Looking for a new Expedition vehicle and can't decide, Help :)

[BIGdaddy]

I like the Troopers styling but I just don't know much about them and I haven't known many who have them. I don't know the reliability of them to make a strong thought about them.

Here's some info:

-3.2 and 3.5 liters use oil. Its about a 1qt per 1500 mile type issue
-auto trannies can have issues. Most are fine with normal use. Mine has been fine
-manual trannies are pretty solid
-arb's front and rear are available. Snorkel and bull bars, too.
-rear limited slip is common. Mine has one
-front suspension is torsion bar. Rear is linked coil. Very robust but a it's a bit too soft for heavy loads. OME makes a rears coil and shock setup for it.
-starters and fuel pumps can go out. Denso parts are commonly available and fairly priced.
-normal sized tires will not break this drivetrain, and 31's- 32's fit without toomuch fuss at all

 

[PirateMcGee]

I do love these years of the Montero but I have heard the aftermarket and parts can be hard to come by. I have always heard issues dealing with head gaskets. But also what gets me is the V6 and it being a 3.6 or 3.8 whatever it is. Little power to give. I love the styling of the Montero, very nice looking.

Parts really are not hard to come by. Yes, it can be hard to find a dealer locally but with the internet you can order virtually anything from a number of huge oem distributors, amazon, oreilly, autozone, etc. I have not had a single issue finding a mitsu part. Heck I just ordered a timing belt kit, air filter, fuel filter, water pump, thermostat, 4wd vacuum solenoid, spark plugs, a wire set etc. for my 3.5l sport (which the 3.8l motor shares a lot of parts with). I had a ton of options and had no trouble sourcing parts for barely more money than my old 22re powered super common 4runner. For my 01 sport I can still get all of the mouldings, badges, and trim pieces from dealers....

I have never heard of an issue with the SOHC 3.5l or 3.8l (which is based on the 3.5l) as far as head gaskets or any other major failure point. The only common issue I can think of is leaking cam seals on the back of the motor which allows oil to drip onto the exhaust, mitsu released an updated design/part and it seemed to have solved that issue too and I'm not even sure the old design ended up on the 3.8l.

As far as power, it is plenty in the real world and will return decent fuel economy especially compared to a LC. I have driven my sport from Oregon to CO over western mountain passes towing a trailer, cruised for hours at 75-80mph, driven up a mountain over 14,000 ft and commonly go to 10,000ft. I have never really lacked power to do any of these things loaded with camping gear, a dog, and passenger, The 3.8l produces more power and you live in a state that's highest point is 4,000 feet......do you really need more power?

 

[BIGdaddy]

Well besides the rust I really don't care for the front end nose styling of the 4Runner, this also the same case with the 100 series Land Cruiser. The front ends of both of these vehicles I don't care to much for. I like rest of the styling of both of the vehicles but the front ends remind me to much of a van or car. But like I said other than that I like the styling. I have had a quite a few issues with my current 4Runner besides rust. My radiator started leaking for no reason out of the blue, my transmission lines both broke, sunroof leaked and next the sunroof stopped working, the rear hatch door stopped opening and broke and it's been a pain. I like Toyota overall but I'm so sure. I use to work for Toyota and they are probably the most reliable auto maker on the market but some things get to me about them. If you have an issue typically forget about going to Toyota, I have always been given the run around and no help at all.

agreed on the later 4runner styling. I've never really been a fan.

Sorry to hear that you're getting sub-par dealer support. that sucks. As for your issues, I have to say, those could probably happen with any car, but every so often you'll get a lemon that just can't seem to get in a rhythm.

My jeep with 207,000 miles had all systems function other than A/C, after 21 years on the road. Just sold it to it's new owner.

My first gen, 2-door 4runner was bulletproof. I think I changed the oil, rotated the tires, and put a new starter in once in about 2-3 years of ownership, with lots of miles commuting to and from college/home and around town, ski trips,etc.

I looked hard at LC80's, LC100's commanders, Liberties (KK's and KJ's), Montero's and Troopers, as my budget was about $5000-10,000.

I ended up with the Trooper, and we've been thrilled with it so far. Just ordered an ARB deluxe bull bar for it, actually, having done some preventative maintenence. (3.5L engine is non-interference but I swapped out timing belt, pump, pulley bearings, tensioner, etc just for good measure...Montero motors ARE interference, which was a big deciding factor for me, as I simply got the heebie-jeebies about a motor getting trashed if a belt snapped. Hard pill to swallow coming from a bulletproof chain-driven setup in my Jeep cherokee (XJ)...)

 

[Inyo_man]

I would go with a 3rd gen Montero 03-2006. Capable offroad, comfortable, classy styling, lots of storage, waaaaaay lower price, reliable etc. Parts are not hard to find and I don't anticipate they will be for quite some time. There's enough aftermarket parts to do a few tasteful modifications without getting out of hand and you could basically be fully modified/baselined with a lower mileage vehicle for the same cost as stock higher mileage 4runner.

Ditto!
I couldn't agree more...
We've been running our rig hard for over ten years and it keeps charging along.

 

[SoCalMonty]

I'm on my 2nd Montero...had a Gen1, now a Gen2. Ridiculously under-rated, and I love that about them. Better deals for me. I *love* this truck.

Nothing wrong with any of the other options, really - it's just all give and take, pros and cons.

I will say, the Montero actually stands out in an off-road crowd. Modding a Toyota or a Jeep just makes it look like all the other modded Toyotas and modded Jeeps...it's almost impossible to put your personal touch on it. Not that it's a bad thing, per se, but I like being different.

 

[Richietherocket]

I love my FJ. As a family of 4, we have learned how to pack better for our trips. Ours has a Garvin Wilderness rack so we can use the wolfpack boxes up top (camping supplies, food, recovery gear and such) Water and fuel strapped to the top also. So inside we use a 50qt cooler, tent, sleeping bags, chairs, clothing. We use every last inch of space for stuff.

This is my current DD also. It has been rock steady and has 100K on the clock. Has great torque and can cruise around 80mph without issue. Even driving in the mountains it will do 70-80 without issue all over Colorado.

The downside to the FJ: Not great mileage but what capable SUV does.

Now if we wanted to take our dogs with us....demoted to minivan use and not alot of exploring at that point.

Good luck with your search

 

[Lyric]

I love my FJ. As a family of 4, we have learned how to pack better for our trips. Ours has a Garvin Wilderness rack so we can use the wolfpack boxes up top (camping supplies, food, recovery gear and such) Water and fuel strapped to the top also. So inside we use a 50qt cooler, tent, sleeping bags, chairs, clothing. We use every last inch of space for stuff.

This is my current DD also. It has been rock steady and has 100K on the clock. Has great torque and can cruise around 80mph without issue. Even driving in the mountains it will do 70-80 without issue all over Colorado.

The downside to the FJ: Not great mileage but what capable SUV does.

Now if we wanted to take our dogs with us....demoted to minivan use and not alot of exploring at that point.

Good luck with your search

Thanks for your reply and I made my mind up a couple days ago to go with an FJ, now its just searching for one.

 

[RangeBrover]

Thanks for your reply and I made my mind up a couple days ago to go with an FJ, now its just searching for one.

Don't forget to try a Sienna. They are available in AWD also.

 

[Lyric]

Well everyone after a week at looking around, testing, driving, reviewing and searching everything I decided to start looking for an FJ Cruiser. I plan to buy a 2007 model as I am not big about buying anything brand new. I tested several vehicles including the Jeep Commander, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, Mitsubishi Montero Limited, Nissan Xterra and of course the Toyota FJ Cruiser.

I was looking to jump only into a V8 and no more V6 engines as I miss the V8 my Land Rover had but honestly I asked myself if I really needed the V8. Plus most V8's use a timing built vs a timing chain. When looking into the FJ Cruiser I noticed it used the same engine as my 04 4Runner which is a good thing. My current 4Runner engine has been great to me overall and as I am sure would last many years but as I have stated the 4Runner has some rust issues beyond what I would like to deal with.

With the FJ I had been worried about it being to small for a expedition vehicle but all this was no longer a worry once I tested the FJ. I found the FJ had plenty of room for my fiancé and I plus two more passengers and of course my two dogs. I was able to see using the roof rack on the FJ would be a great way to carry are gear and suitcases as long as we used a waterproof canvas to wrap everything in when going on trips if we had two passengers with us.

The styling, the power and reliability is what made me decide it was an FJ to go with. If I run 300,000+ miles and finally the engine blows, I honestly I would just swap another engine in it and keep going.

When driving some of the others models listed above they did not seem as reliably or built as good. The Commander and Wrangler Unlimited felt a little to cheap inside and I know Chrysler is not really known for dependability. From customer reviews online and Chryslers notorious issues with reliability I decided against these two. The Montero Limited was really nicely built, seemed reliable but I would have preferred the engine be a little bigger for a such a big SUV, this is my only complaint with the Montero Limited. The Xterra was a little on the cheap built side as well and no where as reliable as Toyota. I felt that the Xterra was just another SUV on the market although exterior styling looks nice, the inside is not very desirable.

Again, listed above is just my feelings and opinions. Do not hate if your vehicle is listed above as I am sure all these vehicles have there pros and cons but overall this is what I felt. I just know nothing holds its value like a Toyota and vehicles like Wranglers hold their value a lot to but its typically not due to reliability but more so that lots of people like the free style of them, for example removable doors, tops and what not. If something is wanted or desired a lot it typically holds it's value. But overall Toyota holds it's value because of reliability, functionality and overall great service.

So from here I will be shopping for a Toyota FJ Cruiser and would like to get a used 2007 model and possibly a 2008. Wish me luck

 

[Lyric]

Don't forget to try a Sienna. They are available in AWD also.

Love you humor, gotta love it

 

[Hilldweller]

I like the FJC too and almost bought one in 2008.
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...n/144641-add-me-busted-broken-frame-club.html

I don't think the later models had the problem though.

 

[RangeBrover]

FJ's are good trucks but I think you're going to wish you had more space down the line. I was in the same boat with my fiance and our one dog. Our pup took up essentially half of the rear cargo area or most of the back seat, once you start to factor in gear you realize how little space you actually have. If you don't plan on carrying extra passengers very often then it's a good truck, but if you do then it's going to be a squeeze. I'm hesitant now about putting things on my roof after seeing how much of a liability it was at the Vermont Overland Trophy. Guys were rubbing their roof racks while off camber going around turns, and I saw one guy actually almost lose his entire tent and rack when it hit a tree. Just some things for you to consider, also the Toyota 5.7 uses a timing chain if you're looking in the V8 department, and my motto has always been "V8's and steak baby!". Oh and don't sell the minivan short, you don't know if you hate it till you try it.

 

[Lyric]

I like the FJC too and almost bought one in 2008.
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...n/144641-add-me-busted-broken-frame-club.html

I don't think the later models had the problem though.

I will for sure keep an eye out for this, Thanks

 

[Cee-Jay]

To give you an idea about myself and what I am looking for. I love to hike, bike, ride off road but nothing serious, go camping, I own two dogs and I enjoy taking long trips on and off road in whatever I am driving. I would prefer a vehicle that has descent power and descent room. A vehicle good for some gear and my two dogs who typically use the cargo area only for their spots. lol. I am also looking for something reliable as well. I would like to buy something I can keep for years to come and if it gets that old that I might even just swap the motor years down the road if it blows out and just keep driving it.

Oh and don't sell the minivan short, you don't know if you hate it till you try it.

Seriously, based on your requirements it sounds like a van or a crossover could easily meet your needs at lower cost and with better mpg, comfort and road manners. They may not be cool, but they are often a very practical solution; you might be suprised where they can get you.

The FJ's a great vehicle though and I imagine it'll be a lot of fun to own and use it. Good luck!

 

[Hilldweller]

Look at U-Joint's van in this. Ignore the pink-panty Lexus and Defender

Vans can rock big-time