I have aquired a 1989 Montero 2 door through a trade I did for a non-running 2000 Land Rover Discovery, I was told that this Montero had no known issues and that the engine was just swapped out 2 months ago and had been a daily driver since. Well I had it for approx. 2 weeks and I started hearing a loud tapping on my way home one day. I got so bad that I pulled off the road less than 6 miles from home., I called a buddy and he came and we pulled it the rest of the way. He said it sounded to him like the crankshaft bearings were shot, so I pulled the oil pan, and low and behold bearings came falling out. The previous owner told me that the engine was out of a Dodge Caravan, I was wondering what other engine options are out there for these vehicles. It is a very clean 89 and I fell in love with it for the 150 miles I was able to put on it during the short time I drove it. Are there any other engines that are bolt in, or do I rebuild this one? I know it will need a new crankshaft and bearings, have not looked at the top end yet. Thanks in advance for all your advice and input.

BTW, I should have known something might be up when the guy I traded with drove 8 hours round trip to get my non running Land Rover in trade for his Running Montero, not saying he knew the engine was bad, but he did say he thought the tapping was an exhaust leak....IDK

Welcome to 4x4Wire's Mitsu Tech forums Chris!

Sorry to hear your first Mitsu 4x4 was not such a good one. It seems finding honest folks is harder and harder everyday.

As for the engine, I would imagine rebuilding the bottom end won't be too bad but I'll reserve my comments and wait for those who really know the answer to that one.

There are a number of possible swaps that have been done in early gen I's. Is your engine the 2.6L I4, or the 3.0L V6?

I know many have swapped out the I4 and put in a turbo version of the 2.6, the 4.3L chevy V6, and other engines. I'm sure some of them will chime in shortly. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Mine is the 3.0, the PO said he got it from a Junkyard out of a Dodge Caravan.

What part of 'Bama? I was born in Jasper and grew up in the Tri Cities (which has 4 towns), and spent 12 years in B'ham. I think I knew some Minks from Russellville?

Personally I would keep the mitsu 3.0. The caravan motor is basically the same but different.

The '89 3.0 SWB is an excellent car. There have been a lot of 3.0 swaps from other MMC products. Generally the blocks are pretty similar, but everything else has to be from the 4X4.

That's pretty general I know. I'm sure the real experts will chime in with technical info, but I would absolutely recommend you do what it takes to get it up and running.

i have been thinking about the 3.5l swap

I was born and raised in Anniston, which is neighbors with Oxford, which is right off I20, Now live in Heflin. Dont think I have any relatives in Russellville, the Mink side of my family is from Mississippi.

fasteddy I am from Anniston, no known relatives in the Russellville area.

Guess I will stick with the Mitsu 3.0 and just rebuild it. I read over a few of the rebuild threads and it seems pretty straight forward, are there preferred vendors to get parts from or is it all pretty much the same. I learned from Land Rovers that not all aftermarket parts are made equally, just wondering if the same rings true for this beast. I love my Land Rover, just that it is one heavy ass truck, I like the light weight of the Montero, and the SWB just looks cool in my opinion(sorta like a LandRovers little brother, (no offense intended)

Please keep the suggestions coming, I can always change my mind and go crazy with this thing, would really like to look at a diesel swap, how durable is the diesel in the mitsu?

find a good 92-97 Hyundai Sonata 3.0 longblock. Should swap right in. A Chrsler 3.0 is the same inside but isn't drilled and tapped at motor mounts, dipostick, and oil pump is different.
and Welcome <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />