Not So Modest 2000 (Gen 2.5) Montero Build

[zerodrift]

Well - I took my wife's advice and drove off the deep end and bought a second Montero. This time it's a two tone red/gray 2000 Montero Endeavor. Some of you may recognize my other build thread for a tan Gen 3: Modest 2002 Montero Build.

This project will be in stages over the next year or two and I am keen on doing much of the work myself. As I'm not super proficient with 4wd systems and all the gearing/sizing options- will be reliant on help from users here for guidance. The overall purpose of this vehicle is currently a spare winter vehicle and will become the primary camping/over-landing/general trail shenanigans. The Gen 3 has been claimed by the wife for her work.

Stages as I see them:

1. Clean & Inspect
2. Interior Overhaul
3. Mechanical Inspections & Maintenance
4. Gearing/Tires/Differentials
5. Bar Work (Bumpers/Skid Plates/Rocker Bars)

I'll need some guidance with the following:

• Rear Diff Lock. Heard a Montero Sport locking diff can work?
• Gearing options suitable for larger tires. Thinking of 33" tires at this point?
• Larger tires. Haven't decided on anything yet, but likely going to select either the K02's or something more aggressive. Need a suitable tire size that works well with a new gear set. Pictures of other setups are always appreciated - so feel free to post up pictures if you'd like!
• Will be considering a front locker as well. Thoughts on the Aussie Locker?
• Suspension setup. Will be looking to ADD for gear. Will need guidance if I need a lift for the tire sizes I'm looking into.

As it currently stands, this vehicle was purchased on a bit of a whim as I liked the color and body style. It was in fair mechanical shape upon first inspection with basic maintenance done as needed and ran fairly well. Far better mechanically than the Gen 3 when we first bought it. The interior however was a disaster. The owner had smoked in the car and transported dogs around for the better part of 10 years. Likely hadn't been cleaned since purchase... Let that sink in.... Years....... Upon purchase, drive 3 blocks to a car wash for a quick exterior rinse and spent 30 minutes with the vacuums getting piles of dog fur out of the car. Took a few pictures despite it being 20 degrees F outside.








Drove it home and the next day took it to a better car wash for a second mini detail so I could stand sitting in the car for more than 30 minutes without my eyes watering up.

 

[zerodrift]

Upon returning home, started assessing the interior and formulating something resembling a plan...

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The wife and I quickly concluded that drastic action was needed... Seats up front are pretty much shot, and the middle row isn't in great shape either. We are working out some sort of a plan for that, but need to sell the other spare car before we consider our seat options. Seat covers up front are pretty much required at this point as the upholstery is falling apart. Decided to engage the first stage of the project - Deep Clean the Interior.

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With the carpet disposed of (with great malicious intent), we began scrubbing the interior plastics with the best interior cleaner we could find.... Scrubbing Bubbles. Yes, you read that right. The bathroom cleaner in a metal spray can. Apply generously and after a moment- scrub with a clean microfiber cloth. After a whole can of the spray, and all of my microfiber cloths- we called the preliminary scrub complete as the temps were still below freezing and we were out of suitable microfiber cloths. The brightly colored neon cloths were all various colors of brown and black after contact with the foam covered.

All of the interior trim is coming out and I've scrubbed all of the small interior plastic bits. This is including the seat frame covers, which all were glued to the carpet with what I assume is a custom composite solution of dog hair, coffee, soda and caramel coffee candies. No pictures of this as I dared not touch my phone during this process...

As it stands- the cleaning is on hold as we are addressing other items on the car.
First up- emissions testing. Wife took care of that today and the car passed without a hitch. Certainly raised an eye brow as there was only a driver's seat bolted in the car. Next up is the windshield. Scheduled to get replaced tomorrow afternoon. Will have ask the wife to snap some pictures of the process!

More pictures to come over the coming weeks as we make progress.
New carpet has been ordered from stockinteriors.com, new headliner fabric ordered from yourautotrim.com and odds and ends are in the mail. Will have my work cut out for me, but we are intent on getting this vehicle's interior sorted out in a quick order.

 

[snare]

Love that color.

Not sure where you are at, but I have a near mint set of second row seats in NC that are available.

They are gray.

 

[nckwltn]

if you're going through the effort of adding a locker.... I would suggest pulling one from a gen 2 with the 4.63 gears... pull the front as well... then you'll be set for 33" wheels.

Because the 2000 didn't have a locker, you can't just swap one in... something about one of the axles is slightly longer with the locker, so the axle shaft you have in the rear isn't long enough. There is also a difference in the mounting flange for the anti-lock brakes.... which I think causes some other issues.



Everything is wired electrically for the locker though.... pull the center console and you'll find a place for the locker switch to plug into (it's in front of the low range selector).... and everything is in place for the air pump, but you'll need an air pump, and the hoses that connect back to the rear diff.

not sure where you are located, but LKQ pick your part seems to have a somewhat steady flow of gen 2.5s coming through... at least here in SoCal. You might actually be better off pulling the entire rear axle (with the diff) as well as the front diff and housing....

 

[PacS14]

Same color and peeling clear coat as mine lol, my carpet was dirty, but the seats are good. Good luck on your build!

 

[DanielDD]

Looks kinda like mine…

I had gone ahead and had my front seats recovered by a local upholsterer. It was cheaper to do vinyl instead of leather..

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I happen to have the driver rear axle shaft, locker switch, and air pump you need to do the swap. When you get closer to upgrading send me a message.

 

[coffeegoat]

As far as the smoke smell, if you want to try an experiment (for me) I've heard great things about using an ozone generator such as this one. I've got a buddy that swears by it for deodorizing hunting gear and it's supposed to work really well on smoke. But I haven't had a reason to buy/use on yet, so I can't personally vouch for it's efficacy. Basically you stick the unit in with all the stuff that smells, and close all the doors/windows and let it chug away for a bit and the ozone oxidizes away all the residual crap. Potentially it could save you some time.

 

[zerodrift]

I happen to have the driver rear axle shaft, locker switch, and air pump you need to do the swap. When you get closer to upgrading send me a message.

Thanks! I'll take you up on that offer!

As far as the smoke smell, if you want to try an experiment (for me) I've heard great things about using an ozone generator such as this one. I've got a buddy that swears by it for deodorizing hunting gear and it's supposed to work really well on smoke. But I haven't had a reason to buy/use on yet, so I can't personally vouch for it's efficacy. Basically you stick the unit in with all the stuff that smells, and close all the doors/windows and let it chug away for a bit and the ozone oxidizes away all the residual crap. Potentially it could save you some time.

Good to know - going to see what new carpet and headliner do for the smell first. The seats will need attention too, but I'm not sure of the plan there just yet.

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

 

[lev]

zerodrift: Looks awesome so far, great job! Keep the pics coming

Thanks for the Scrubbing Bubbles and Ozone generator tips, I need to try those. One of my Montero's previous owners smoked heavily (center console is filled with ash, haven't gotten around to taking it out to clean underneath yet) and my Sport has been used to transport dogs for 7 years (w/ dog barrier, canvas liner and yearly thorough cleanings, but the cargo area carpet still got ruined).

Also, thanks for the carpet and headliner links. I might take a stab at re-upholstering my front seats if the leather glue method doesn't help.

 

[zerodrift]

Made a little more progress today. Rest of the interior (sans dash and door cards) are out. Ripped off old headliner and glued down the new material. You will need 3 yards of 70" wide headliner at the very least.

Here are a few pictures for the moment. Will add more this weekend.

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[jeep-N-montero]

Some of you are far more adventuresome than I am, I personally refuse to buy a vehicle that has ever been smoked in.

 

[Toasty]

I like your builds man, detail.

 

[zerodrift]

Some of you are far more adventuresome than I am, I personally refuse to buy a vehicle that has ever been smoked in.

I historically have had the same philosophy, but the price was fairly good deal and for this build I really wanted something a little rough that I can put some sweaty equity in to keep costs down. That way I can build up the interior out how I'd like. That said, this was the only gen 2.5 I've seen in the region for a while.

I like your builds man, detail.

Thanks! Builds like this a good reprieve from my longer term builds that are generally multi year projects.

After the interior is reasonably sorted out, this build will be put on pause so I can focus on the wife's Subaru Impreza.

Few more pictures of the cleaning. Before and after shots of some of the interior trim. A little bit sun faded, but clean and no longer smells or is generally disgusting.

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[zerodrift]

Not as much progress today as I decided to remove the oem roof rack while I had easy access. Had a bear of a time with the nutserts and seized bolts. After fiddling with an impact driver and trying to hold the free spinning nutsert with a vice clamp- I ultimately opted for a drill and began drilling the bolts out. That too worked until the bolts started spinning again, then I figured I'd just spin them and pry up on the composite ends and just melted thru the rack, freeing the flimsy assembly from the roof. Angle grinder made short work of the protruding bolts.

Now I'm left with holes... I'm not the best with a welder so I searched around online and came across an awesome tip to help weld small holes shut. A copper backing that keeps the puddle in place and adds a little thermal mass to keep the puddle formed! Turned out great as the copper doesn't mix with the steel weld puddle!

Pictures of both top and bottom are attached. Never got any of the metal after sanding or primer, but its smooth and pretty seamless now! Just a few primer gray spots up top for now as I'll investigate paint options a little later on.

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