Gen 3 debate, 3.5 or 3.8?
- Thread starter kbahus
- Start date
Mrknowitall
Adventurer
Perhaps he meant the part about the early trucks having a really cool helical gear LSD. Then again, if you got a 3.8 truck and swapped in diffs from a LSD XLS (4.90 ratio)- that could be sa-weeet.
jhill15
Explorer
I found myself in the same boat as you, I searched and searched for the right monty drove 3 hours with the wifey and 2 kids to pick it up. Took off on the drive home and 4wd lights went haywire, a rock flew up and cracked my windshield, I was so mad by the time we made it home that I contemplated selling it and cutting my losses. But instead I worked out the gremlins... and have developed more gremlins along the way and I have come to realize that all were neglect of preventive maintenance from the previous owner or the previous owner started seeing issues arise and decided it was not worth fixing, plus the normal wear and tear of a used truck. I have spent quite a bit of money fixing but I ended up loving it along the way.
I hope everything works out and you end up loving your as well.
Keep us posted
Cheers!
nckwltn
Explorer
Almost the exact same thing happened to me with an 03 like 4 weeks ago. The CEL was due to rear cam seal and valve cover gasket leak. I had to replace the O2 sensor on the passenger side to get the CEL to go away, but also had to do valve covers and rear cam seal.... and turns out I didn't order the right part, so I use RTV to seal it up... seems to have worked.
there are a lot of online resources to walk you through all of the issues... most of them aren't that expensive, just takes a bit of time.
kbahus
Adventurer
Update:
I was able to fix the transmission cooler leak with a proper high torque clamp and some fresh Valvoline Max Life SPIII fluid. It goes in to the shop next week for a shake down and a new wheel bearing. From there I can properly determine the list of upcoming repairs which I hope is small.
I have many thoughts about the Montero I will post up when I have some time at a real computer. It is a whole new world compared to my 80 series Land Cruiser.
I was able to fix the transmission cooler leak with a proper high torque clamp and some fresh Valvoline Max Life SPIII fluid. It goes in to the shop next week for a shake down and a new wheel bearing. From there I can properly determine the list of upcoming repairs which I hope is small.
I have many thoughts about the Montero I will post up when I have some time at a real computer. It is a whole new world compared to my 80 series Land Cruiser.
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nwoods
Expedition Leader
Excellent. Very interested to hear your thoughts, good and the bad.
kbahus
Adventurer
Finally on a real computer so here are some initial thoughts:
Comparing the 3rd gen Montero to a Land Cruiser (80 or 100 series) is not really a fair comparison. It's basically like comparing apples to oranges, they are totally different classes of vehicles. The Land Cruiser is much more geared for off road travel than the 3rd gen Montero, stock for stock there is no way the Montero can hang with the Land Cruiser on the trails I am used to driving. I think it would be a much more fair comparison to put the Montero up against the LR3 and maybe the GX470; the catch here is that finding either of those two vehicles for the same price point is close to impossible. Now if you are looking for a daily driver, family friendly, mall touring SUV then the Montero is a good choice. I think it would be good for touring the country, mild offroad expedition type travels, and a darn good value for an SUV. I am pleased with it's driving manners to date and am very happy with the power compared to 80 series. It is much more comfortable to drive than the 80, has more space in the back seat for the kid, and is quiet too. I would go so far as to compare it's driving comfort and features to our BMW 325xi wagon and I think it might even be faster which is a shock.
My biggest disappointment with the truck is that it is not very truck like. It has horrific ground clearance, a ton of vulnerable plastic, and a weak factory suspension that can't even handle a couple bikes on a hitch mounted bike rack. To make it more like a truck will cost dearly and soak up a good portion of the cost savings over other vehicle options. The IRS is going to be problematic as well. With as much rear squat this vehicle exhibits with a load the alignment will be off and it will destroy rear tires in short order. Sure I could fit airbags to keep it consistent but find a pair for me here in the states. This leads me to my last gripe and that is the aftermarket support for this truck, ARB is the only game in town. Worst of all is I can't find any skid plates here in the states which I think this truck needs more than anything. I even talked to the NA sales manager at TJM yesterday in hopes to open up some options for parts but he couldn't help me.
To sum things up I do like the Montero and it will work well for my current needs but it doesn't really fill the void my 80 series has left. I think a Gen 2.5 Montero would have been more comparable and a better option but it just wasn't in the cards this time. However, I will make the best of it, modify accordingly, and hopefully use the heck out of it.
Comparing the 3rd gen Montero to a Land Cruiser (80 or 100 series) is not really a fair comparison. It's basically like comparing apples to oranges, they are totally different classes of vehicles. The Land Cruiser is much more geared for off road travel than the 3rd gen Montero, stock for stock there is no way the Montero can hang with the Land Cruiser on the trails I am used to driving. I think it would be a much more fair comparison to put the Montero up against the LR3 and maybe the GX470; the catch here is that finding either of those two vehicles for the same price point is close to impossible. Now if you are looking for a daily driver, family friendly, mall touring SUV then the Montero is a good choice. I think it would be good for touring the country, mild offroad expedition type travels, and a darn good value for an SUV. I am pleased with it's driving manners to date and am very happy with the power compared to 80 series. It is much more comfortable to drive than the 80, has more space in the back seat for the kid, and is quiet too. I would go so far as to compare it's driving comfort and features to our BMW 325xi wagon and I think it might even be faster which is a shock.
My biggest disappointment with the truck is that it is not very truck like. It has horrific ground clearance, a ton of vulnerable plastic, and a weak factory suspension that can't even handle a couple bikes on a hitch mounted bike rack. To make it more like a truck will cost dearly and soak up a good portion of the cost savings over other vehicle options. The IRS is going to be problematic as well. With as much rear squat this vehicle exhibits with a load the alignment will be off and it will destroy rear tires in short order. Sure I could fit airbags to keep it consistent but find a pair for me here in the states. This leads me to my last gripe and that is the aftermarket support for this truck, ARB is the only game in town. Worst of all is I can't find any skid plates here in the states which I think this truck needs more than anything. I even talked to the NA sales manager at TJM yesterday in hopes to open up some options for parts but he couldn't help me.
To sum things up I do like the Montero and it will work well for my current needs but it doesn't really fill the void my 80 series has left. I think a Gen 2.5 Montero would have been more comparable and a better option but it just wasn't in the cards this time. However, I will make the best of it, modify accordingly, and hopefully use the heck out of it.
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montypower
Adventure Time!
Really? I completely disagree with most of this.
#1 - Stock suspension sucks. Get some HD springs. I've had no trouble hauling 300-500lbs in the back on longer expedition trips.
#2 - Skids - Yes, they are expensive to import. However, you could easily pay a fabricator to build skids.
#3 - Capability. With lift, skids and 33+ tires it will have no trouble following any 80 series on 33s. Most of them follow me...
#4 - Clearance. Under the truck is exceptional. I have well over 15" from the rear diff to the ground. I should be closer to 17" after 35s and replacement springs.
Yes, you need to remove the stupid side steps and armor it. But it will amaze you when you take it off road. I've driven mine about 11k miles (mostly off road) in the past 7 months. Transamerica trail, Wyoming/Montana, McGrew Trail, Naches, Evans Creek, Tillamook State Forest, Central Oregon.... Just to name a few places it has been. Finally ripping out the factory diffs. Rebuilt some with 4.90 gears, arb lockers and all new seals and bearings (there's a bunch in the front diff). Also new boots for the front CV axles (not bad but why not).
Put some lift, 255/85 tires and armor. Then report back after running some trails. BTW: We may be running trails through Colorado next year if you want to join.
These truck do take some research to find parts. Lovells makes springs (I'm running them currently). As well as going custom (like what's going on the truck next). Also, you can get coilovers from King or RadFlo. Radflo is an excellent value! Yes, OME is the most common but do some searching. There are a bunch of suspension options.
Skids can be imported from www.offroad4wd.com.au - Cost after conversion and shipping was about $1,200 for the entire set of 4 skids. I would recommend buying the front 2 skids and fabricate the rear ones as they are large and mostly flat (crazy simple). Front are much more complex with bends. You could probably get the front skids for less than half the cost. In comparison to 80 series... you could easily drop $1,000 for a full belly skid which is essentially what you get for the montero. Plus, there is nothing hanging low like drivelines... Simple to flat skid the entire belly.
kbahus
Adventurer
Thanks for the great reply, it is nice to hear from folks that use these trucks heavily.
I just got the truck back from the shop and they replaced the wheel bearing that had play but I am still experiencing the same growl and now they want to do the other wheel bearing. Hopefully it is not a failing diff as I had the fluids changed and they were supposedly black as night. The noise is purely speed dependent which makes sense for a wheel bearing, every bad diff I have experienced would change frequency depending on load.
I also drove in some pretty miserable winter conditions and was blown away by both the awd system and the traction control. Despite having less than ideal tires it was very predictable and controlled and when I wanted to have some fun it was a simple flip of the switch. I am starting to find this truck's true character and like it.
I just got the truck back from the shop and they replaced the wheel bearing that had play but I am still experiencing the same growl and now they want to do the other wheel bearing. Hopefully it is not a failing diff as I had the fluids changed and they were supposedly black as night. The noise is purely speed dependent which makes sense for a wheel bearing, every bad diff I have experienced would change frequency depending on load.
I also drove in some pretty miserable winter conditions and was blown away by both the awd system and the traction control. Despite having less than ideal tires it was very predictable and controlled and when I wanted to have some fun it was a simple flip of the switch. I am starting to find this truck's true character and like it.
montypower
Adventure Time!
It's most likely the wheel bearing... However, I just got done rebuilding my front diff. It has 3 bearings on the driver side of the housing. Probably rather unlikely to go bad unless run without gear oil.
kbahus
Adventurer
A front locker was on the absolute bottom of my list so I sure I hope don't need to tear into the differential.
Can anyone tell me what size tires will fit the stock tire carrier with out modification? I do have some 1/4" spacers from my Land Cruiser I could use if necessary. My prime choice right now is a 265/75R16 in the new KO2 but some other sizes have crossed my mind too.
Can anyone tell me what size tires will fit the stock tire carrier with out modification? I do have some 1/4" spacers from my Land Cruiser I could use if necessary. My prime choice right now is a 265/75R16 in the new KO2 but some other sizes have crossed my mind too.
plh
Explorer
Certainly should fit