New Owner - 2000 Montero

[DanielDD]

Recently picked this up. Two owner and a stack of receipts for maintenance including at least 3 timing belt changes. Unfortunately, it is leaking coolant out the exhaust (white smoke), but other than that and some fading on the hood and top, it is in decent shape for what I paid, which was less than $2K. Also, stripped the interior and am currently having the front two seats re-upholstered and cleaning the carpet as best as I can. I am disappointed that I have to remove the intake to do a simple compression test, but oh well…

Most likely I have a blown head gasket. If this is the case, then I will get both cylinder heads reworked and put it back together. The timing belt was done recently, so I can most likely reuse those components. Once I have the Montero running reliably, I will most likely update the suspension and and put a larger set of tires on before heading off road. This is my winter project and I will try to document progress/problems as I move forward. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

At least you don't have any rust to chase down, the heads are easy enough to do compared to fixing rust issues in the rockers that these tend to have in other regions.

 

[normal_dave]

Welcome to the club, if you aren't too far along, I ended up ordering a complete Katzkin leather seat kit for my wife's '03 Sport limited. It was really nicer than OEM but sewn perfectly to original. Had a local street rod shop fit it, and I re-installed the seats in the truck. Probably could have done it myself with hog ring pliers etc.
I also ordered the kit through a small business reseller that specializes in Tundra trucks. It made the whole interior look like brand new.

If you don't see oil in the coolant or vice/versa, and aren't overheating, I'd be curious to see if there isn't maybe a coolant leak at the intake for example, is the moisture coming from somewhere else? Remember to inspect the bottom of the oil fill cap for the milky deposits.

Nice looking ride, I'm guessing a Limited, does it have the winter package? locking rear differential?

 

[DanielDD]

Its the Endeavor model, so it is loaded. I don't believe it has a locker in the rear. Haven't gotten that far into how it is equipped mechanically.

With regard to the seats, I've already delivered them to a guy that is doing the re-upholstering. They should be available in the next 2 weeks. The leather was badly cracked and the driver's side seat cushion was pretty well blown out. They're heated seats, so I want to preserve that feature.

There doesn't appear to be any oil in the coolant nor is there any milky like substance under the oil cap. It is possible there could be a leak at the intake, that is why it is necessary for me to perform a compression test. This will most likely indicate what I need to do next.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Welcome to the club, if you aren't too far along, I ended up ordering a complete Katzkin leather seat kit for my wife's '03 Sport limited. It was really nicer than OEM but sewn perfectly to original. Had a local street rod shop fit it, and I re-installed the seats in the truck. Probably could have done it myself with hog ring pliers etc.
I also ordered the kit through a small business reseller that specializes in Tundra trucks. It made the whole interior look like brand new.

If you don't see oil in the coolant or vice/versa, and aren't overheating, I'd be curious to see if there isn't maybe a coolant leak at the intake for example, is the moisture coming from somewhere else? Remember to inspect the bottom of the oil fill cap for the milky deposits.

Nice looking ride, I'm guessing a Limited, does it have the winter package? locking rear differential?

His is a 2000 and never had the option of a locker from the factory, only the 98-99 gen 2.5's had the locker as part of the winter package, not sure why they did this but there are many weird things car mfr's do that we will never know.

 

[Toasty]

Very nice rig, rear lockers are inexpensive and easy to install on these.

 

[Sabre]

Nice find! As was said previously, the engine work you need is nothing compared to the work that would be needed to resurrect a tired body. Welcome! Can't wait to see the evolution of your project.

 

[DanielDD]

Thanks all. I removed the plenum today and was getting ready to perform a compression test when I discovered the middle cylinder on the passenger side was essentially flooded with coolant. We're not talking about a little bit of coolant but alot. I used my MityVac to suction out the coolant from the spark plug hole and I got maybe about an ounce out of it. I can't imagine this is a blown head gasket, it must be something more, but I cannot determine the issue at this point.

It doesn't appear the intake manifold has any water passages integral to it, so I don't think it is sealing issue. It could be a cracked head or a cracked block. Hard to tell at this point. I am preparing for the task of removing the engine..

 

[normal_dave]

Check your coolant hoses that go to the throttle body and egr passages on the intake. Notorious for developing pinhole leaks, that could magically end up running past the spark plug tube seal and filling the spark plug tube well. I had one acting up, fixed the one I thought it was, and of course it was another coolant line nearby, sneaky little ---. This is assuming the coolant you found is in the spark plug well and not in the cylinder. A cylinder full of coolant should have already rendered a "bad day" in a big way.

 

[DanielDD]

Check your coolant hoses that go to the throttle body and egr passages on the intake. Notorious for developing pinhole leaks, that could magically end up running past the spark plug tube seal and filling the spark plug tube well. I had one acting up, fixed the one I thought it was, and of course it was another coolant line nearby, sneaky little ---. This is assuming the coolant you found is in the spark plug well and not in the cylinder. A cylinder full of coolant should have already rendered a "bad day" in a big way.

Must be a bad day - #3 spark plug tube was dry prior to me removing spark plug. Bottom of spark plug was washed clean when removed for inspection. Looked in combustion chamber and coolant had flooded the combustion chamber, which necessitated me removing coolant with the MightyVac. At this point I am curious as to determine root cause.