The owners manual of my newly acquired 2001 Montero Limited has a page about removing the head rests in the front and folding everything flat, kind of flat LOL
Sedole's Gen 3 - the Iron Hog
- Thread starter sedole
- Start date
The owners manual of my newly acquired 2001 Montero Limited has a page about removing the head rests in the front and folding everything flat, kind of flat LOL
Little bit of maintenance and a little bit of rig enjoyment. Swaybar endlinks and bushings to replace the tired oem rubber and junky clunking mevotech units I had in previously. No more clunking! 
Went with Moog parts (555) for both. The little cv boot repair I did also started leaking again so finally got that done properly too.
Also, since I replaced the passenger side rear cam seal, the driver has now started leaking profusely. I think. Before I tore everything down it seemed like that's where it was coming from, but when I had it off, it wasn't as grimy as I'd have expected with how much oil I had been using. But it was very grimy below this. So hopefully this fixes it. Also swapped the PCV and gasket as well. The dang thing broke off when I removed it (old and brittle), so I had to pull the valve cover to get the fallen bit out. On the bright side, that made reinstalling the rear cam seal much easier. Instead of using rtv, I cut a gasket out of some hi-temp rubber fiber gasket sheet. Much neater and should hopefully be leak free. Also put a new o-ring onto the cam sensor for good measure.
Other than that, rig has been great! I always track my fuel economy and since moving to CO (about 4,000 miles driven so far) I've been averaging 15mpg on the nose, pretty even 50/50 split. That's pretty dang good for a lifted 2000's 4x4 on 34s and 4.90s with a not very aerodynamic front bumper! I plan on getting some light weight (shedding 6-7 lbs per wheel) flow-formed wheels too which should help even more. I think this setup is just about perfect for these rigs. The only thing that would be even better is if BFG came out with a load C tire in the same size for the lighter weight. And the rpms are pretty acceptable at highway speeds to boot! 3100rpm at 80mph! Though I usually hold 68 at highway speeds during my normal driving. And the speedo is dead accurate because of the yellow-box speedo corrector I have installed.
Went with Moog parts (555) for both. The little cv boot repair I did also started leaking again so finally got that done properly too.
Also, since I replaced the passenger side rear cam seal, the driver has now started leaking profusely. I think. Before I tore everything down it seemed like that's where it was coming from, but when I had it off, it wasn't as grimy as I'd have expected with how much oil I had been using. But it was very grimy below this. So hopefully this fixes it. Also swapped the PCV and gasket as well. The dang thing broke off when I removed it (old and brittle), so I had to pull the valve cover to get the fallen bit out. On the bright side, that made reinstalling the rear cam seal much easier. Instead of using rtv, I cut a gasket out of some hi-temp rubber fiber gasket sheet. Much neater and should hopefully be leak free. Also put a new o-ring onto the cam sensor for good measure.
Other than that, rig has been great! I always track my fuel economy and since moving to CO (about 4,000 miles driven so far) I've been averaging 15mpg on the nose, pretty even 50/50 split. That's pretty dang good for a lifted 2000's 4x4 on 34s and 4.90s with a not very aerodynamic front bumper! I plan on getting some light weight (shedding 6-7 lbs per wheel) flow-formed wheels too which should help even more. I think this setup is just about perfect for these rigs. The only thing that would be even better is if BFG came out with a load C tire in the same size for the lighter weight. And the rpms are pretty acceptable at highway speeds to boot! 3100rpm at 80mph! Though I usually hold 68 at highway speeds during my normal driving. And the speedo is dead accurate because of the yellow-box speedo corrector I have installed.
New wheels on the rig! I had my eyes on the Konig Six Shooters which weigh 21 lbs each, but they're always out of stock and I just happened to see a killer deal on some 4runner TRD pro wheels so I pulled the trigger. These are not as light, 25.9 lbs on my bathroom scale, but still a bit lighter than the sr5 wheels I had. 28.5 lbs on the scale. They also have better specs for the tires I run: 17x7 and 4mm offset as opposed to 17x8 and 0mm offset. While not as light, TRD definitely makes a good product so they should have no problems at all off road. And I just couldn't turn them down for the price. Anyways, pics:
No real noticeable difference other than looks. Definitely more stable on the 270 degree on ramp on my daily commute. Maybe slightly more agile feeling from a stop...maybe. At 2.5 lbs lighter per corner I don't think it will have a huge effect on mpg, but it certainly can't hurt.
No real noticeable difference other than looks. Definitely more stable on the 270 degree on ramp on my daily commute. Maybe slightly more agile feeling from a stop...maybe. At 2.5 lbs lighter per corner I don't think it will have a huge effect on mpg, but it certainly can't hurt.
Yeah DIY
Just chopped up the stocker with the dremel and bought some universal grill mesh and grill letters
EpicPlanet
Member
3.5+ years later... Still have the Montero? What else have you done with it?
Ah, thought I had gone back and updated this thread...guess not. I ended up selling it a few years ago. Kept giving me trouble and parts availability was getting more and more scarce. Sold it to a gentleman who flew in from Virginia I believe and drove it back.
Downgraded to a 5th gen 4runner for a year then upgraded to a 200 series LC which has been a very worthy replacement. In addition to the reliability and parts availability, having a significantly more powerful powertrain and big brakes to match has been amazing living in CO. I do miss the montero sometimes, but the 200 series outclasses it in pretty much every situation.
Michael Brown
You followed me, so now we're both lost
Which CV boots did you use for the repair? I currently have leaking boots that I covered with rubber tape for the time being. I have new axles, but have not yet had time to change them.Little bit of maintenance and a little bit of rig enjoyment. Swaybar endlinks and bushings to replace the tired oem rubber and junky clunking mevotech units I had in previously. No more clunking!
I also purchased a Toyota as the planned replacement in the form of a used GX460. Almost everything is an improvement except my willingness to beat it up on a trail.