Third Gen Montero- Question

[Viggen]

I am looking at an '04 right now. One owner since new. Full service records on everything, and I mean everything (for example: it has had 3 timing belts and water pumps done, at the dealer, as the book suggests every 60k miles). 204k miles on it. I am about 90% on buying it but have one thing holding me back. There is a peculiar thing going on with the transfer case. Starting it, it is in 2H and the dash is lit up to show that. When you shift into 4H, the center diff and two fronts light up, as it seems they should. The part that makes me pause is that when I go to shift it out of 4H, the center diff lamp just blinks. The owner says that the only way to get it to go out of 4 and back into 2 is to shut the truck off and then restart it and then go into reverse once started and then, at that point, it goes back into 2. He took it to his local dealer and they read any codes, removed the transfer case (apparently), found a bad switch and replaced that, replaced a few sensors and replaced the fluid. Lots of money later and it still does the same thing.

Any ideas? I have been looking for a while and 3rd gens that are not neglected piles of garbage are not too common so I am very interested in hearing thoughts about what this could be and how to remedy it.

 

[alanymarce]

I am looking at an '04 right now. One owner since new. Full service records on everything, and I mean everything (for example: it has had 3 timing belts and water pumps done, at the dealer, as the book suggests every 60k miles). 204k miles on it. I am about 90% on buying it but have one thing holding me back. There is a peculiar thing going on with the transfer case. Starting it, it is in 2H and the dash is lit up to show that. When you shift into 4H, the center diff and two fronts light up, as it seems they should. The part that makes me pause is that when I go to shift it out of 4H, the center diff lamp just blinks. The owner says that the only way to get it to go out of 4 and back into 2 is to shut the truck off and then restart it and then go into reverse once started and then, at that point, it goes back into 2. He took it to his local dealer and they read any codes, removed the transfer case (apparently), found a bad switch and replaced that, replaced a few sensors and replaced the fluid. Lots of money later and it still does the same thing.

Any ideas? I have been looking for a while and 3rd gens that are not neglected piles of garbage are not too common so I am very interested in hearing thoughts about what this could be and how to remedy it.

Are you putting the transmission in neutral when changing out of 4H?

 

[SONICMASD]

4H is Mitsubishi speak for AWD. When you go into 4H the center diff light on the dash should NOT illuminate. All 4 tire lights should go solid green and that's it. If the center light is coming on solid (though I suspect it would be blinking) then you have a transfer case fault which is not uncommon for Monteros whose transfer cases don't get used often.

FWIW - the center diff light should go solid orange when you shift into 4Hlc (aka 4 wheel drive High range). You can shift from 2H to 4H to 4Hlc while driving below 62 mph - you do not need to be in Neutral. You only need to stop and go into neutral when shifting into 4Llc (aka 4 wheel drive Low range).

The best thing to do is get the specific tcase fault code using a paper clip in the OBD2 port (see first video for instructions on how to do this). If the front lights are indeed going solid green when in 4H like they should but the center diff light is coming on then my guess is one of the switches needs to be replaced on top of the transfer case. The dealer might have replaced the correct switch (there are 5 total up there) but they may not have changed the crush washer or cleaned the detent ball below the switch, or maybe they used an aftermarket cheap China switch vs genuine OEM which seem to always have problems). It's not a huge deal if you're open to doing it yourself, the transfer case does not need to be removed to do the job. Taping a mirror above the switches on the bottom of the body helps too. Though tbh, he should take it back to the dealer and tell them to fix it since that's what he paid for.

Here's some videos that will help you:





PS - This forum is not super active, you'll get faster and more replies here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/707925646233215

 

[Viggen]

Are you putting the transmission in neutral when changing out of 4H?

No, I am not. I was under the impression that it was like any shift on the fly system where I can put it in and out without neutral. I only ever use neutral when going into low.

 

[Viggen]

...

I just finished watching that same video. He told me that this dealer seems to have no idea what to do with Monteros. To be honest, after 17+ years of ownership, he said that they have two other cars and he is kind of done with it.

I watched that video this morning. So, when in 4H/ AWD, the center should not light up at all, correct? This system seems like it is amazing when it is working but requires so many outside bits to keep it running.

 

[alanymarce]

4H is Mitsubishi speak for AWD. When you go into 4H the center diff light on the dash should NOT illuminate. All 4 tire lights should go solid green and that's it. If the center light is coming on solid (though I suspect it would be blinking) then you have a transfer case fault which is not uncommon for Monteros whose transfer cases don't get used often.

Great advice! Thanks for the clarity - I was not paying proper attention : (

My experience (Mk1 long ago and Mk4 since 2015) is that the system is great however seems a bit neurotic. We now have a practice of cycling through all modes every couple of weeks - just to keep the actuators functioning. This may have nothing to do with it however we've had no issues since doing this regularly. Previously we occasionally had weird system behaviour.

You can shift from 2H to 4H to 4Hlc while driving below 62 mph - you do not need to be in Neutral. You only need to stop and go into neutral when shifting into 4Llc (aka 4 wheel drive Low range).

The manual says, as you note, that one can select (and deselect) 4H on the move. We used to do this, and never have a problem, however we now stop when selecting/deselecting 4H. Probably completely unnecessary, however we drive on surfaced roads in 2H and when driving onto an unsurfaced road we shift into 4H, stopping to do so (and vice versa).

I may be getting over-cautious : )

 

[Michael Brown]

I need to try to find the website, but there is a Mitsubishi 4WD blinky-light diagnosis page.
It is using the center diff light as a type of error/check light for the system. Usually these need to be exercised through the 2H-4H-4HLc-4LLc modes or the system gets hung up. Solenoids, vacuum controlled systems get gunk and need to move some. It sounds like they just didn't use anything past 2H for a while.

 

[Michael Brown]

Here it is:
http://4wd.blogeasy.com/article.view.run?articleID=318776

When troubleshooting online, Pajero is a good search term to find Australian guys posts.
The only parts I have replaced on mine were the solenoids, the free-wheel clutch, and some vacuum lines. About $200 in parts for everything. I'm not even sure the solenoids were bad, but driving it in 4H(AWD) occasionally keeps the system in use.

I recommend OEM parts for these. PartSouq can air freight from a warehouse in the middle east.
RockAuto may carry some alternatives.

Grab the FSM from my signature if you need to get more details on the system.

 

[plh]

He told me that this dealer seems to have no idea what to do with Monteros.

Mitsubishi dealers had a tough time in the 2008 time period and that economic crash. Many went out of business or significantly down sized. A lot of mechanics were displaced along with the knowledge of the older cars. Once the new dealers popped back up during better economic times, the past technicians had already found new jobs and thus did not go back to work for Mits dealers. There wasn't anything new being sold in the US by Mits after 2006 similar at all to the Montero, thus knowledge lost. All of Gen 3 sold in the US across the years offered were only around 62K across the 6 model years, 2006 being the newest. Statistically there are probably only 35K left in service at this point.

 

[Viggen]

I really like the truck and and absolutely looking to purchase. The complexity of the 4wd system boggles me though. So many different switches and vacuum things. It apparently does go into 4wd but the getting out part is where it worries me slightly. If the switches on top are good and recent, that leaves the actuator in the front axle perhaps not sliding the collar to disconnect.

Did I hear correctly when I heard that the shifter is not actually attached to the transfer case? That it is more like a sliding switch with a large handle on it?

 

[plh]

Did I hear correctly when I heard that the shifter is not actually attached to the transfer case? That it is more like a sliding switch with a large handle on it?

Yes, like all modern systems.

 

[MontySquareo]

i'm working on retrofitting a mechanical transfer case into my 2001 Montero. i have the same problem you do and i decided to fix it permanently. i will loose 4h though. and I haven't actually put the mechanical transfer case in yet, so there may be problems I haven't found yet. you need a shifer, driveshaft, and transfer case from a 2001-2003 Montero XLS. and you might mess up your center console but i haven't gotten that far yet. it's probably easier to fix the transfer case you already have.

 

[Viggen]

I am having the owner check a few things based upon what I have read here and seen on some videos. His receipt shows the replacement of all of the switches on top of the transfer. He did not use 4wd very much at all so I had the thought that maybe he shifted it into 2 but did not move the truck forward or backward afterwards, giving the system enough time to disconnect. The only thing left is the actuator on the front axle and the two vacuum switches behind the headlamp.

 

[SONICMASD]

Switching to a manual transfer case is certainly an option. Early 2001 Monteros had them so you can get them for cheap in junkyards (just look for a leather boot around the tcase shifter in the vehicle) so I believe it would be a straight forward swap as MontySquareo mentioned (with a few extra bits needed from the donor vehicle) but fixing the existing issue would be easier IMO. The downside with the early manual transfer case is that it did not have AWD. It's fine to go China aftermarket on the solenoid and actuator and that's only like $50 total in parts.