1995 Montero SR Build

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BottomFeeder 4X4

Rank II
Launch Member

Enthusiast I

404
Oklahoma City
Member #

9490

I thought I'd share my build with you all. I am not new to these Monteros. I also have a 1990 LS which I have owned since 2000. It has taken me all over the southwest and back many times. It has over 325k on it.

This thread is about my 95 Mitsubishi Montero SR
Standard features:
3.5 DOHC engine
Factory rear locker
Adjustable On The Fly Shocks
Suspension Seat (optional) I have the option.
9.5" rear ring gear
8" front ring gear

As compared to my 94 80 Series
4.62 gears
Sunroof

I purchased in 2014 for $900
Previous owner painted it rattle can flat black
PO also said it had an overheating problem some times. It was a faulty radiator cap.
Brake pads and rotors were worn and replaced
113k
Standard leather interior was wrecked. Replaced everything with a cloth interior from a 95 LS.
Replaced broken headlights from same vehicle.
Right & Left Rear view mirrors were also broken. Replace from a 97 sport.
Installed 2" lift
Added 33X12.5 15 AT's

Timing belt tensioner failed at roughly 118k. Could have been catastrophic but only went out of time by 1 tooth. Replaced all front of the engine parts. (timing belt, cam seals, water pump, tensioner and crank seal)
During preventative maintenance I decided to replace a known week point on these rigs, Crank Bolt. During the replacement operation the bolt broke... Front of motor has to come apart again. My mechanic spent about 4-5 weeks getting the bolt out. During this time we discovered the crank sensor was broken. It wasn't failing, it was just in 2 pieces. Picked up a new one from O'reillys. It lasted one start and never worked again. Took it back and got a new one. This one lasted about 8 miles. Lesson here is, but OME...
Ordered a Mitsu crank sensor... Failed again. Sent it back and ordered a new one... Failed again.
In case you were wondering about the process of changing a crank sensor on this motor? it involves removing the whole front of the motor overtime. At this point we realized it wasn't the sensor after taking apart the motor 5 times. We did FSM testing many times for this. Everything checked out. After chasing every wire associated I discovered it was a slightly bad connection with the MFI relay. Back on the road after almost a year of messing with it!

Now on to making it better.

Replaced auto hubs with manual Aisin hubs (FHM-002)


Installed CB and HAM Communications. (not licensed yet)
Reasonable audio system.
Replace halogen headlights with LED
Added LED Spot and Flood offroad lights to the front.
Added LED light bar
Working on adding a dual battery set up. DOHC motor takes up a ton of space under the hood so I am entertaining other ideas.

 

Mrgalantguy

Rank I

Traveler I

Nice to see another Montero/Pajero owner on in this community! Are you on Adventure Driven Design community?

How are those Aisin hubs holding up? I am looking to buy them soon for my Gen 2.5.
 

Mrgalantguy

Rank I

Traveler I

Help me understand why you would want to get out of your rig to lock your front hubs?

James
The manual hubs are stronger and more reliable than the automatic hubs . They reduce CV and driveline wear, because your CV axles aren't always spinning. Some folks claim better mileage because they aren't turning the CVs, but if that effect is real it can't be much. Also in case you break a front axle on the trail..you can unlock your manual hubs and make it home w/o the axles keeping you from doing so.

On the downside, you have to get out and manually lock and unlock them, which can kinda suck in nasty weather. And they're one more item to be added to your spring maintenance list.
 
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James Deaton

Rank V

Pathfinder I

Ah. Good to know thank you.

It makes sense that cars haven't had manual hubs since the 80s, back when people did their own maintenance... Now everyone wants a button to push, and failures seem to be more catastrophic (call a tow truck) than they used to be... sad.

On the flipside, we are finishing up a somewhat extensive top end refresh on our 93 Montero... Just did the valve guide seals, valve cover gaskets, and all other gaskets/o-rings related to the top end of the engine. Also doing an MMO treatment (Marvel Mystery Oil) in the cylinders (poured some into each spark plug hole, letting it sit for 1-2 days to loosen the carbon). Found a lot of sludge on the driver's side rocker arms, so we cleaned that off and replaced the PCV valve. Also poured some B12 Chem Tool into the oil pan to loosen things up, drained it last night, and refilling with Mobil1 10w30 tonight (a little thicker, but the Mitsu owner's manual says it is good down to -10 degrees, which is perfectly safe for our Boise, Idaho area)...

James
 
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