89 v6 monty questions

bearingman

New member
:coffee: yEAH, i KNOW, DO A SEARCH, BUT LIMITED ACCESS TO SYSTEM, SO ANY RESPONSES WOULD WOULD BE APPRECIATED--SEND TO MY EMAIL (GTYNER@FRISCHKORN.COM). I have an 89 SWB V6 Montero. Cruise control doesn't work and vent's only go thru floor-can't switch to defroster of "face level". Are these vacuum controled? Truck sat up for 18 months after crank bolt broke. Gas was so expensive I didn't bother to fix. Now I HAVE to use this as a DD and it is freakin hot/humid here in southeastern NC. How dificult to remove dash components to check out the switch?


Gary (Bearingman)
 

The Big E

New member
Its really not to hard to get at the heater box. The center dash comes apart with the removal of a bunch of screws. First thing I would check is the control sliders. I had a problem with one of my cables after the truck sat for some time. Put it back on the slider properly and it worked just fine again. If you have to go farther then that you still don't have to remove the whole dash. The damper and heat valve controls are under the dash right above the trans tunnel.

Hope this helps.

Eric
 

bearingman

New member
:victory: Thanks. Yeah it helps. Either of you know if the low pressure port is the one on the A/C compressor or the one on the hose? Gotta switch it over.

Might as well paint the console/dash parts when I pull them.
 

bearingman

New member
:wings: Well, I am riding in the cool now. Unfortunately it cost me $65 to get converted over...:punk03:, but there was -0- pressure in my system. And for 2.5 lbs of R134 and the oil and the time I guess it was worth it.

Now for the next issue..........:violent-smiley-031:


White smoke (or steam) when idling and warm. :ar15:
 

off-roader

Expedition Leader
:wings: Well, I am riding in the cool now. Unfortunately it cost me $65 to get converted over...:punk03:, but there was -0- pressure in my system. And for 2.5 lbs of R134 and the oil and the time I guess it was worth it.

Now for the next issue..........:violent-smiley-031:


White smoke (or steam) when idling and warm. :ar15:

White smoke constantly when idling and warm or only when you rev it? If only when you rev the engine, then it's likely your valve guide seals.

If all the time, then it's likely a head gasket leak which also means you'd be loosing coolant. Probably a lot of coolant. If so, you need to r&r the head gasket ASAP before you crack the head. You can do a test to determine which head has the bad gasket, but I'd recommend replacing both cause if one is bad, the other one likely won't be far behind.
 

RttH

Member
That year was notorious for cracked heads! My '89 cracked at 90,000 miles. Hope thats not the case for yours.
 

off-roader

Expedition Leader
That year was notorious for cracked heads! My '89 cracked at 90,000 miles. Hope thats not the case for yours.

Maybe with a 2.6 I4 model but not with the v6. Which do you have? The I4 is notorious for being easy to crack heads since it's such large cylinders with thin walls between them. While the block is usually fine, the heads will crack if overheated just once. This likely happens immediately after the gasket blows. :(
 

bearingman

New member
I have the 3.0. Lost about a quart of coolant in a week. Parked it this morning-started sounding a little rough yesterday afternoon with the freshly charged a/c cooling.

Now I maybe having the same issue with my Samurai-parked it at my mother's this morning and got her car to come to work. Sammy is most likely valves.

Both are (well, were fine) when first started, but after they warm a little then the vapor appears, when idling, down shifting. Monty was TERRIBLE when you would start it after a couple of minutes, say you just gassed up. I have had -0- issue with either overheating. Check oil and coolant in both last saturday afternoon.

just more of my wonderful luck.
 

bearingman

New member
Maybe with a 2.6 I4 model but not with the v6. Which do you have? The I4 is notorious for being easy to crack heads since it's such large cylinders with thin walls between them. While the block is usually fine, the heads will crack if overheated just once. This likely happens immediately after the gasket blows. :(


Mine is almost identical to yours--just not as modded. But I was working on that before wife lost jobs.
 

off-roader

Expedition Leader
Is the AC on when you have a hard time idling?
If it yes, then, then it could be a bad ISC. The ISC is supposed to increase the Idle when an additional load is placed on the engine.

It could also be your ECU having to relearn the idle characteristics of your engine if it lost power during the Montero's hiatus.

What are the conditions of the plugs, wires, cap, & rotor? Is it possibly time for a tune up?

As for the water loss, have you inspected your radiator hoses, interior & exterior heater exchange hoses? When was the water pump last inspected? It could also be these other areas but if you inadvertently ran the engine hot because of this, it could cause your head gaskets to go bad too.

I'm sure there's more to consider but I know you already know of the 'wire where there are likely more competent tech's that my limited skills.:ylsmoke:
 

bearingman

New member
Is the AC on when you have a hard time idling?
If it yes, then, then it could be a bad ISC. The ISC is supposed to increase the Idle when an additional load is placed on the engine.

It could also be your ECU having to relearn the idle characteristics of your engine if it lost power during the Montero's hiatus.

What are the conditions of the plugs, wires, cap, & rotor? Is it possibly time for a tune up?

As for the water loss, have you inspected your radiator hoses, interior & exterior heater exchange hoses? When was the water pump last inspected? It could also be these other areas but if you inadvertently ran the engine hot because of this, it could cause your head gaskets to go bad too.

I'm sure there's more to consider but I know you already know of the 'wire where there are likely more competent tech's that my limited skills.:ylsmoke:

I changed the water pump, hoses, timing belt and refilled radiator, changed oil/filter about 1800 miles ago when I had the crank pulley replaced. It ran super when I picked it up. Stopped beside the road one afternoon with the grandbaby to "pet the horsies". When I got back in and started her up it looked like I was auditioning for the role of mosquito sprayer. I figured it was just fuel where I may have stopped quick. Started getting worse. Idle was worse with a/c running. I'm gonna try some K&W block seal first.
 

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