New Guy with a new Monty

[Vandal]

Hey all,

I've been lurking around for a month or so, but had no vehicle worthy if the site. Today my wife and I bought a 95 Montero SR. It's pushing 180k, but had a JDM (I think) engine put in by a dealership about 40k ago, and at the time had the whole top end rebuilt with new seals. Doesn't burn a drop of oil! It was pretty meticulously cared for, and anything that went wrong was quickly fixed by the previous owner. Lots and lots of new parts. Feels MUCH newer then 180k. I wouldn't hesitate to jump in and drive across the country right now.

Anyway, it's stock other then brand new ******** Cepek ATs in 31x10.5 and an old Yakima rack.

I did quite a bit of research before buying, and settled on the Montero for it's size, reliability, and capabilities out of the box, especially the SR. Well, and price. If I was able to buy brand new I would have gone with an Xterra or Frontier I guess.

Plans are to keep it mostly stock. I've already pulled the running boards! I want to do some back woods camping and trips out to places like Big Bend. I'd like to build a sleeping platform in the back, install some aux lighting, and possibly a roof rack. I may move up to 32 or 33x10.5 when these wear out, but Im more then satisfied at the moment. Shocks may not be too far off. Eventually I may want to put some Old Man Emu springs on it and twist the torsion bars a bit, but it is currently more capable then I am. I have owned 10 cars in my 28 years, but this is my first SUV. I have spent quite a bit of time in my friends rigs on trails, and wheeling out in Southern Idaho with family, so I have a little experience.

Anyway, I had a few questions!

What are the factory axle ratios? I believe I read 4.6:1, but wanted to double check. Also, what is the transfer case ratio? I've had trouble tracking that down. One more, does anybody know what the factory claimed as a fording depth?

Thanks guys! Looking forward to some adventures!

 

[Vandal]

Ha, I forgot to mention the little christening I did this evening. Started as a leisurely drive down a dry river bed, followed by my bud Mat in his rally beater, a perfectly running rolled Forester he bought from a junk yard that he threw rally tires on. It ended up a with trail that had disappeared from washouts and fallen trees, and a possibly hydrolocked Forester!

I forded a part if the river that wasn't completely dried up (mostly a big, 14-18" deep puddle), after discovering the normal trail had eroded away. It was deeper and slimier then i thought, and Mat in the forester tried to follow me before I thought to wave him off, and ended up stuck in the deepest section. He swore he never saw the water even reach my rear bumper, but it was over his front bumper when he felt it stutter and miss and shut it down.

So then we had to spend an hour dealing with his terrible tow rope tied to a good tow rope, finding his tow hooks in the murky water, stagnant water, not to mention the sandal stealing mud.

Finally freeing his car from the mud, we continued in the Monty, since the trail looped around, and my wife was not too keen to drive through the mud pit again in the vehicle we purchased six hours earlier. It was supposed to be an easy, 4h kind of trail with a few spots to test the articulation. It turned out to be all deep sand, mud, and fallen trees requiring all my still limited wheeling skill, 4L with the center and rear diffs locked, and veteran spotter, Noah, who is a member on this board.

Not what I wanted for my first taste of wheeling in my new rig. Trial by fire I guess! We still have to go change the spark plugs on the Forester and see if we can get it home. Before it rains.

Here is a pic of the Forester's floor board AFTER it had drained some.

 

[Inyo_man]

What are the factory axle ratios? I believe I read 4.6:1, but wanted to double check. Also, what is the transfer case ratio? I've had trouble tracking that down.

The fellas on the Outerlimts site have put together a pretty complete run-down that will answer your tech. questions.

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23638&sid=fd74dbe9dd8137e014d7365cd4df4654

Nice rig!

 

[Vandal]

Thanks! That's some great info. I remember running across that when I was doing some research, but completely forgot about it.

Ok another question, what are the Montero's weak spots? The trans is kind of an unknown to me, durability wise. I know the valve guide seals can fail, but that has already been taken care of on my rig. Anything else I should specifically watch out for with a 170K+ Montero?

 

[off-roader]

- r&p: 4.636:1
- xcase: 2:1


- butterfly valve bushings in the intake manifold can fail. The bushing fails and the valve can fall into the intake $$$$. If they're going bad, either remove them (if you don't need to pass smog) or replace the intake with the latest updated design from Mitsu.
- be sure you do the timing belts & tensioners and other ancillary items on time
- replace the crank bolt with the updated design
- flush the tranny regularly to keep it rock solid. rarely fails.
- check the radiator core for scaling/calcium deposits which reduces the fluid flow/cooling ability.

I can't recall much else other than that. It's just standard maintenance really.:ylsmoke:

 

[off-roader]

In addition to the Outerlimits site, there's also 4x4wire's Mitsu 4x4 forum and FAQ thread. (http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=1152900&an=0&page=0#Post1152900)

 

[Vandal]

Off-roader, thanks for the response and the link!

I have read through your build thread, very impressive. I took mine out on the freeway for the first time yesterday, and was blown away when the tach was sitting at 3k at 70. Then I remembered the 4.64 gears. How bad is the gas mileage on the freeway?

Off-roader, you mentioned in your thread that you were getting 15mpg with 35s, and I thought that was amazing. I was hoping for 18-19, but not sure I will hit that.

 

[Vandal]

So I went to go help my buddy recover his forester today. What a cluster. I can't believe he attempted driving through that water hole. He did in fact get water in 2 cylinders, so I guess he shut it down just in time. The only way out was to drag him back though the muddy water pit, which I wasn't sure I could do, but after we got moving the Montero didn't seem to notice the forester was there.

Here are a few terrible cell pics.

 

[WAGONLOVE]

very nice! im jealous of your tires... and your motor...

 

[off-roader]

Off-roader, thanks for the response and the link!

I have read through your build thread, very impressive. I took mine out on the freeway for the first time yesterday, and was blown away when the tach was sitting at 3k at 70. Then I remembered the 4.64 gears. How bad is the gas mileage on the freeway?

Off-roader, you mentioned in your thread that you were getting 15mpg with 35s, and I thought that was amazing. I was hoping for 18-19, but not sure I will hit that.

Thanks. I've been into Montero's for over a decade and been very involved with numerous forums.. even some that no longer exist.

As for mileage, 15mpg is freeway mileage with a tailwind LOL, but seriously, it's attainable but you have to drive it as if you're hypermiling (i.e. driving like my grandma :bike_rider

 

[PajEvo]

Sounds like you have your queries mostly sorted, but just fyi, if you have a look at the firewall, there is an info plate there that will tell you your axle ratio. I didn't see what engine you had, but assume the 3.5, so you should see something like 4625 on the plate somewhere, which of course is ~4.6:1. Your transfer case is just under 2 to 1.

You can also get your paint code there, and the options code, as well as the chassis number, starting with V...

Welcome to a great series of vehicles. You're gonna love it!

Phil