Hello to all!

I just bought a 1997 sr with 230k. I paid $300.00

Known issues are :
Overheating (unknown reason. I have not attempted to replicate for fear of further damage)
Drivers side seat (electric) will move forward but not back
Pass rear window not working
Everything else is working very well imo

My plan:
Drop off at shop to check heads and gasket - replace if needed
Replace timing belt and Waterpump w full kit
Replace thermostat
Change fluid in all diffs and transfer case along with transmission

I'm very open to any other suggested maintainance. My sr did not come with the owners manual ( any online?)

The plan is to daily drive and 4x4 weekends. I'm moving to Fort Collins, Co from LA in sept (if any of you are from that area)

I'm hoping to stay under $1500 in repairs (found used heads online pretty cheap if needed)

Thanks for all the help!

Shop repairs will likely exceed your stated budget. Check the radiator, in addition to all the parts listed.

Have the radiator either boil flushed and rodded or replaced if necessary along with a new cap and upper/lowers radiator hoses. If your going through all that money to have the water pump and thermostat repaired, do everything else to prevent another failure and ensure no overheating.

Do you have reason to suspect that the heads have a problem? If not, taking it to a shop to have the heads removed and checked is a very expensive waste of time. Unless you have bad numbers on a compression check or oil and water mixing, there's no need to pull the heads, and certainly no need to plan on replacing them.

First priority is to get your cooling system corrected. Pressure test the cooling system to see if there are any leaks and correct anything you find. If the original radiator is still in the vehicle, use it. It's far better quality than most of the aftermarket radiators you can buy. Take it out and take it to a radiator shop to have it rodded and cleaned. Plan on replacing the radiator cap and thermostat with original Mitsubishi parts - they're far more reliable than the garbage your local parts store carries.

If you don't know when the timing belt was last replaced, you need to plan on doing that in the very near future. You will want to replace the water pump, timing belt tensioner (use a Mitsubishi part only) and pulley, and engine drive belts at the same time. You also need to check that the engine has the updated crankshaft pulley bolt and replace it if it doesn't. It needs to be torqued to the updated torque spec as well.

There are lots of posts here regarding the typical maintenance jobs for your Montero. Do a little searching and reading to familiarize yourself with what's necessary and important.

The power seat issue is likely due to worn/corroded contacts in the seat switch - it can be disassembled and the contacts cleaned if you go slow and you're careful not to lose any of the springs and parts inside it. It' also possible that there might be a foreign object in the seat track preventing it from going back...

The window most likely needs a new window regulator, but the motor could also be the culprit. If the motor makes noise when you operate the switch then it's probably just the regulator.

When changing the transmission fluid, make sure to use Diamond SP fluid - Hyundai uses it as well as Mitsubishi so you can sometimes find that cheaper. Using the proper fluid is expensive, but will keep your transmission happy - I've got 264K miles on my original transmission and it's never had anything more done to it than changing the fluid and filter screen - I consider the cost of the fluid to be far less than the cost of transmission repairs.

I suppose I don't have much of a reason to suspect heads. The lady I purchased the car from mentioned smoke out the tail pipe after overheating. I suspect it may have just been steam from the engine bay as there is dried coolant everywhere under the hood.

I did check the oil, looked normal
coolant was full and normal as well.

I'll start small and work up, thanks for the info on proper trans fluid