2004 Montero

[PirateMcGee]

Had the itch for a daily/project that's a bit more nimble than my Titan XD so picked up this one owner 135k mile 2004 Montero. Planning fairly mild build mainly focused on keeping it on the road.

 

[PirateMcGee]

 

[PirateMcGee]

 

[spacecowboy7777]

Nice clean truck! Make sure to get that timing belt done and make sure the butterflies are lock tited in.

This next part might ruffle some feathers, but I think these trucks run best at stock height. Aftermarket shocks are a must at this point, but if raised too high with stiff springs, ride quality goes out the window and cv axles at big angles give vibrations. And these are extremely capable off road even on stock sized tires at stock height.

Enjoy the new rig!

 

[PirateMcGee]

Nice clean truck! Make sure to get that timing belt done and make sure the butterflies are lock tited in.

This next part might ruffle some feathers, but I think these trucks run best at stock height. Aftermarket shocks are a must at this point, but if raised too high with stiff springs, ride quality goes out the window and cv axles at big angles give vibrations. And these are extremely capable off road even on stock sized tires at stock height.

Enjoy the new rig!

Timing belt has been done twice along with water pump. Butterflies are on my list... probably will just replace the surge tank at some point.

Agreed on the lift. Any recommendations for dealing with an arb bumper? I don't plan on going above a 32/33 with 4.90s but would like the arb bumper at some point.

 

[Michael Brown]

Depends one why you want the bumper. It is one of the few available units for these.
As extra protection it is good, but these are strong vehicles.

For light mounting, I just drilled into the space in front of the grill. There's a couple spots with metal underneath.

For a winch mounting location, there are a few places with hidden mounts as alternatives.
Have not seen many, though.

 

[SONICMASD]

Timing belt has been done twice along with water pump. Butterflies are on my list... probably will just replace the surge tank at some point.

Agreed on the lift. Any recommendations for dealing with an arb bumper? I don't plan on going above a 32/33 with 4.90s but would like the arb bumper at some point.

Super sweet find! Getting super hard to find Gen3s with under 150k nowadays.

If you get the ARB bumper, you can go with medium duty or HD front springs. The bumper is right at the max for the medium duty springs to still result in 2" of lift so if you plan on adding any other constant weight like skid plates, bigger battery, winch, etc. then go with the HD front springs. I have HD springs all around, Bilstein 4600 shocks, and 33s (285/70R17) on 17" 4runner TRD wheels.