Byways not Highways: Gen 3 2004 Montero Limited Build

[jasonsuperb]

Hey Everyone. Just picked up a new to me 2004 Mitsubishi Montero Limited with 102k miles. I had a 2003 before that was rear ended and totaled shortly after I started building it, and after 2 years without it I just had to get another one. It seems like everywhere I looked people wanted thousands over the KBB price but I found this one with very little rust since it lived most of its life in florida and got it for less than KBB, despite it having some issues to resolve. I'll also be posting photos and adventures on my Insta as well @bywaysnothighways probably some of my 60 series landcruiser too.

Well here is the to do list for repairs as well as mods I'd like to do after finishing all the repairs.

New front Bumper and Grill: They look fine from 10 ft but its obvious they were damaged and repaired. So if anyone has one kicking around let me know what you'd want for it, preferably in silver!

Fix the Sunroof: Won't open even after tightening the loose bolts, seems to jam after turning a few times and makes awful noise, even if I manually turn the gear with the wrench it jams. Started another thread about this but I haven't torn back into it yet.

Diagnose rattle in front end over bumps: Ball Joint? Struts? Not sure yet... Hoping its struts cause I wanted to upgrade those anyway.

Last night driving home in the snow the anti lock and traction control lights came on. When I left for work this am they were off but came back on half way through my drive. Gotta Diagnose that cause I gotta have that traction control!!

TPMS sensor is flashing even though all the tires are at 35psi. Probably a bad sensor/s

Diagnose minor leak coming from somewhere, not so much that its leaving a puddle but you can see some seepage on the side of the engine and it has a distinct smell coming off of it when I shut it off.

Replace Timing Belt and Waterpump and maybe other odds and ends while in there.

Flush Cooling System

Flush Auto Trans

Replace Fluid in Transfer and Diffs

Oil Change

Condition leather seats

Restore Headlights

Despite these issues it drives great and is very comfortable. Looking forward to getting it trip ready!

Mods:
Pioneer Car Play Touchscreen Stereo
Small Lift?
Skid Plates/Sliders
32" or 33" tires
Seat Delete and sleeping platform
Arb Fridge Mount
Arb Awning mount
Front Bumper? Arb or custom. Wish there was a more minimal offroad bumper for these than the Arb
Winch Mount?
Back Up Camera

 

[jasonsuperb]

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[eyehate]

Congrats! Good luck with the bugs, im.still working on mine and it's been almost a year haha

 

[jasonsuperb]

Quick question. Does anyone use any type of IBD2 scanner on their 3rd gen? If so which one, do you like it. Does it give mpg info? Transmission temp? Air fuel ratio?


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[Inyo_man]

I use an UltraGauge, which plugs into the OBD2 port.
The price was right for my needs. It can read current codes, pending codes, and clear codes, as well as give you more than enough vehicle operating data (at least for my needs).
The one temp. you mentioned that it does not show is the transmission temp., but I'm not towing with my Gen. III so it's not a big concern (fresh fluid goes a long way in keeping temps down).

 

[coffeegoat]

I use a cheap no-name bluetooth unit and pair it with Torque on my phone. Similar to Inyo_Man, it gives me tons more data than I need - but no Transmission temp. With mine, there are a couple codes that I get frequently (P0125 for instance) that don't mean anything so I'll actually clear them while I'm driving so they don't keep the engine check light on. The blinky transmission light keeps my blood pressure high enough as it is (another erroneous light..)

 

[ChrisCosta416]

I know a company called ASFIR makes a front bumper for the Montero. I tried to get in contact with them since they are in the UK but I had no lucky. Maybe you might have better luck!

 

[jasonsuperb]

Little update. Took the Montero out to do some exploring yesterday. Still below freezing here in Pennsylvania. Hoping that changes soon! Took it down to buttermilk falls near the Allegheny river in Pennsylvania.

Have some videos I’ll try to upload as well. 1 is on my instagram.
Did very well and only had a little problem getting up a slippery rock ledge out of a creek. But after a few tries and learning how to let the traction control work it popped out.

Before the adventure though I filled up for the second time, first time full tank of me driving, and was surprised to only get 13.5 mpg. That’s what my Landcruiser fj60 gets with a 6.0 liter v8 6” lift and 35” tires. Something seems off. I also drive very conservatively and almost none of that tank could be considered city driving. Also both times I filled up when I started driving I realized the tank wasn’t totally full. Close but just below the full mark. But since I was trying to get an idea of mpg I just filled it until It clicked off. Both times I filled up shortly after the light came on and put in around 18-19 gallons. I did disconnect the battery after buying it to install a stereo, Ive heard it needs to learn your driving style or something after disconnecting the battery. Anyone have any ideas? I’ve also read somewhere that they run rich in stock tune and adding a piggyback computer can really help mpg? Anyone have luck with that? I’m hoping it was just a fluke and we’ll see how the next tank goes.


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[HMSEndeavour]

Damn, those are some beautiful shots.

Sorry to hear about the mpg, im not sure what the cause would be. For reference I get around 22 MPG on the highway and 15-16 MPG in town using 87 octane. Might be a stealthy fuel leak?

 

[jasonsuperb]

Damn, those are some beautiful shots.

Sorry to hear about the mpg, im not sure what the cause would be. For reference I get around 22 MPG on the highway and 15-16 MPG in town using 87 octane. Might be a stealthy fuel leak?

That’s what I would expect for mpg. I seriously considered that as an option. I can literally basically see the fuel level drop on the gauge.


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[Inyo_man]

With mine, there are a couple codes that I get frequently (P0125 for instance) that don't mean anything so I'll actually clear them while I'm driving so they don't keep the engine check light on. The blinky transmission light keeps my blood pressure high enough as it is (another erroneous light..)

P0125: Insufficient coolant temperature for closed loop fuel control

Are you running an OEM thermostat?

I know a company called ASFIR makes a front bumper for the Montero. I tried to get in contact with them since they are in the UK but I had no lucky. Maybe you might have better luck!

ASFIR makes very nice aftermarket armor for the Gen. III, however, the cost of shipping kept their products out of reach IMHO.

 

[coffeegoat]

coffeegoat said:
With mine, there are a couple codes that I get frequently (P0125 for instance) that don't mean anything so I'll actually clear them while I'm driving so they don't keep the engine check light on. The blinky transmission light keeps my blood pressure high enough as it is (another erroneous light..)
P0125: Insufficient coolant temperature for closed loop fuel control

Are you running an OEM thermostat?

I am not running an OEM thermostat, but the cooling system is operating correctly - you can watch the temperature regulation and and verify closed loop fuel control using Torque. There are a couple of Mitsubishi TSB on this issue, TSB# 0313001 published 1/1/03 and TSB# 181505 published 4/1/05. A quick google will give some details, but the short version is that under load, in cold weather, the initialized values in the ECU don't work correctly. So, for example, if it's below freezing out and I jump on the freeway going up into the mountains the computer thinks the temperatures are all out of wack, even though they aren't. The fix is a ECU reflash to change the temperature limits, it's just ~$200 bucks at a dealer to get it reflashed, so I haven't done it yet...

 

[Inyo_man]

I am not running an OEM thermostat, but the cooling system is operating correctly - you can watch the temperature regulation and and verify closed loop fuel control using Torque. There are a couple of Mitsubishi TSB on this issue, TSB# 0313001 published 1/1/03 and TSB# 181505 published 4/1/05. A quick google will give some details, but the short version is that under load, in cold weather, the initialized values in the ECU don't work correctly. So, for example, if it's below freezing out and I jump on the freeway going up into the mountains the computer thinks the temperatures are all out of wack, even though they aren't. The fix is a ECU reflash to change the temperature limits, it's just ~$200 bucks at a dealer to get it reflashed, so I haven't done it yet...

Very interesting....I have not heard about this issue....


Sorry about the hijack...

 

[bikerjosh]

@OP I believe a faulty o2 sensor will lead to crappy mileage but I would expect that to trip the CEL and show a code on a reader. Or I could be totally full of it, as this is all coming from a dad of a 15 month old that is back sleeping in parents bed. Yeah, he kicks a lot in his sleep.

 

[coffeegoat]

@OP - A bad temperature sensor reading can also lead to bad mileage, that could be a bad sensor, or it could be bubbles in your system, see here.