Swank's Montero(s)

[Swank Force One]

Had a thread similar to this for our XJ Cherokees on the GRM Forums, and since it seems inevitable that i'll be picking up another one, i'll run sort of the same thread.

I'll document trips here, random pictures, work i'm doing, project status, and probably ask a whole BUNCH of stupid questions.

So, after looking on here for a couple months and learning what i could, i jumped in and did a fly and drive for a 2003 20th Anniversary, black on black. This one will be my wife's vehicle to replace her 2000 Jeep Cherokee, so it will not be a crazy project. We'll just be focusing on keeping it clean, running well, possibly different tires, and maybe fixing 1-2 tiny cosmetic issues it has.

So here it is. I put 2100 miles on it in about 40 hours including stops starting Sunday morning at 1:30AM PST, so i got a chance to get a "feel" for it right away. And i get it now. I don't care about Cherokees much anymore, and my lust for an FJ60/80 Land Cruiser has been much diminished.

2015-10-13_06-58-51 by concealer404, on Flickr

Details:

2003 20th Anniversary with 109k miles (now 111k), OME lift, 235/85-16 Duratracs. Stock otherwise. (Unless you count some nice Hella bulbs and an MPOW bluetooth receiver) In positively incredible shape. Everything works.

To be addressed:
1) Someone in the great state of California ripped off the antenna. Will replace with an aftermarket unit, unless someone has a reason why i shouldn't do that.
2) Really small valve cover leak, passenger side. Will probably address in Spring. It hasn't lost enough to be measured after 3000 miles on this oil change, so it's not a big deal.
3) Spare tire doesn't match. This is a two part "issue:" The tire doesn't match, and it doesn't have the cover. Cover won't fit over the tires it's running anyways, so i'll probably skip that.
4) Light clear coat bubbling on the license plate light housing only. Would like to find one with a Pajero badge anyways, anyone have a source for this?


I'll update this thread tomorrow with more pics and details of the trip. Mostly highway, so nothing super interesting, but hey, everyone likes pictures!

 

[plh]

Yours looks great!, love our '05. Bought it 4 years ago with 78,xxx miles, now has 130,xxx great trucks. Check your timing belt / idler / water pump maintenance. Its a 60K item. Did ours at 90K (maybe unwisely pushed it)and will probably do one again in the spring or summer (around 150k). If it breaks it will ruin your day. Interference engine.

 

[Swank Force One]

That service was done before the previous owner bought it at 85k, so i'll do it next summer.

Thanks!

 

[Sabre]

Welcome! That's a great rig. Every trip I take with mine makes me more and more fond of it. FWIW, my '01 came with a broken antenna, too. Replacing it with a new OEM antenna was easy. Yup, I took my spare tire cover to the dump and haven't missed it.

 

[Inyo_man]

Nice rig! I've owned my '02 since it had under 30k, it's about to flip to 179k. Fantastic vehicles!
From highway road trips to over landing to just plain wheelin', these rigs are great. We do a lot of family trips (family of four with a big dog), and with a roof rack the size is great. Tight enough to navigate overgrown two tracks, but big enough to fit a family comfortably.
My wife broke the antenna off the first year we had it. Installed an oem replacement, but wired in a power switch. Now whether it's up or down is up the driver.
What old man emu lift are you running- standard or HD?

I wish you many years of enjoyment with the Monty!
Welcome to the Portal.

 

[Swank Force One]

I believe it's the HD, i'll ask the PO to verify. I'm very happy with how it rides. We test drove a stock (but probably worn out) 03 about a month ago to make sure my wife would like it, and it wallowed like a pig. This is quite firm, but without being uncomfortable.

Having the headlights restored this weekend, and as soon as my bank account gets taken care of (Paypal was hacked yesterday, tied to my bank account, sigh), i'll be looking around for an antenna. Mostly for "looks," as we'll probably just be running bluetooth and phones most of the time. Trying to decide if i want to throw one of my spare headunits in it, or if i want to stay with the OEM theme inside. Stereo sounds good enough, i just find the MPOW bluetooth adapter slightly annoying when traveling, local radio stations will sometimes overpower it.

 

[Inyo_man]

I believe it's the HD, i'll ask the PO to verify. I'm very happy with how it rides. We test drove a stock (but probably worn out) 03 about a month ago to make sure my wife would like it, and it wallowed like a pig. This is quite firm, but without being uncomfortable.

Having the headlights restored this weekend, and as soon as my bank account gets taken care of (Paypal was hacked yesterday, tied to my bank account, sigh), i'll be looking around for an antenna. Mostly for "looks," as we'll probably just be running bluetooth and phones most of the time. Trying to decide if i want to throw one of my spare headunits in it, or if i want to stay with the OEM theme inside. Stereo sounds good enough, i just find the MPOW bluetooth adapter slightly annoying when traveling, local radio stations will sometimes overpower it.

The HD springs are very stiff when unladen. They are a constant load spring that requires at least a couple hundred pounds to engage.
I resurfaced the plastic headlight covers myself. Look for the "3M headlight restoration kit" (I picked it up at NAPA). This worked great! The headlights look new again. It would be a breeze without a bull bar up front. This must be cheaper than hiring out the job.

 

[Swank Force One]

I have the headlight restoration kit, but not the patience. I've done it on a few cars and i just don't have the patience to get the last couple percent out of it. Buddy is OCD and loves doing this kind of thing, he's doing it for a shared 6 pack of craft brew and lunch.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Nice rig. Share more pics.

 

[Swank Force One]

Here's some random pictures from the trip home.

The first of many gas stops.
2015-10-13_06-57-20 by concealer404, on Flickr

Arizona desert at dawn.
Even More Montero by concealer404, on Flickr

More Montero by concealer404, on Flickr

Running into sunrise.
2015-10-13_06-57-47 by concealer404, on Flickr

2015-10-13_06-59-23 by concealer404, on Flickr

Believe this was in New Mexico.
2015-10-13_07-00-23 by concealer404, on Flickr

Climbing elevation in NM.
2015-10-13_07-00-55 by concealer404, on Flickr

This was weird. This grass came out of nowhere, all of a sudden looked like something out of Africa.
2015-10-13_07-01-32 by concealer404, on Flickr

2015-10-13_07-02-10 by concealer404, on Flickr

2015-10-13_07-02-29 by concealer404, on Flickr

Cockpit at night.
2015-10-13_07-03-34 by concealer404, on Flickr

Thanks, Missouri.
2015-10-13_07-04-55 by concealer404, on Flickr

Pretty clean engine bay.
2015-10-13_07-05-13 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

[plh]

really like those wheels, are they '03 specific?

 

[BOPOH]

Great looking truck and awesome pictures!

 

[Swank Force One]

really like those wheels, are they '03 specific?

Believe they're 20th anniversary specific, but not positive. Honestly i didnt look into Gen3s much before buying this, so now i'm trying to catch up.

 

[Eric M]

Yep, 20th Anniversary specific in the US.

 

[Swank Force One]

Question: All the 20th Anniversary Editions i've seen have the natural-ish wood color trim and steering wheel.

Ours has black wood trim and a black/grey leather wheel. Havent seen another like this in my searches.

What's the deal?