Somebody needs to snatch this up: 95 Montero SR for $800, but needs timing belt

[TNMontero]

I'm way too far away or I would jump on this in a hurry. But supposedly this thing only needs a timing belt. Now I haven't done one on the Montero before, but I've done other vehicles and I have access to a full shop. So this would be right up my alley. I have no idea of the overall condition of the interior, but the lack of interior shots would worry me.

But it looks like a heck of a nice platform, so I figured I'd share it with you guys. It's in Wisconsin.

http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/cto/3573091736.html

 

[plh]

Timing belt broken means major engine work I believe. Interference design unfortunately.

 

[TNMontero]

Really? I've changed Timing belts on other vehicles before, other than being a royal PITA to do, they were fine after. If they fail on the Montero, are we talking catastrophic? That might be something I need to watch for when looking then.

 

[RU55ELL]

Already gone.

 

[KarmannMarco]

Non interference engines are generally just fine after the timing belt snaps. The valves are never in the path of the pistons. New belt , adjust the timing and your good to go.
In a interference engine if the timing is off the valves will smash into the pistons and create all kinds of damage.
This is why you see people do full timing belt/water pump/pulley replacement as soon as buying a used vehicle with no service history.
That said I didn't know the 3.5 was an interference engine until now.

 

[off-roader]

That said I didn't know the 3.5 was an interference engine until now.

Good explanation.

In my case, Grasscat helped me to remove "stuff" (technical term) fron the front of the SR engine so we could visually inspect it. We determined a replacement was probably not needed right away, but some of the accessory belts did need to be replaced.

And yes, unfortunately it is an interference engine.

 

[TNMontero]

Non interference engines are generally just fine after the timing belt snaps. The valves are never in the path of the pistons. New belt , adjust the timing and your good to go.
In a interference engine if the timing is off the valves will smash into the pistons and create all kinds of damage.
This is why you see people do full timing belt/water pump/pulley replacement as soon as buying a used vehicle with no service history.
That said I didn't know the 3.5 was an interference engine until now.

Good info indeed. I didn't know they were either. Well at least I learned something today. :sombrero: Thanks for the info.