owner
-Valve job
-Timing belt, water pump, seals
-Starter

To do list in the near future
-Controls arm bushings?

Completed
-Replaced stereo with Pioneer headunit
-Replaced blown front door speakers with Kenwood components (wired to headunit)
-Replaced bottom stereo compartment with one that has a door from a Montero Sport
-Cleaned and moisturized leather seats
-Oil changed
-Air filter
-Spark plugs (10/21/14)
-Ignition wires (10/21/14)
-PCV valve (10/21/14)
-Plenum gasket (10/21/14)
-Shocks (10/26/14)
-Front/rear endlinks (10/26/14)
-Front/rear swaybar bushings (10/26/14)
-Interior carpet shampoo (10/28/14)
-Radiator (10/27/14)
-Upper and lower radiator hoses (10/27/14)
-Thermostat (10/27/14)
-Crank bolt/washer (10/29/14)
-Transmission pan gasket/filter (10/29/14)
-Fix door lock actuator (11/2/14)
-Idler arm (11/29/14)
-Inner tie rods (6/15)
-Outer tie rods (6/15)
-Pitman arm (7/15)
-Lower ball joints (7/15)
-Alignment (7/15)
-265/70/15 Cooper Discoverer AT/3 (7/15)
-Auxiliary fan (9/17/15)
-Fuel filter OEM(12/15)
-Upper ball joints (7/16)
-Rear brake pads (9/16)
-Front brake pads (10/16)


Pic from previous owner

 

[bikerjosh]

Congrats, I picked one up in the same color over the summer. Interested in seeing a picture of "-Replaced bottom stereo compartment with one that has a door from a Montero Sport"
Josh

 

[Toasty]

Mole, nice truck man! Welcome.


Josh, you can get the pocket/cubby from the same era Diamante or RS Model Montero's as well so keep an eye out in your local yards.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Congrats, I picked one up in the same color over the summer. Interested in seeing a picture of "-Replaced bottom stereo compartment with one that has a door from a Montero Sport"
Josh

I replaced my original Infinity tape player with the Infinity CD player and cubby with door from a Sport, direct swap and keeps all factory audio compatible.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Hey Mole, can you post up what you used on the seats?

 

[TheMole]

Thanks for the greetings guys! I was tired of things sliding out from the bottom stereo cubby and took a chance on the Sport since it looked like it would fit. Fortunately it was a direct fit into the oem bracket. Got mine off of ebay for $14, but am sure you can get it cheaper at your local yard.

Hey Mole, can you post up what you used on the seats?

Sure man the first thing I used was Mr Clean Magic Eraser on the seats, dash, and door panels. This really helps to remove the stubborn dirt in the crevices and textured surfaces such as the door panel handles especially in lighter-colored interiors. Just be gentle with it as scrubbing too hard might have adverse effects. I followed up with Meguiars Natural Shine on the non-leather areas and Meguiars Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner/Conditioner on the leather areas. I honestly didn't spend too much time with the Magic Eraser step and might have missed some areas, but think it came out pretty good. If you take your time I think that you can get great results. I'll try to snap some better pics of the interior when theres better lighting.

 

[TheMole]

Took a few hours over a span of 2 days, but was finally able to change out the spark plugs and wires. The rig previously had an occasional cylinder 1 misfire, herky jerky between 30-40mph, and overall sluggish acceleration, but runs excellent so far with restored power. It was a bit of a pain, but the MonteroSportOnline DIY proved to be valuable and saved me quite a bit of time. Below are some tips and things to look out for that I experienced.

-Throttle body heater hose (5/16" ID) cracked/disintegrated due to age when trying to rotate the plenum over so coolant started leaking out. Might be a good idea to have some coolant and replacement hoses/clamps handy if your hoses are old. The parts store was closed when I was working on it so had to wait until the next day.

-When removing any of the bolts, it is a good idea to label the location they were removed from. I labeled mine on a few pieces of paper according to the locations and steps in the DIY.

-There are 3 or 4 bolts near the near the throttle body and firewall that can be hard to spot. I had a hard time locating a hidden bolt in this area that was holding the plenum down. Just try to move/unplug some of the hoses and feel for the bolts.

-Plenum gasket was kind of a pain to set in place as it likes to move while placing the heavy plenum back on. I used some painters tape to hold the gasket in place while I loosely threaded a few bolts to align the gasket. There should be enough play in the plenum it lift it up a bit and remove the tape.

-EGR tube gasket and 2 bolts were a pain to reinstall due to the tight area. I used the same tape trick above for the gasket. There is enough play in the EGR tube to lineup the 2 bolt holes, but holding the tube in the correct position was tough for me. I stuck a thin philips screwdriver on one hole to try to align the tube while threading the other bolt in. It took a bit of time, sweat, and trial/error, but I was able to cleanly thread it in. I didn't remove the big manifold bracket next to the EGR tube, but you may want to consider doing so for more room to work.

-Double check that all hoses are plugged back in. There are some big and tiny ones that can be easy to overlook. I threw a code P0400 (EGR flow) while on the test drive and later found that I forgot to plug in a tiny vacuum hose near the firewall.

 

[TheMole]

Replaced the shocks yesterday with KYB Monomax and also changed out the front/rear swaybar endlinks and bushings. Shocks were most likely original as they were easy to compress. It rides a lot better now and no more bounce!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Took a few hours over a span of 2 days, but was finally able to change out the spark plugs and wires. The rig previously had an occasional cylinder 1 misfire, herky jerky between 30-40mph, and overall sluggish acceleration, but runs excellent so far with restored power. It was a bit of a pain, but the MonteroSportOnline DIY proved to be valuable and saved me quite a bit of time. Below are some tips and things to look out for that I experienced.

-Throttle body heater hose (5/16" ID) cracked/disintegrated due to age when trying to rotate the plenum over so coolant started leaking out. Might be a good idea to have some coolant and replacement hoses/clamps handy if your hoses are old. The parts store was closed when I was working on it so had to wait until the next day.

-When removing any of the bolts, it is a good idea to label the location they were removed from. I labeled mine on a few pieces of paper according to the locations and steps in the DIY.

-There are 3 or 4 bolts near the near the throttle body and firewall that can be hard to spot. I had a hard time locating a hidden bolt in this area that was holding the plenum down. Just try to move/unplug some of the hoses and feel for the bolts.

-Plenum gasket was kind of a pain to set in place as it likes to move while placing the heavy plenum back on. I used some painters tape to hold the gasket in place while I loosely threaded a few bolts to align the gasket. There should be enough play in the plenum it lift it up a bit and remove the tape.

-EGR tube gasket and 2 bolts were a pain to reinstall due to the tight area. I used the same tape trick above for the gasket. There is enough play in the EGR tube to lineup the 2 bolt holes, but holding the tube in the correct position was tough for me. I stuck a thin philips screwdriver on one hole to try to align the tube while threading the other bolt in. It took a bit of time, sweat, and trial/error, but I was able to cleanly thread it in. I didn't remove the big manifold bracket next to the EGR tube, but you may want to consider doing so for more room to work.

-Double check that all hoses are plugged back in. There are some big and tiny ones that can be easy to overlook. I threw a code P0400 (EGR flow) while on the test drive and later found that I forgot to plug in a tiny vacuum hose near the firewall.

This was me 8 months ago, it is a pain the first time but ran so much smoother than before, I hope you took the time to replace the valve cover gaskets while you had the plenum off.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Replaced the shocks yesterday with KYB Monomax and also changed out the front/rear swaybar endlinks and bushings. Shocks were most likely original as they were easy to compress. It rides a lot better now and no more bounce!

The Kyb mono is a great choice.

 

[TheMole]

This was me 8 months ago, it is a pain the first time but ran so much smoother than before, I hope you took the time to replace the valve cover gaskets while you had the plenum off.

Yea I might be able to do it off the top of my head next time. The valve cover gaskets were changed about 10k miles ago when the valve job was done. Didn't see any leaks, but at least I know how to get to them now .

The Kyb mono is a great choice.

I actually did some research before deciding on the KYB. Some Montero and non-Montero owners mentioned that the ride was stiff, but so far has been pretty smooth in my book. What are you running?

Gonna try to tackle the radiator tonight and maybe drop the trans pan to replace the filter and gaskets if theres time.

 

[KIRK!]

I run KYBs too.

 

[nwoods]

I really like the KYB's on my Monty

 

[TheMole]

I run KYBs too.

I really like the KYB's on my Monty

Cool fellas how have they held up so far?
Just glanced over your build thread KIRK! and really diggin' the pajero corners/tails of all things lol. Subscribed!


Meanwhile, just got the CSF radiator, thermostat, and upper/lower hoses on. Installation went fairly smoothly just have to burp it properly tomorrow morning. I hope the CSF holds up as aftermarket radiators can be hit or miss. Didn't feel like paying $600 :Wow1: for OEM. Although, I am keeping the original OEM radiator in case it can be repaired and if the CSF fails.

Didn't get a chance to remove the transmission pan because it looks like the crossmember is blocking the last few bolts. I'll save dropping the crossmember for another day or the mechanic .

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Cool fellas how have they held up so far?
Just glanced over your build thread KIRK! and really diggin' the pajero corners/tails of all things lol. Subscribed!


Meanwhile, just got the CSF radiator, thermostat, and upper/lower hoses on. Installation went fairly smoothly just have to burp it properly tomorrow morning. I hope the CSF holds up as aftermarket radiators can be hit or miss. Didn't feel like paying $600 :Wow1: for OEM. Although, I am keeping the original OEM radiator in case it can be repaired and if the CSF fails.

Didn't get a chance to remove the transmission pan because it looks like the crossmember is blocking the last few bolts. I'll save dropping the crossmember for another day or the mechanic .

Did you use the green coolant or did you buy the proper red Asian vehicle coolant that it came with from the factory? And the Asian red is much different than Dex-cool red coolant. Earlier this spring I grabbed the radiator out of a 99 at the junkyard to have for a spare, the all copper OEM models cool better than any aluminum aftermarket model. The plan is to have a local shop clean and pressure test the spare and then use it for mocking up my e-fan setup and swap it in.