Last week I picked up a 1995 Montero SR. It has over 228K miles on it and she has some normal Montero Problems.

I purchased the Montero with a known miss fire. After getting the truck back home I started looking into the problem. The previous owner talked about plugs and wires but I could hear a massive vacuum leak when I was looking at the truck. I removed the bracket covering the butterfly valve actuator and attempted to move it around. Not only was it easy to move the tone on the vacuum leak changed significantly. Found part of the problem!

I ordered a new plenum along with spark plugs and spark plug wires. Also ordered all new gaskets.

The previous owner said he had a lot of miles on the timing belt. So I took off one of the covers and started praying to the car gods! The belt is cracked and in a very used condition. It is also not tight enough.

So, the Montero is really a ticking time bomb right now. I parked it and ordered all the parts for the timing belt and the plenum change.

Does anyone have any other recommendations of what I should replace while doing both repairs. I will do a compression test to check the motor before I do the timing belt. I really don't want to go back into the motor till it is time for a rebuild.

I will search the forums for info on replacing all the bushings and rubber that can be found on the vehicle. Anyone have experience with that?

The ultimate goal is to turn this into my go anywhere vehicle. Not looking to rock climb but it needs to handle any snow, mud or terrain I toss at it.

Pictures soon! Looking forward to wheeling :-)

If you don't plan on rock crawling...

fix the engine
check the transmission and other running gear
do any required maintenance
if required remove the running boards
throw on 33" tires and go drive. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

If you want to dive right in, replace the valve stem seals (special tool required), front and rear cam seals, water pump, tensioner pulley and idler pulley. Make sure it has the revised crankshaft bolt.

John B.

I was leaving the valve stem seals for when I do the rebuild (assuming I can make it that long). I have all new OEM timing parts (tensioner, pulleys, belt, water pump, etc).

Thanks for the note about the revised crankshaft bolt. I will look that up.

I was hoping the 33's would fit without any changes/lifts needed. Looks like 33x10.5 would do the trick....not sure the 33x12.5 would work (it appears other forum posts say it wont).

I am excited to get wrenching, hurry up UPS!

Unless your compression check shows something bad, your engine probably doesn't need a rebuild. Replacing the valve stem seals while you've got the plenum and timing components already off makes all kinds of sense, and will likely have the engine in a condition to go another 100k miles with no problems.

Crank seal, VC gaskets and tube top grommets, injector o-rings and grommets, ditto on fuel rail (2x on 2 diff o-rings)and if you are doing that (along with the VSS), replace the heater hoses at the back of the block while they are easy to get to. Put it all back together with new hoses for the rest of the top of the engine. Why take off all that old stuff and put it back on. Not that much in parts $ in the end.

Good point on the valve stems. It is not fun to go in twice. Found some great posts about other people doing it. I will see if I can source the tools. Thanks.

Removing the radiator will make working on the front of the motor much easier and will give you the opportunity to take it to a radiator shop and get it rodded out. Also check to make sure your fan clutch is operating properly and replace it if it's not. A new thermostat and radiator cap along with new cooling system hoses and you will have pretty much zero-timed your cooling system.

+1 on all the above. There's even a reminder or two about my (still) upcoming redo and I've forgotten a few parts. Like how I've had the non-standard heater hoses on there for years (disaster awaits them). I guess I "could" pull the injectors and send them out to Cruizin Performance for cleaning, flow testing and new parts...

John B.