Looking to Buy a GEN III

[nnamssorxela]

I've absolutely hammered my gen 3 in the mountains back when I had stock size tires and sway bars, and never once did it feel close to becoming unstable. Traction control on the 03+ keeps it from drifting much as well, and with decent tires it's nearly unstoppable in the snow. There is not a car I'd rather be in negotiating icy roads, and it makes by buddies brand new 4Runner look like a Miata on the ice. I'm really not sure how the Montero traction control is so good.

I think it would be the perfect car for a responsible but new driver.

If you're looking for bargaining bits; look for oil leaks on the back of the heads against the firewall, sagging rear springs causing uneven wear, timing belt interval, and valve cover leaks. Make sure all 4wd options engage and disengage as expected.

 

[nckwltn]

If you're looking for bargaining bits; look for oil leaks on the back of the heads against the firewall, sagging rear springs causing uneven wear, timing belt interval, and valve cover leaks. Make sure all 4wd options engage and disengage as expected.

make sure you do a 20+ minute drive, seems that my center diff light begins to flash after 20 mins on the highway. I think it's part of the 4wd solenoid system that I need to replace... it makes 4wd not work, but still fully drivable.

 

[KyleT]

make sure you do a 20+ minute drive, seems that my center diff light begins to flash after 20 mins on the highway. I think it's part of the 4wd solenoid system that I need to replace... it makes 4wd not work, but still fully drivable.

You can try to leave it in 4hi unlocked and see if it behaves.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Skidmarkart]

I'll relate a couple of stories, first about my Gen. 1 1987 4Runner. I loved that SUV, and drove it everywhere for years. Finally I was ready for bigger and better things, but my truck was still in very good shape, and I sold it to a kid in the mountains of NC. My last words to him were, "Be careful on the mountain roads, this thing is a lot heavier than car, you can roll it." With in two weeks he rolled it. Another 4Runner was lost on a beer store run in college. A friend loaned his to another friend, and when the guy came back, hours later than he should, he had blood running down his face. He rolled it on the way back. When the Ford Explorer came out, I was in one with a friend (again a new driver) and he took a curve too fast (even though we were only going maybe 20 MPH) and understeer pushed us it to a bridge support, then we rolled off a bank into a river. These were all causes by heavier vehicles in the hands of experienced drivers. It certainly wasn't the vehicle's fault, but they still happened. I'm not saying the Montero is any worse than any of these others, and your kid sounds experienced and would probably be fine, but these are things of which I have first hand knowledge.

I love Montero's and would own three of them if I could, and I have no bone to pick with them. But if I were buying my kids one, it's something I would think about. Most inexperienced driver accident fatalities happen from dropping wheels off on the one side of the road and over-correcting and losing control of the vehicle. That a situation where a Montero (or any other heavy SUV) would not react well.


The traction control is very good, and I do think they took some other measures to help in 2003.