Soooo, I'm thinkin' hard about a montero purchase...

[BIGdaddy]

I'm thinking about either a Gen 2.5 or Gen 3. Leaning towards a 2.5, simply because it's what we prefer, having driven a Gen II, and Gen II.5. Haven't tried out a Gen III, so we should probably do that before deciding.

Been reading up and doing my Montero research:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-World-Travel/page2?highlight=montero+gen+2.5

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...verdue-build-thread?highlight=montero+gen+2.5

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...III-a-few-questions?highlight=montero+gen+2.5

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...Montero-to-purchase?highlight=montero+gen+2.5


The rig will be required to do the following:

-Daily drive me to work and back
-Take us to Geocashing spots
-Eventually take us on longer camping trips to big bear, mohave, Sierra's, Rubicon trail, etc.
-Haul 5-6 people on a regular basis
-tow a small cargo/camp trailer on occasion
-shuttle us to the 1-2 snow days East San Diego county see's every year
-Be able to be modded with aggresive tires, sliders, winch bumper/winch, cargo topper on thule racks.

Few more questions:

-What type of bearing setup to the front hubs and rear axle ends utilize? Unit bearing, inner/outer, etc?

-What is the fuel capacity of the Gen II.5 and Gen III? Are extended range/aux. tanks available for these?

- Finally, What are y'all paying for these nowadays? I'm seeing Gen II.5's in the $5000 range and Gen III's in the $7000-10,000 range here in socal.

 

[off-roader]

The rig will be required to do the following:

-Daily drive me to work and back
-Take us to Geocashing spots
-Eventually take us on longer camping trips to big bear, mohave, Sierra's, Rubicon trail, etc.
-Haul 5-6 people on a regular basis
-tow a small cargo/camp trailer on occasion
-shuttle us to the 1-2 snow days East San Diego county see's every year
-Be able to be modded with aggresive tires, sliders, winch bumper/winch, cargo topper on thule racks.

Few more questions:

-What type of bearing setup to the front hubs and rear axle ends utilize? Unit bearing, inner/outer, etc?

-What is the fuel capacity of the Gen II.5 and Gen III? Are extended range/aux. tanks available for these?

- Finally, What are y'all paying for these nowadays? I'm seeing Gen II.5's in the $5000 range and Gen III's in the $7000-10,000 range here in socal.

1) The 'Con would be ok assuming you put 4.6x:1 gears in the transfer case to accommodate bigger tires (minimum 33", 35" preferred) unless you want to do a whole lot of rock stacking. This coming from someone who's done it with a gen 1 with the stock 4.6x gears, the stock LSD, rocker panel armor, rock bumpers, and 33x12.5's.

Needle bearings up front. Can be done by any shade tree mechanic. Not sure about the rear ones except a press is needed to r&r them.

Fuel capacity is ~24 Gal iirc. Extended range tanks exist but I've only found them outside the US (australia).

not sure about the going rate. Mine's a gen 2.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Thanks for the info, Offroader. I don't like that my jeep has unit bearings. Though I've never had to service them, if I did, it'd cost an arm and a leg. I'm happy to move away from them, and TO 4 wheel disc's as drum brakes (rear of my jeep) are also a pain in the patooty, in comparison.


Some sample prices in my area:

Here's a 2002 GenIII for $8000.00, 130k
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/ssd/ctd/3402564547.html


Here's a 1998 Gen II.5 for $4800, w/ a "new" motor
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/3433508960.html

And finally a 2002 Gen III, with 107k for $8000.00
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/ctd/3375294913.html

 

[Inyo_man]

I'm very happy with the Gen. III.
The rig is driven as a DD as well as back country and overland touring. It has seen some rocky trails, but nothing like Rubicon.
If you're looking for a rock crawler, I'd go for the Gen. 2.5. It has more options for after-market upgrades and is better suited for the task in my opinion. If driver fatigue and comfort are considerations for you in a rig, the Gen III would be worth looking at closely. We just clicked over 138k this last week on a trip to AZ. After a week of family and wheelin' everything we wanted, the twelve hour drive home wasn't bad behind the wheel of my Gen. III. The comfort of the on-road driving coupled with solid off highway performance makes the Gen. III a great DD/trip rig.
The IFS/IRS of the Gen. III is incredible on high speed desert runs! Fuel capacity is 23.8 gallons. The super-select transmission is bullet proof and turns the auto box to a five speed manuel.
Good Luck

 

[BIGdaddy]

Went and checked out a 2003 Gen III

Truck overall is in good shape. Also we found some pretty good documentation in the glovebox:

-Timing belt change in July 2012
-Alternator swap in January 2011
-Brand new tires in Dec 2011
-Full fluid service in Jan 2012

Truck has 75k on the ticker. Price is in-line with KBB values.

It has the 5 speed manual automatic and the AWD equipped tcase, but no sunroof, and cloth seats. is that strange?

 

[Michael Brown]

Went and checked out a 2003 Gen III

It has the 5 speed manual automatic and the AWD equipped tcase, but no sunroof, and cloth seats. is that strange?

I have a 2001 XLS with the 4 speed. It sounds like that is the Limited model, and the earlier years had leather and sunroofs as options IIRC. I have had mine for about 7 years and love driving it. I also have a thread with the aftermarket parts sources for the Gen III's.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/90431-OEM-Aftermarket-Montero-Pajero-Parts-Sources

I think you would be happy with either model, but the Gen III definately has a smooth ride everywhere I go. It is my DD, work truck, race car hauler, offroad toy, and hunting vehicle. I also have kept everything stock except for a Weapon-R intake to boost the power. I have even used mine to tow a bunch of tractor parts (loader, grader, and bushhog) on a trailer to the hunting club which had a horribly muddy logging road for the entrance and I never worried about getting stuck. Also get about 18-20mpg when I am mindful of the throttle.

If that one has a 5 speed then it may also have the 4.3 rear gears, which many switch to the 4.9 that comes in the XLS like mine.

 

[BIGdaddy]

I have a 2001 XLS with the 4 speed. It sounds like that is the Limited model, and the earlier years had leather and sunroofs as options IIRC. I have had mine for about 7 years and love driving it. I also have a thread with the aftermarket parts sources for the Gen III's.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/90431-OEM-Aftermarket-Montero-Pajero-Parts-Sources

I think you would be happy with either model, but the Gen III definately has a smooth ride everywhere I go. It is my DD, work truck, race car hauler, offroad toy, and hunting vehicle. I also have kept everything stock except for a Weapon-R intake to boost the power. I have even used mine to tow a bunch of tractor parts (loader, grader, and bushhog) on a trailer to the hunting club which had a horribly muddy logging road for the entrance and I never worried about getting stuck. Also get about 18-20mpg when I am mindful of the throttle.

If that one has a 5 speed then it may also have the 4.3 rear gears, which many switch to the 4.9 that comes in the XLS like mine.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics...It's an XLS - just confirmed.

 

[Michael Brown]

Ok. They added the 5-speed to both models in 2003. It gets better mileage with the 5-speed, and the 3.8L is a little more power than my 3.5L. The 2003 model also got better reliability out of the electronics. Only thing to make sure is that you ALWAYS use SP-III ATF fluid in the transmission. You can buy the Mitsubishi brand ATF, but the Hyundai fluid is exactly the same and a little cheaper on Ebay. Mitsubishi, KIA, and Hyundai used the same transmissions and fluid in many of their cars.

 

[cnutco]

Ok. They added the 5-speed to both models in 2003. It gets better mileage with the 5-speed, and the 3.8L is a little more power than my 3.5L. The 2003 model also got better reliability out of the electronics. Only thing to make sure is that you ALWAYS use SP-III ATF fluid in the transmission. You can buy the Mitsubishi brand ATF, but the Hyundai fluid is exactly the same and a little cheaper on Ebay. Mitsubishi, KIA, and Hyundai used the same transmissions and fluid in many of their cars.

Good to know! Thanks.

 

[DirtyDC05]

I went to check out the gen 2.5 with the new engine that you posted earlier . What a let down. The pictures that are displayed on craigslist are misleading. The overall condition ov the vehicle was not so good. Exterior was nice. Good tires. But the interior was very dirty. Lots of stains on carpet and floor mats. Drivers door panel is loose. The engine bay was dirty considering the engine was suposed to have been rebuilt. A few bolts missing here and there. Timing belt cover was missing. The guy said that he has all reciepts for the rebuild but I find it strange that he has a listing for just a rebuilt engine on craigslist. Just seems sketchy . Also he gave me an address that turns out to be a shoping center . Overall very disapointed. Didnt even want to test drive it even though I drove over 1 hour to see it.

 

[BIGdaddy]

I went to check out the gen 2.5 with the new engine that you posted earlier . What a let down. The pictures that are displayed on craigslist are misleading. The overall condition ov the vehicle was not so good. Exterior was nice. Good tires. But the interior was very dirty. Lots of stains on carpet and floor mats. Drivers door panel is loose. The engine bay was dirty considering the engine was suposed to have been rebuilt. A few bolts missing here and there. Timing belt cover was missing. The guy said that he has all reciepts for the rebuild but I find it strange that he has a listing for just a rebuilt engine on craigslist. Just seems sketchy . Also he gave me an address that turns out to be a shoping center . Overall very disapointed. Didnt even want to test drive it even though I drove over 1 hour to see it.

Yup, that one always seemed too good to be true...

 

[YOURDOCTORONLY]

buying a montero is the best desition you can make, you'll fall in love with it....just check my baby!!! I live in Puerto Rico, this is my Mitsubishi Montero Dakar edition 2000, and has 233286 miles!!!

 

[Fergie]

So I see a lot of talk about GenII, 2.5s and Gen IIIs. From my reading, I see the difference in the 2 to the 3, but can't determine what the difference is between the 2.5s and the rest of them.

Can someone chime in on this?

Thanks,
G

 

[Clem]

Gen 2 v Gen 2.5

Gen 2 (94-97) - You're probably looking for the SR (3.5 DOHC, rear locker & 4.6?? gearing, fender flares)

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj104/josephfrank/DSCN1198.jpg


Gen 2.5 (98-00) - You're probably looking for "Winter Package" (3.5 SOHC, rear locker & 4.27 gearing, wide fender)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8492/8315589263_5037bb360e_c.jpg

I think the interiors are pretty much the same. My understanding is the 3.5 DOHC has about 25 more HP than the 3.5 SOHC (not sure about torque) and 1997 is/seems to be a crossover year as SR has fender flares but 3.5 SOHC and 4.27 gears. And no locker available in 2000.

HTH,

Clem

 

[off-roader]

Gen 2 (94-97) - You're probably looking for the SR (3.5 DOHC, rear locker & 3.6?? gearing, fender flares)

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj104/josephfrank/DSCN1198.jpg


Gen 2.5 (98-00) - You're probably looking for "Winter Package" (3.5 SOHC, rear locker & 3.27 gearing, wide fender)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8492/8315589263_5037bb360e_c.jpg

I think the interiors are pretty much the same. My understanding is the 3.5 DOHC has about 25 more HP than the 3.5 SOHC (not sure about torque) and 1997 is/seems to be a crossover year as SR has fender flares but 3.5 SOHC and 3.27 gears. The no locker available in 2000

HTH,

Clem

Actually the ring and pinion gear ratios are 4.6x:1 and 4.2x:1 respectively not 3.6x/3.2x.

There are also some minor interior differences.
96 came with both split folding seats & 2-color leather.
97 or 98 was the first year offering the heated front seats.