This truck has it all, classic SUV boxy styling, mechanical 4x4 system and rugged body on frame chassis. This Montero was bought as a project truck to be used as an around town daily, winter vehicle and weekend Overlanding Rig. The last two years with this truck have been spent doing regular maintenance and small upgrades while being driven at the same time. This is the first year that long wheelbase (LWB) Monteros were sold in the United States. Prior to 1989 you could only buy a two door short wheelbase truck. This particular truck is the LS version which came with every option box checked for 1989. Full gauge pack on dash, including oil pressure, volts and inclinometer. Driver’s side “bouncy” suspension seat. Power panoramic sunroof, power windows, cruise control, A/C, and Limited Slip (LSD) rear diff.

This truck has 252K miles on it, which in Montero standards is pretty normal, when maintained, these trucks last a very long time. Monteros were not made to be fast, slow and steady is the name of the game off road and this truck is both comfortable at highway speeds or moving slowly over rough terrain.

This has been enhanced with AVM manual front hubs, the factory Auto locking hubs can be finicky and temperamental with their engagement. Using manual hubs means that once they are switch at each front wheel to 4x4, all the driver has to do is through the lever inside the cab into 4h or 4l. The transfer case on this truck is old school, when 4wd is engaged it’s locked with a 50/50 torque split. The system should never be used on dry pavement. When you don’t need 4wd the front hubs can remain unlocked and save on front drive train wear and drag.

It also comes with two Hella 500 driving lights mounted to the front bumper with Hella yellow lamim-x and 100w hella bulbs for dark nights in the woods. The front grill was plasti-diped gray. The truck sports 2nd gen aluminum Montero wheels wrapped in Nokian Rotiva A/T tires, which are winter rated for snow. Most people upgrade 1st gen trucks to 2nd wheels as they are strong and much lighter than the original wheels. An Optima Yellow Top deep cycle battery is also included unless the buyer wants to reduce the price by $100 and a standard lead acid battery will be included. RAM mounts and aftermarket headunit is not included.

The truck runs really well and has been very reliable. It does occasionally blow blue oil smoke at start up. It could need new valve seals or simply be some blow by of the piston rings. It consumes about a qt of oil every 3k miles. The engine uses conventional 10w40 oil. It shows no signs of leaking head gaskets or consuming coolant. The truck had a bad transmission and it was replaced with a used unit from a later truck that had 150k miles on it and filled with the correct Mitsubishi Diamond SPIII fluid. This later transmission also has a lock up torque converter, supposedly good for slightly better fuel economy at highway speeds.

The truck has a few rust issues on body sheet metal and some dents and dings. It looks good from 10 feet, you wouldn’t be upset with some trail pinstripes. The large sunroof was sealed shut by a prior owner and does not work. However, the 2nd generation Montero used the same sunroof cassette and they are available in salvage yards for about $150. The A/C does not work. The truck’s frame is in great shape, it spent most of it’s life in Colorado before coming to New England. In Colorado they don’t use road salt. It has some minor surface rust, but no signs of rot. The truck was kept very clean last winter and this winter it’s been protected with professionally applied NH oil undercoating with a black tinted dye. It is a thick, non-toxic, sticky oily coating applied to the underside of the truck. It looks phenomenal and will need to be applied once a year for continued protection.

Maintenance: July - August 2015

• Valve Cover gaskets / intake plenum gasket

• Air filter

• New OEM egr pipe and gaskets

• New OEM idler and tensioner pulleys

• New drive belts

• New OEM A/T mount

• New Spark plugs and wires, cap, rotor and seal

• New thermostat

• New fan clutch

• New OEM oil cooler lines

• New T/ case mount

• New poly trailing arm bushings

• 5 new Nokian tires and alignment

• New Starter

Maintenance: September 2015   

• New gates timing belt kit; timing belt, tensioner and water pump

• Coolant flush

• Used Transmission

• New SPIII ATF and transmission filter

Maintenance: January 2016

• New Rear wheel cylinders

• New Drums, shoes and hardware

Maintenance: March 2016

• Reman front calipers and front brake pads

Maintenance: June 2016

• New ignition switch

Maintenance: July 2016

• New Optima Yellow top AGM battery

• New fuel pump and sending unit assembly

Maintenance: October 2016

• New AVM manual hubs

Maintenance: December 2016

• Professionally undercoated by NH oil undercoating with black tint

Maintenance: January 2017

• Air filter

• OIl change

On offer for $3500.00 or best

Contact us (978)790-0234 or brad@vintageimportsne.com