Possibly looking at a 95 SR.

fishon1213

Observer
I found a 95 Montero SR for sale that I'm interested in looking at, problem is that it's about 5 hours away at a small dealership, you know, the kind that usually sell junk. However it looks extremely clean, has 134k, and they are asking 3k. Doesn't seem too bad of a deal.
I owned a 98 gen 2.5 a few years back and absolutely loved it, however it burned oil and the frame eventually rusted through. I sold it to army trucks inc and it is destined for the movies :)
Anyway a few questions about the SR's.

1. Are they prone to the same issues with the valve seals and burning oil?
2. It has a 3.5, is this the 6g74 and is it an interference engine?
3. The middle row of seats looks a bit different than my 2.5 did. How do they fold down to access the third row, are they 50/50?
4. What's up with the adjustable shocks? Can I just replace them with aftermarket shocks if need be?
5. Any other differences I should be aware of or issues to look for?

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Swift_45a

Observer
I found a 95 Montero SR for sale that I'm interested in looking at, problem is that it's about 5 hours away at a small dealership, you know, the kind that usually sell junk. However it looks extremely clean, has 134k, and they are asking 3k. Doesn't seem too bad of a deal.
I owned a 98 gen 2.5 a few years back and absolutely loved it, however it burned oil and the frame eventually rusted through. I sold it to army trucks inc and it is destined for the movies :)
Anyway a few questions about the SR's.

1. Are they prone to the same issues with the valve seals and burning oil?
2. It has a 3.5, is this the 6g74 and is it an interference engine?
3. The middle row of seats looks a bit different than my 2.5 did. How do they fold down to access the third row, are they 50/50?
4. What's up with the adjustable shocks? Can I just replace them with aftermarket shocks if need be?
5. Any other differences I should be aware of or issues to look for?

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1: Yes, the 3.5 has that issue as it gets up in miles; mine started to smoke at exactly 200k.
2. Yes, its Interference.
3. Third row is drop down on the sides, I took them out, they're a pita and no one really wants to sit back there for any real long duration like a surf trip anyway. That is better for storage area than anything else.
4. Nothing really, I still have mine on there; yes they can be swapped for other Gen 2 stuff.
5. Since its a 95 and has such low miles, it probably sat around for a while, so make sure you play with the locker/4wd and OD. The shocks should make noticeable sound when you toggle them. I could never tell the difference in ride quality. Obviously look for the smoke at idle and see if it has the old crank bolt, and timing belt condition. Also, I'd check for any leaks around the main seal, oil pan, and valve cover area and transmission. Make sure all the doors/windows work and lock correctly. My moon roof doesn't lock all the way and it leaks water under heavy rains, I didn't bother to look at that when I bought it.

3k is reasonable if its in good condition, and has those miles. Remember its still a 23 year old truck, you're going to have to do some wrenching on it regardless of its external looks. Having worked in the auto Industry, chances are their is wiggle room on the price, especially if its a cash purchase so don't be scared to make a lower offer and nitpick about the tires, diff and tranny fluid and bushings etc...

Good luck!
 

fishon1213

Observer
Thanks for the advice. It will be a cash purchase and I plan to lowball them over the phone, it will be tough to talk them down once I drive 300 miles there.
As far as the crank bolt...Isn't the original one longer or something? I've owned plenty of old 4x4's and look forward to wrenching on it, the biggest thing that will turn me off is rust. I currently own an 85 4runner that is made of rust.
It's actually at imports limited in St Louis. I may take a road trip there next week sometime.
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jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
To better answer your question about the middle row, the 50/50 split did not come until the 1996 model year. Some say 96 was kind of the "unicorn" year, still had the DOHC engine with 4.60 gears but also had the updated interior with dual air bags.
 

jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
And unless they have complete service records I would offer them about $2800 for that 95. Also keep in mind darker colors suck on a trail rig unless you love waxing it after every outing.
 

fishon1213

Observer
I'm waiting for them to send me some undercarriage and engine bay pics but I'm formulating a plan to go get this within the next couple days.
It's about a 4 hour trip one way. I plan to drive there and rent a uhaul tow dolly or car hauler to bring it back. My tow rig will be a 2007 sequoia which is rated for 6200# or 6500#, the montero should be about 4200#, the car hauler is just over 2000#. Cutting it close on weight. Or I can opt for the cheaper, lighter tow dolly.

With the tow dolly will i need to drop the driveshaft? 4 12mm bolts?
How about magnetic lights?
Or should I get the car hauler?

Thoughts and suggestions welcome.


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GEN2MADVENT

Member
Yesterday I just replaced all shocks, upper ball joints, and tie rods on my recent purchased '97 SR with 198,000 miles. Adjustable shocks were diffently blown, all of them were easy to fully compress and they never extended back up. I went budget shocks with KYB Gas-A-Adjust and tucked the adjusters out of the way.

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Swift_45a

Observer
/44f9247402a6538fe97f83c575cf2d51.jpg[/IMG]

Sure thing; judging by the pic its not bad considering sticker price, but as JNM said, they can ask for whatever they want but without Repair Orders to back what they said has been done its a sub 3k offer before making any further plans. I saw 5 monteros, in SoCal, before I settled on mine because I wanted the 'coveted' 96 SR. And she wasn't exactly a looker, either; but I got what I wanted so its fine with me despite being rough around the edges.

To better answer your question about the middle row, the 50/50 split did not come until the 1996 model year. Some say 96 was kind of the "unicorn" year, still had the DOHC engine with 4.60 gears but also had the updated interior with dual air bags.

This is why I'm keeping my rig around despite all the sunk costs, this is my 2nd Montero, and despite wanting a 3rd gen I just can't justify leaving my 96 SR without the repairs and mods I set out before buying another one; she is so damn reliable compared to my 93 LS that was good (I hated that 6g72) but not this good. But remind of the benefits of this ratio again, with 4.60 that means I can run 35s without having too many issues, right?
 

fishon1213

Observer
Well I'm frustrated and feel like something shady is going on. I called a few days ago to ask for a bit more information on the truck. I asked if it smoked after idle and if there were any rust issues. The salesman took my info and said he would go check out the vehicle and call me back. A couple days go by and I never received a call back. Maybe they thought I was just wasting their time. So I call back this morning to try again, asked about the price, he immediately said it was not negotiable. Ok. I explain that I am serious, have cash in hand and will be making quite a drive to get it so I would appreciate undercarriage, engine, and driver's side pics. He says he'll see what he can do and call me back. He calls back a few minutes later and starts out by saying "you don't want that vehicle, it has issues, we will be wholesaling it out". I say, "ok, what is the wholesale price and what are the issues?". He replied, "that is the wholesale price and he'll find out what the issue is and call me back". He never called back. I called back a couple hours later and he said he had been busy with customers and hadn't looked into it but he would call me back. Still hasn't called back and I don't expect he will.
What the hell kind of way is that to conduct business?
On a side note...anyone got a decent, clean gen 2, or 2.5 there selling? Willing to travel just not gonna deal with bull.

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fishon1213

Observer
How soon are you looking to buy? I will be getting our 98 ready to sell once it warms back up again.
I'm trying to be patient for the right one, I also am looking at 3rd gen 4runners but they seem to be overpriced and high miles. I hope to find something within a month or so. I've had many cool 4x4's over the years but they have all been rustbuckets. I really feel I need to travel to get what I want.

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Swift_45a

Observer
Well I'm frustrated and feel like something shady is going on. I called a few days ago to ask for a bit more information on the truck. I asked if it smoked after idle and if there were any rust issues. The salesman took my info and said he would go check out the vehicle and call me back. A couple days go by and I never received a call back. Maybe they thought I was just wasting their time. So I call back this morning to try again, asked about the price, he immediately said it was not negotiable. Ok. I explain that I am serious, have cash in hand and will be making quite a drive to get it so I would appreciate undercarriage, engine, and driver's side pics. He says he'll see what he can do and call me back. He calls back a few minutes later and starts out by saying "you don't want that vehicle, it has issues, we will be wholesaling it out". I say, "ok, what is the wholesale price and what are the issues?". He replied, "that is the wholesale price and he'll find out what the issue is and call me back". He never called back. I called back a couple hours later and he said he had been busy with customers and hadn't looked into it but he would call me back. Still hasn't called back and I don't expect he will.
What the hell kind of way is that to conduct business?
On a side note...anyone got a decent, clean gen 2, or 2.5 there selling? Willing to travel just not gonna deal with bull.

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That's not even half as bad as the things I had to encounter working in that Industry on daily basis, at least they didn't pull this when you had already made the trip. This is why I will not buy another car at a dealership, I'd rather buy off private sellers on CL like websites and budget for repairs accordingly.

Used car sales typically have higher margins than new for the salesman so after a certain threshold it makes no sense and its costing the dealership money to keep on the lot, and given the sticker price reduction its been on the lot for a while so sending it off to wholesale makes sense if it needs repairs.

Harsh about the low mileage SR not panning out, but maybe for the best, especially if you were going to have to tow it back. Talk to Shakotan here on the forums, he's from Chicago and got a really nice 2.5 and may be able to point you in the right direction,
 

fishon1213

Observer
Well the wifey wants another montero so bad she took it upon herself to call back today and get some info. She luckily got a different salesperson who said he would call back and let us know what the problem was with the vehicle. Surprisingly he called back...He said it had a ''leak at the manifold'' and it ran but he wasn't sure about driving it 5 hours back. I wasn't planning on it. So "leak at the manifold" could be many things...intake, exhaust he didn't know. My guess is that the valve covers are leaking oil badly onto the manifold, or it's smoking at idle and needs valve seals, no surprise. He wouldn't negotiate on price, it was originally 5k before they knew it had issues, but he would wave the doc fee.
I hate to say it, but I think I'm going to look at it and may very well get it. I understand I will have my work cut out for me before I should consider it a daily driver, but they are so difficult to find in my area and everything is rusty.
IF I were to get it I would first plan on having to do the timing belt and complete tune up and possibly valve seals. If it's as clean as it looks and without rust issues I don't mind doing the engine work.
I appreciate everyone's input, I'm gonna price out some parts and sleep on it.

Also who has used a tow dolly? How stable are they and isn't it just 4 bolts to drop the driveshaft on a montero?

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