Trooper advice needed.

[Porkwagon]

Hey guys. I have been lurking a while and finally decided to post with a few questions. I have been bitten by the overland bug and would like to make my own mild rig. Most of the time it will be used as my daily driver, but I dont want to be limited (within my skills) to where I can take it. I have looked at all sorts of stuff and narrowed it down to either a Montero, or a Trooper. The problem is I cant really grasp which Trooper(s) I should be looking for, and which ones I should avoid like the plague.

My budget is about 5 grand, but would like some wiggle room for maybe a tire/wheel combo. One thing I have to consider is that I have to drive over a very steep grade every once in a while. I would appreciate any and all input you guys would have for me. I have crawled all over this forum looking at these things and I can already see its going to be addicting as hell. Thanks guys.

 

[PHeller]

Honestly its all about selection. I didn't want the first generation of either the Montero or the Trooper, and in the second generation both are pretty good vehicles with one glaring reoccurring issue - oil burning.

The 3.5l Montero will almost undoubtedly need valve stem seals (VSS) at higher miles unless its been run with synthetic oil most of its life. I looked at one for $2500 that didn't need the seals, and the owner did use synthetic oil, but I knew eventually I might need to do them. Other than that the Montero is near indestructible.

The other issue I had is I couldn't find many Monteros that either didn't need VSS or had them replaced by the PO unless it sold by a Montero fanatic. The selection was limited.

I purchased my Trooper because it was the right price for the right condition and it was 5-spd manual. I would not have had any interest in an automatic Trooper.

So there you go, Montero as 1st choice if Valve Stem Seals have been replaced or don't leak (no smoke out tailpipe), Trooper if you find one with 5spd.

 

[BigSwede]

5 grand is plenty to buy a solid Trooper and build it. Tires will be your biggest expense, a Trooper can fit 33s with even just an inch of lift. So rear lift coils, probably from OME, crank the front torsion bars to match, HD tie rods, sliders, maybe rear axle lower links if you will be rock crawling at all. That's about it. Definitely doable in your budget.

 

[SlowButHandsome]

I have about 5 grand in my 91 Trooper with a 3.4 out a firebird. Tires were expensive but they are Duratracs. Distributor was expensive when it went out because it was hard to locate. Rear brakes are getting done today, shouldn't be to bad hopefully. Its a nice truck, certainly not modern by todays standards but does 95% of what a more expensive truck will do.

 

[Porkwagon]

I found a clean 88 Trooper II with 85k on the clock, real straight other than one corner where she might of backed into something. 5 speed with a good clutch. Going to try to look at it tomorrow. Anything I should pay extra close attention to?

Edit: also did these come with a LSD in the rear or anything? Or is it just wide open.

 

[BigSwede]

Some of them had a LSD, look for a G80 code on the firewall option plate in the engine compartment.

The 2.6L doesn't like overheating. If it has been taken care of in that respect it is a very durable motor.