I have a 2003 Montero Limited with 3.8L. 171,000 miles.

Please give me your opinion on the best Montero timing belt kit name brands / manufacturer. 12,000 miles ago I replaced all the timimg kit components and already the dang tensioner failed causing this resource to go down. This is perhaps a crappy brand... Bought off of eBay. I want to buy the best brand now, whatever that is is

Do you have a tapping noise that goes away at certain RPMs, say around 2,900, and the noise returns loudly like perfect under 2,900? Then please remove the driver side timing belt cover and observe the timing belt while the Montero runs. If it's flapping around inside that's all it takes.

I just needlessly replaced 24 tappets / valve lash adjusters because the timing belt tensioner failure copied the symptom exactly. 20 hours... Gone, lol

My timing belt is just the perfect looseness that allows the top (smooth) surface of the timing belt to slap the side belt cover a little to make thw tapping noise. I'm also guessing when I replace the belt, idler and tensioner that I'll see evidence of the tensioner piston rattling and contributing to the noise as well.

Well, at least my rocker covers got cleaned and I confirmed the top end was not damaged!