1995 Montero SR small issues - oil cooler, 4x4 lights, butterfly valve

[dlstech]

Hi guys, I'm a new Montero SR owner from WA state. I never really noticed them or knew about them before but I was at an auction and liked how it looked. I was pretty clean and had 155k miles. I ran the VIN and it was a single owner car that was donated to a charity. Had an accident back in the 90s but that doesn't really bother me. Anyways, I did some research and ended up really liking it so I bought it. It has a few issues but that's expected with a 22 year old car.

So far I've done the following:

• I changed ALL the fluids and flushed the radiator.
• Replaced the fan pulley mount. The pulley flange is pressed onto the shaft and it somehow slid down about 1/4", createing a pulley misalignment and a terrible squeel.
• Lubed all suspension components.
• Replaced both rear window regulators. Motors were shot and I found 2 regulators for $50 shipped on ebay.
• Adjusted the steering play. My steering wheel would move back and forth like crazy, 3-4 inches. Now it's down to 1-2 inches, which is still back. The adjustment is maxed out so I'll probably need a new gearbox.
• Replaced the wheels/tires. The original wheels had some bald road tires. I found these 5 (spare is a Toyota wheel) with new tires for $400 on Craigslist. The toyota spare didn't quite fit so I had to grind the tabs down in the center bore. Tires are 31x10.5x15 Firestone all terrains. I plan to paint the wheels, just haven't decided on the color yet.
• Replaced the reverse lights with flush mount LED flood lights. These are stupid bright and make it much easier to back up my dark driveway. I've been wanting to try these out for a while and now had the perfect spot for them.

It has a few issues so I figured I'd make one post for all of them.

1. The oil cooler is missing. The lines are just looped with a hose behind the grille. The original one is like $500 so I'm not buying that. Is an oil cooler required for these motors? I'm in WA state so it only gets above 80 degrees a few times a year here. If it's required, I'll just get an aftermarket one for $50.

2. Something is up with my 4x4 indicator lights. When I'm in 2x4, sometimes the front wheel lights are off and sometimes they blink. But even when they're blinking, the front wheels physically turn off. I verified this by jacking the car and spinning the wheels. When I move the selector into 2x4, the front ones turn off within a few seconds but the light keeps flashing (sometimes). There rest of the lights work without an issue but the ABS light is on. I read a little about a freewheel solenoid valve and it seems like that might be the issue but I'm not sure because the switching is physically happening but not always indicating.

3. My butterfly valve rattles bad. I disconnected the vacuum line and it stopped rattling. Am I fine to just leave it like that or should I do a full delete? I will be replacing the timing belt in the upcoming weeks and figured it's a good time to do the spark plugs as well. While I have that all apart it would be a good time for a delete. Or is disconnecting it enough?


Here's a few pics. I already took it out in some mud, it performed great with the rear lockers.

 

[jaccox23]

the oil cooler bypass is a bit sketchy but the 4x4 indicator lights is nothing to be scared of if it is in fact going into and out of 4x4 when you move the transfer case shifter. It just means the vacuum actuator is shot. I've replaced mine and it stopped for a bit but them it started again. A lot of people will just pull the bulbs to the front wheels and just the center diff light to know they are in 4x4. doing that works except you have to assume your in AWD mode since you pull the front lights. The butterfly valve thing was discussed in a recent thread just search through there.

 

[JohnnyBfromPeoria]

The easiest thing with the oil cooler is to find one in a junkyard.
My 95's 4WD lights do weird things too, but using 4WD regularly makes them settle down.
I rebuilt my intake plenum, but I'm not sure you would want to go through what I did. I used a micrometer to measure what the center support bushings should have been (I believe there are 7 of them) and had new ones machined by a guy who used to build parts for the space shuttle. He had some leftover bronze-aluminum alloy and made them out of that. The screws that hold the valves to the shaft were loc-tited in place, then burred on the exposed threads, as I recall. I didn't get the seal tight on the end where the shaft connects to the linkage on the front, so it had a vacuum leak and the linkage itself has worn parts, so it was rattling. I disconnected the electrical connection and used silicone to seal the front of the shaft protrusion, as the vac leak was causing a too-high NOX reading in emissions. I have a spare plenum with the rest of the parts I need, but I haven't taken it back out to fix it yet. A new plenum is expensive, like $450. Depends who you ask as to its worth. I'd rather have it than not, but right now...I don't.
Nice truck.

John B.

 

[cr4x4cruiser]

"... 2. Something is up with my 4x4 indicator lights.
When I'm in 2x4, sometimes the front wheel lights are off and sometimes they blink.
But even when they're blinking, the front wheels physically turn off.
I verified this by jacking the car and spinning the wheels.
When I move the selector into 2x4, the front ones turn off within a few seconds but the light keeps flashing (sometimes)..."


Consider crawling underneath your rig, and replacing the vacuum lines for the front differential...


A total of five lines are involved... I believe they are 3mm or 4mm ID [hose sizes are addressed here; '1998 Montero hose upgrade (silicone)'].


You'll find the vacuum canister and four hoses on the passenger-side, behind the engine... one more hose will be found on top of the axle housing.

When I replaced these hoses the one over the differential was actually broken in two pieces, the others were just old [preventative maintenance, here].

Remove [one at a time, if in doubt], cut to length, replace... nothing more than a cleaning agent, rags/ paper towels, flashlight/ trouble light, & razor knife are required.

Upon completion, I fired up the rig, finding this same issue; the front differential dash lights were flashing... turned it off, restarted it and the lights stopped flashing [likely as a result of a good vacuum seal being created].

This may be one issue you can resolve rather easily...

Good luck,

- Wm.

 

[RyanY]

Mitsubishi felt the oil cooler was necessary when they designed the vehicle, so it's probably a good idea to get one back in there. Finding a used one in a wrecking yard shouldn't be too difficult, as John B. mentioned above.

The variable intake butterfly shaft still has the capability to come apart even if the actuator is disconnected. Deleting it will reduce your low end torque. Replacing or repairing it makes the most sense.

 

[dlstech]

I'll replace the hoses and see if that fixes the problem, thanks.

I didn't notice any torque or power loss with the valve disconnected. I'll do some more digging but a delete might be the easiest and cheapest.

As far as the oil cooler, I'll check the junk yards again and just get an aftermarket one if I don't find one.

Thanks for your help!

 

[RyanY]

A delete is the easiest and cheapest option, but one of the reasons the DOHC 3.5 in the Monteros was making considerably more horsepower and torque than it's competitors was because of the all the high technology Mitsubishi built into it, including the variable intake manifold. The later SOHC 3.5 didn't have the variable intake, and had 14 less hp.

I guess I have a hard time understanding why people would be willing to spend hundreds of dollars on performance parts to get more power out of their engine, but aren't willing to spend hundreds of dollars to keep from losing the power that the factory has already designed into it.

 

[JohnnyBfromPeoria]

I tend to agree with Ryan on the usefulness of the 3.5 DOHC's plenum, but as I mentioned above, it depends on who you ask. I state that because it has been the subject of several pages of discussion on 4x4Wire in the past. It mainly affects the low end torque of the engine, as the longer runners are used when vacuum is applied to the actuator and the system closes off the short, high rpm side. As rpm's increase, the valve starts to open, utilizing both sets of runners until it determines the optimal time to present the straight shot short path. At least that's my understanding of how it works. And it wouldn't be there if it didn't work.

John B.

 

[RyanY]

And it wouldn't be there if it didn't work.

My point exactly. I once had a Nissan factory engineer tell me that parts that aren't on a production vehicle don't have to be kept in stock anywhere, and the manufacturer never has to pay for them to be replaced under warranty.

 

[JohnnyBfromPeoria]

Yet we still got pages of people who argued, without anyone ever presenting a dyno run comparison or a true mpg course-run head-to-head, "It doesn't make any difference."

John B.