So 2 weeks ago I bought a 1994 Mitsubishi Montero SR from some folks who had gotten screwed by the people they bought it from because they misrepresented it's condition. They didn't find out it had issues until it failed emissions for two reasons 1) exhaust emissions (slightly) over limits and 2) fuel system pressurization failure and they couldn't afford to fix it.

It needs work. Probably more work than I realize. It has 164k miles and is 19 years old so some issues are to be expected. For the above emission failure I'm reasonably confident the issue is leaking valve stem seals. Because it seems apparent that the previous owners who had the truck for the last 15 years were not doing any of the routine maintenance (except for oil/belt/spark plugs) and I'm tearing into the engine anyway I'm also replacing other wearable components that were due for replacement in the last 20 years.

I had originally hoped to buy this and have it road-worthy in time for this weekend's Overland Expo up in Flagstaff but unfortunately that's not going to happen. Nevermind the fact that I've been sick for the last 2 days <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />.

So far based on research here at 4x4wire and the Expo forums I've identified the following things in need of repair/replacement that I have ordered parts for already:

1. Upper Gasket Kit
2. All Belts
3. Timing Belt Idler Pully
4. Timing Belt Tensioner Pully
5. Timing Belt Tensioner Adjuster
6. Center Crankshaft Bolt
7. Water Pump - I strongly suspect it's the original on there still. Going 3rd part with a lifetime warranty.
8. Lower Air Intake - Not taking any chances on the butterfly valves
9. Alternator - The alternator died (literally) the day before I bought the car. I ordered at 150 amp replacement from www.mralternator.com.
10. New Differential Warning Label - One of the previous owners removed it
11. Steering Column Switches - The left column switch stalk (turn signal/headlight) appears to be bad and causes a buzzer to go off continually and only the left turn signal works without jiggling the stalk around. The warning flashers work just fine so I'm pretty sure it's the stalk.
12. Radiator - The radiator has a small pinhole leak at the top of it. I'll take it to a local shop to have them repair it since I have to take it off anyway as part of the other work I'm going.
13. Radiator Hoses
14. Thermostat
15. Spark Plugs & Plug Wires
16. Fuel System Pressure Leak - I think this is a bad gasket on the fuel tank itself. The gasket is less than $10 so I ordered one and will try that repair first. If it still fails that part of emissions I will have to find a shop that can do an evap system smoke test to find the real culprit.
17. Rear Window Washer Tank - The current tank leaks as I discovered when I filled it up and watched the fluid seep out the bottom of the rear door for the next hour.
18. EGR Valve - Scheduled replacement is 100k miles and I'll already have the engine torn apart to do it.
19. PCV Valve - I'll already have the engine torn apart to do it.
20. Radio - The factory radio is very nice for it's age, but the FM part doesn't appear to work. Plus I kind of like having handsfree bluetooth.
21. Rear Door Weatherstrip - The clips that hold the weatherstrip on the rear door have failed with age and it doesn't seal properly.
22. Various Lights - Some of the interior lights and indicators are burned out.
23. Missing Battery Holder
24. Evaporative Canister - Scheduled replacement is 100k miles.

Regarding the Valve Stem seals, my plan is to buy rebuilt heads from either Clearwater or CHI because I don't own the right tools to do that work and it seems like less work overall to just swap heads. This is the only component I haven't ordered yet cause I'm still undecided if I want to save a few $$$ or save some time.

So I've actually already been doing some work on this thing since I got it...

Work I got done on Sunday (5/12/2013)

1. Replacement Radio showed up. Ordered a Kenwood KDC-955HD Head Unit from Crutchfield.
2. Removed crappy and flaky starter ignition kill "Bolt Security" system. They did a really questionable job of tapping into the ignition wires in the steering column by just stripping a huge section of the insulation and wrapping the tap wires around them then just wrapping it all up in electrical tape.
3. Removed Intake Plenum. Took me 3 hours to pull this thing off the engine and I can tell it will be no fun putting it back on. It's seriously gunked up with baked on oil vapors/sludge. I'm replacing half of it with a new part but I'm wondering how to clean the rest of it before I reinstall it. Discovered that several bolts, the power steering stay brace are missing and that one of the ECU harness connections was broken and had been glued on previously.,
4. Pulled the Spark Plugs. It looks like all the cylinders have a little oil fouling but overall they look good (light grey ashy look on the electrodes). The #4 cylinder is by far the worst in terms of oil, the spark plug was completely covered in oil when I pulled it out. #1 also had some oil but nowhere near as much as #4 did.
5. Did a compression test. Readings were all within 7% of each other. Low value was 210 psi and high value was 225 psi.

So today (5/13/2013 - Monday) I received the bulk of my parts that I'd ordered, including the replacement steering column switches. Some of the gaskets were bent/nearly folded in the packaging so I'm hoping they're not ruined.

Only work done today was to replace the steering column switches, and that did indeed fix the issue with the constant buzzer/right turn signal not working.

Wow...that's a more exhaustive list than I can afford to tackle! That thing is gonna feel good as new when you're done!

Rather than pick through and look for individual things, I'll post the ones that come to mind (you may have them on your list already):

- Valve guides and stem seals
- T-belt and rollers
- Butterfly valves in intake plenum
- Crank bolt

...these are the most common things you hear about that end up requiring attention (or causing damage). Anything more is icing on the cake.

Good luck and welcome!

Well my theory is that I only want to tear into the engine once so if it's something I can take care of now and not have to worry about down the road I'd just as soon do it now.

So far I've got less than $3k into this thing including the estimated cost for the heads and well I was planning on spending a lot more on a Wrangler before I read up on Monteros.

Oh I almost forgot, I created a word document version of the Lower Plenum instructions that was handier for using as a reference while I was working on the engine. It's slightly too large to attach here but I'll see if I can find a different place to host it and link to it.

We have our own forum, Lots of Montero owners here in phoenix. Welcome, and post up on the local forum here.

Dude, I've got all the tools to do the valve stem seals and such if the heads are in decent condition. With that mileage, they SHOULD be, but with not a lot of info on previous maintenance it's hard to be 100% sure. Compression test will give you a good idea, and I've got the tools for that also. The Clearwater heads are nice, (I had an issue with them, but they finally made it right) for the money, but you can save many hundreds just doing the valve stem seals, and all the basic maintenance stuff. There are a bunch of locals out here that can steer you in the right direction if you need help.

Compression test seems good, lowest cylinder was 210 psi and highest was 225 psi.

While I'm game to try the valve stem replacements in lieu of a head swap, it looked like a fair amount of effort AND replacement heads come with a warranty. What exactly would be involved in doing that work yourself? It looks like you have to remove the camshaft and redo the front/back seals at least, right?

Welcome to The Wire, Torch. We are many here in the Phoenix area. Where you at 'round here?

John B.