KarmannMarco
Adventurer
Well , although my thread will be slow because of all my other projects I wanted to start one so I can document mods as I go.
I bought my 97 LS this past September. I had been planning on moving to Colorado from Texas for about a year and wanted something I could take the family camping in , get out and hit some trails and get back into rock climbing / hiking. So I sold my 85 BMW 635CSi ( which i miss alot) to make funds for something more suitable. At first I was actually looking for a S1 Disco or a LC80. I looked at half a dozen Discos on the verge of death...the only good one I actually liked and bought died 5 minutes from the sellers house (for another story). All the LC80s I found were overpriced with 200K+ miles so I decided to look at some other trucks in the price range. After a very enjoyable vacation in the Rockies I came back to Houston excited and found my Montero for sale on craigslist and though I'd give it a shot. After some research and a long test drive I decided this would be the truck for me and took the plunge into the Montero world.
It is not perfect.....
- Needs 02 sensor (and possibly a cat. converter) code P0161
- Cruise control stopped working after I had it a week . code P0500 ( VSS code which im assuming is the cause of the cruise not working )
- Hold button ( on the console ) stopped working recently. (has been working fine up until two weeks ago)
- Burns about a quart of oil about every 1500 miles
- Sometimes the flashing lights stay on going from 4WD to 2WD for long period of times. I read all about this and it hasn't been a huge issue as 4WD always engages perfectly.
Seems like alot but I'm still happy with my purchase and will slowly repair these items before I get to far into the modding.
So far all I've done is put some 31x10.5x15 General Grabbers on the stock wheels ( wanted 33 BGFs but got a super deal on the 31s ) and
removed the side steps
Future mods include:
- Two inch lift ( so far not needed )
- Fabricate a roof rack
- Fabricate front and rear bumpers
- Paint the beige lower portion of the trim with UV resistant black bedliner (as well as the rack , bumpers and wheels )
- Maybe step up to 33x10.5x15 after I move to CO depending on how the trails get and how deep I get into the hobby.
I want to keep it mild enough for 1000+ mile family vacation but fun enough to take some fun trails.
Also depending on how much wheeling I will do I may get a winch and put a rear SR locker. So far I don't necessitate the need for either.
Here's the truck when I got it in September.
Here's the truck on my latest trip
to Colorado last week.
I bought my 97 LS this past September. I had been planning on moving to Colorado from Texas for about a year and wanted something I could take the family camping in , get out and hit some trails and get back into rock climbing / hiking. So I sold my 85 BMW 635CSi ( which i miss alot) to make funds for something more suitable. At first I was actually looking for a S1 Disco or a LC80. I looked at half a dozen Discos on the verge of death...the only good one I actually liked and bought died 5 minutes from the sellers house (for another story). All the LC80s I found were overpriced with 200K+ miles so I decided to look at some other trucks in the price range. After a very enjoyable vacation in the Rockies I came back to Houston excited and found my Montero for sale on craigslist and though I'd give it a shot. After some research and a long test drive I decided this would be the truck for me and took the plunge into the Montero world.
It is not perfect.....
- Needs 02 sensor (and possibly a cat. converter) code P0161
- Cruise control stopped working after I had it a week . code P0500 ( VSS code which im assuming is the cause of the cruise not working )
- Hold button ( on the console ) stopped working recently. (has been working fine up until two weeks ago)
- Burns about a quart of oil about every 1500 miles
- Sometimes the flashing lights stay on going from 4WD to 2WD for long period of times. I read all about this and it hasn't been a huge issue as 4WD always engages perfectly.
Seems like alot but I'm still happy with my purchase and will slowly repair these items before I get to far into the modding.
So far all I've done is put some 31x10.5x15 General Grabbers on the stock wheels ( wanted 33 BGFs but got a super deal on the 31s ) and
removed the side steps
Future mods include:
- Two inch lift ( so far not needed )
- Fabricate a roof rack
- Fabricate front and rear bumpers
- Paint the beige lower portion of the trim with UV resistant black bedliner (as well as the rack , bumpers and wheels )
- Maybe step up to 33x10.5x15 after I move to CO depending on how the trails get and how deep I get into the hobby.
I want to keep it mild enough for 1000+ mile family vacation but fun enough to take some fun trails.
Also depending on how much wheeling I will do I may get a winch and put a rear SR locker. So far I don't necessitate the need for either.
Here's the truck when I got it in September.
Here's the truck on my latest trip
to Colorado last week.
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