New (to me) 02 Montero, have some questions.

[Mosephus]

Well after doing a little car shuffling in 2010 out goes the fun Cherokee for a Stock Cherokee (wanted to start over) and we needed a bigger car for my wife so we got this 02 Montero for a VERY good price.

We got it from my In-laws so I know it very well, but they have let it really get out of shape in the last couple of years, and it has a few issues I have some questions about. If anyone knows these well please let me know of any common problems or if your recognize mine.

Firstly, the Fuel gauge is unreliable, it is no longer accurate. I'm guessing it could be the sending unit but I'm not sure. There is a panel underneath the pass side rear seat, is this access to the fuel tank or something else entirely?

The Rear Diff mount is bad (at least I think) there is a thud when you get on and off the gas.

The valve covers are leaking oil onto the manifold.

It burns a little oil , so that concerns me. It has 225k I'm not too surprised.

The Check engine light is on, it is a cat. code, I know they replaced the pre cat this year so it may be the 02 sensors, they haven't been replaced to my knowledge. I have to address this first since they let the inspection run out.

I also have to replace the weather stripping on the rear tailgate.

My plans for now are to sell it and buy something else if the oil drinking problem is more than I want to deal with (rings, killing cat. converters etc.), or to keep it, fix it and slap an ARB Bumper on (my wife tends to touch things with the car), and maybe OME Coils/shocks down the road.

If anyone has anyone has any advice or comments, thanks!

 

[squam1]

It's been a while since I've done the "hard work" on my own vehicles - damn I sound old... must be the 40yr mark approaching this year...

that being said, I'd have a compression test done to check out how bad the oil issue might be. Guys, correct me if I'm wrong, but this should give a fairly quick reading on how much blow-by there may be with the rings, right?

my mechanic skills stopped when I had more money than time - that and fuel injection... give me a carb'd chevy v8 and accessories any day. Timing belts scare the crap outta me

 

[Mosephus]

Yes, it'd be nice to have a 4bt Diesel in this thing or some other simple diesel. Hopefully it isn't the rings, but now days I don't want to deal with anything past the valve covers. One reason I love my Jeeps.

 

[DougL3NC]

You don't even want to do valve cover gaskets on this thing! Gotta take the intake off to get to them and the plugs.

The thud you mention is pretty normal...there's a whole lot of drivetrain turning under there.

If you're leaking oil from the valve covers, then the passenger side rear cam seal is probably shot too. Mine is leaking and its a ***** to get to. I can leak a quart every 1000-1500 miles because of it.

There are 4 O2 sensors and each has a corresponding trouble code...if its still showing a cat code, then I'd question the replacement of the cat from the get go.

 

[off-roader]

Oil consumption will most likely either be that valve cover leak or valve guide seals.

Even then they seem to run without issue but like you said, you have to clear the code to pass smog and it will kill your cat.

Unfortunately you won't be lifting that gen 3 easily to fit big tires but that said it's a pretty competent wheeler in near stock form.

Other than the aforementioned valve guide seal issues which are seemingly common on all mitsu v6 engines since their 89 3.0L sohc engine the engines and auto transmissions are pretty rock solid.

 

[off-roader]

Oh, yea... yes, that's the fuel tank access panel. Standard feature on all Monteros.

 

[Mosephus]

Oh, yea... yes, that's the fuel tank access panel. Standard feature on all Monteros.

I feel that is sarcasm, but I hope it is not. :sombrero: Also if it is true, should the panel come right off once the bolts have been removed or will it still need some muscle to pry off. I got curious and took out the bolts but it was still quite tight, and figured I'd better wait to figure out what is was before prying it up.

Thanks, for the info guys. I really don't plan on lifting it, but if if I'm ever in Rome I might as well throw on the OME Shocks and Springs.

 

[tdesanto]

I feel that is sarcasm, but I hope it is not. :sombrero:

Being fluent in sarcasm and owning a couple Monteros, I can say that this isn't sarcasm.

 

[Mosephus]

Being fluent in sarcasm and owning a couple Monteros, I can say that this isn't sarcasm.

Thanks, I actually read some of your post's today from a few years ago and got the tip for oemmitsubishiparts.com, so thanks for that too. Do you guys think that the fibbing fuel gauge is the sending unit?

 

[off-roader]

I feel that is sarcasm, but I hope it is not. :sombrero: Also if it is true, should the panel come right off once the bolts have been removed or will it still need some muscle to pry off. I got curious and took out the bolts but it was still quite tight, and figured I'd better wait to figure out what is was before prying it up.

Thanks, for the info guys. I really don't plan on lifting it, but if if I'm ever in Rome I might as well throw on the OME Shocks and Springs.

No worries. It really is an access panel for the fuel pump and sender unit.

I make copious use of the smilies when I am kidding about something.

Like I said, ALL Montero's come with an access panel for the fuel pump and sending units which is very much unlike many US built 4x4's (my buddy just had to drop his Tahoe's tank to replace his fuel gauge sender).

Bear in mind the earlier Montero's were built for 3rd world use (fully boxed frame, beefy drivetrain, turbo diesel or gasoline engines, bullet proof transmissions, etc.) where these little 'features' are really mandatory requirements.

Take the 8.25" front diff & beefy 9.5" rear diff of the gen II SR's... these are strong enough to easily run 37's without upgrading the drivetrain although you will need to do a 3" body lift and a 1-2" suspension lift. and upgrade from 4.6 to 4.9 ring gears. 35's only require a 2" body lift and a very slight trim on the end of the front bumper and although an upgrade to 4.9's are nice definitely not required.:Wow1:

Mine in particular is built for Dusy Ersham / Fordyce trail use but is also comfortable and it's especially nice to have creature comforts like AC, a Massive Sun Roof (2x normal sunroof size), a 2 tone leather interior, etc.

The gen III's although it's even more 'civilized' is also very capable off road and you can run 33's with a bit of a suspension lift.

Unfortunately with the gen III they also went with a more SUV type of setup with an IFS/IRS drivetrain and a unibody on subframe design instead of the body on frame soild rear axle setup of the gen I and II.

 

[off-roader]

btw, I do like the way your 'fun' rig looks.

 

[Mosephus]

Thanks, hopefully I'll be able to start on the black one soon.

 

[off-roader]

Thanks, hopefully I'll be able to start on the black one soon.

Just be glad your in laws didn't have a Gen II with the locker... or you might be temped to build a grocery/soccer mobile like this...

 

[datrupr]

The thump in your drivetrain is more than likely a mount. Check your transmission mount, that could be the culprit and not too costly to replace. The OME lift is pretty simple and straight forward and will allow you to run 33's. It's a great truck and will run for a long time with proper care, I say fix it and keep it.

 

[tdesanto]

Thanks, I actually read some of your post's today from a few years ago and got the tip for oemmitsubishiparts.com, so thanks for that too. Do you guys think that the fibbing fuel gauge is the sending unit?

It could be. It could also be the circuit board/ control board for the instrument cluster. If it is this, the problem usually manifests as a malfunctioning, mis-reporting temp gauge. This is what happened to me. The engine temp was fine, but the temp gauge was almost always showing as high as possible.

The part number is MR532787.

Do some searching here, to see if there is more info about the fuel gauge and the control board.