Best Modification for <$100

[coffeegoat]

As I'm planning out my improvements and upgrades I'm noticing things tend to fall into cheap (<$100), medium (<$500), expensive (~$1000). Obviously everyone has a budget for their improvements and while it might be nice to have a sweet custom bumper, sliders, skid plates, winch, fridge, supercharger, whatever, we all make compromises to keep the family budget in shape while having the most fun. The neat part about that cheap category is that you could pretty easily pick up a couple of these upgrades by skipping beer/coffee for a couple weeks.

My question is this - in the sub $100 range, what does everyone think is the best improvement to their rig. Could be performance related, comfort, fuel economy, visual, etc, bonus points if it's applicable to multiple generation Monteros.

A few examples I've seen recently are the AC condenser fan upgrade (~$25), LED interior light swap out (~$60), transmission cooler upgrade (~$50), trail comms (~$50).

Thoughts?

 

[PirateMcGee]

A cooler, beer, and gas . Otherwise, replacing small worn out pieces with new OEM ones like door seals, bushings, trim pieces etc.

 

[shellb]

Hope to see some great ideas here!

Just got a 2000...need to do a few cheap mods to make it my own!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Put gas in it....

 

[SONICMASD]

My vote would be going from crappy Monroe shocks to KYB Gas-A-Justs. Huge difference.

Another purchase that I was really pleased with was my Cabelas Trail Gear seat covers, only like $40 and they allow for the armrests. http://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS-TRAIL-GEAR-SEAT-COVERS/1791205.uts?productVariantId=3837301

 

[Milky2k]

For less than $100 you can do two things: 1. Get a Baofeng radio and external antenna for the trail. They can be picked up for less than $50 for both on Amazon. 2. Swap out the standard mirror for an auto dimming/ garage remote mirror. This has made everyday driving my Gen 3 Montero much better. I am no longer blinded by "HID upgrade" lights or cars with their high beam permanently on that are so common in my part of town for some reason. I also have the gate remote integrated in the mirror so I don't have the original remote bouncing around in the cabin. I picked one up the mirror for $40 on ebay that was pulled from a Chevy Silverado/ Sierra truck. The mirror fits perfectly on the Montero windshield mount, just need an Allen wrench for the hold down screw. You will need to tap in to the overhead light for power though. I recommend you get a mirror with an on/off switch because there is no reverse wire up there to tell the mirror to turn off the auto dimming at night when you back up.

 

[haolepinoy]

I'd say an UltraGauge scan tool (http://ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/ultragauge_wired.htm). They're only $70 and give you give you an instant volt meter, trans temp gauge, and OBD-II code reading abiltiies. They can display a million other things too, but those three are the things I felt my Gen3 needed most urgently. Plus they'll work on any Gen2 or 2.5 with an OBD-II port.

 

[PacS14]

1-If you have the shaking side view mirrors 4medium size zip ties fix that problem easily and in less than 10 minutes.

2- Monomax shocks, AutoZone usually has good ship to home discounts and can't beat the lifetime warranty on them. (Might have to save a couple of weeks or a month but definitely worth it).

3- Transfer case shifter ball replacement, either buy the ball and install yourself or find a entire shifter and just swap it in.

4- Toolkit with case or make a tool bag for on the go "just in case scenarios".

 

[Michael Brown]

My vote would be for gas lifting struts in the hood. I have opened it so many times to work on things and it is very nice to just lift and watch it rise. $65 shipped for dual strut kit and they bolt to factory hardware mounts. I didn't cut or bend anything to make them fit.

http://bonnet-damper.com/shop/en/66-gas-struts-kit-for-mitsubishi-pajero-montero-shogun-99-05-autobahn88-damp100.html

 

[Inyo_man]

My vote would be for gas lifting struts in the hood. I have opened it so many times to work on things and it is very nice to just lift and watch it rise. $65 shipped for dual strut kit and they bolt to factory hardware mounts. I didn't cut or bend anything to make them fit.

http://bonnet-damper.com/shop/en/66-gas-struts-kit-for-mitsubishi-pajero-montero-shogun-99-05-autobahn88-damp100.html

Ditto!

Michael's suggestion is spot on...no more dumb "stick" in the way when working under the hood.

 

[PirateMcGee]

Lifting the hood is soooooo hard

 

[Skidoo03]

A few examples I've seen recently are the AC condenser fan upgrade (~$25), LED interior light swap out (~$60), transmission cooler upgrade (~$50), trail comms (~$50).

Thoughts?

I haven't heard of the AC fan condenser upgrade or transmission cooler upgrade. Are they specific to a certain generation?

 

[coffeegoat]

Ask and you shall receive -

Transmission Cooler upgrade - link 1, link 2, example parts


AC Condenser fan upgrade - link 1, link 2, example parts

These are scattered around in different vehicles, but they're basically transferable to most Mitsu's as near as I can tell.

 

[nwoods]

X2 on the seat covers and white ball transfer case shifter. While over $100, upgrading to new KYB shocks is definitely a good thing to do. Amazon had a deal last year for all 4 shocks for under $200 I think.

 

[Milky2k]

Change out the wimpy little horn. The high pitched horn seemed out of place coming out of the Montero so I swapped them out for Hella twin trumpets and now it sounds much better!