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Post by emersonhart13 on May 28, 2014 15:43:38 GMT -5
2003 Pretty excited, added a hitch as soon as I got home. Full service records and garage kept its whole life. My buddy did a lot of research on these and almost bought one and says they are awesome. Suggests removing side steps. OME medium rear springs, crank torsion bars, good shocks, and 32s (235/85/16s). This is our do it all rig. My other car is an 04 GTO and my wife drives a 13 Beetle TDI. Previously owned a 00 WJ GC and 2 Suburbans. Looking forward to reading some threads, John
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Post by dclambertt on May 28, 2014 15:52:58 GMT -5
Welcome to the fold. Love these trucks.
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Post by Montero-3.5XS on May 28, 2014 18:29:26 GMT -5
Congrats on the new truck! welcome to the "club"
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Post by ES_97Sport on May 28, 2014 18:47:57 GMT -5
Welcome! That isn't a 3.5L Limited AWD, is it? I can't tell from the pics. I just wanted to make sure you know that if it is the '03 Limited 3.5 AWD uses the Montero A/T which uses DIFFERENT A/T fluid than all the other Montero Sports and that fact is almost undocumented. The regular A/T fluid will toast the torque converter clutch in short order. Looks nice, though! You're buddy is correct. I have three now. Two '97 LS 3.0L 5-speed 4WDs and a '03 Limited AWD 3.5L. Bought my first '97 in Jan of '98 and still have it. Its the 'big Sport' - Dana 44 solid axle swap with a '75 Bronco radius arm suspension, Jeep NP231 t-case conversion (Terra Low231 4:1) with a 2.72:1 B4R doubler and a '02 3.5L engine swap. About 560K miles now (replaced the 3.0L at about 535K). My other '97 is the sister to the big Sport. Bought that about three years ago. At the time I bought my first '97, it was the only other one they had for sale at the dealership. Guy brought it in for service downstairs from my office one day. My business partner saw it drive in and I ran downstairs and caught him when he was getting out, found out it was the same Sport and offered him $4k on the spot. I think I kinda freaked him out. I've wheeled these all over CO and around Moab, UT. Even my '03, which is something I really shouldn't be doing as that's just a backup vehicle. They'll keep up with much more modified vehicles without straining. Don't let any of the Jeep or Toy guys tell you otherwise. And, they're durable. Make sure you do the recommended manufacturer maintenance when you're supposed to do it and they'll go forever. Yea, the running boards are irritating and they really do get in the way. Edward
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Post by emersonhart13 on May 28, 2014 19:07:20 GMT -5
How would I know if it is a limited?
Thanks,
John
Edit: just ran carfax, it is a limited.
What is the trans fluid change interval?is it Mitsu specific fluid?
The side steps just hit my leg and are annoying.
Any shock recommendations to go with the EMU springs and cranked bars other than the EMU springs?
Thanks for the welcome!
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Post by flipflop on May 29, 2014 6:21:53 GMT -5
Beauty.
Transmission fluid is Diamond or Kia SPIII. Definitely change it, probably the best thing you can do to your Sport. Although, a little expensive.
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Post by youngblood on May 29, 2014 6:38:35 GMT -5
Congrats on the Monty, I knew I liked mine the minute I saw it, you will find a lot of real good people on here to help with questions.
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Post by emersonhart13 on May 29, 2014 9:45:56 GMT -5
I will look into getting it swapped right away then. I definitely want this to last. I have been through an SUV a year looking for something that is nice to ride in and gets the job done without emptying my wallet. This seems like the right combo.
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Post by ES_97Sport on May 30, 2014 12:59:39 GMT -5
Transmission fluid is Diamond or Kia SPIII. Definitely change it, probably the best thing you can do to your Sport. Although, a little expensive. flipflop, I thought the SPIII was the fluid for the regular Mitsu A/T. The side steps just hit my leg and are annoying. Any shock recommendations to go with the EMU springs and cranked bars other than the EMU springs? 4WD, correct? There was a 2WD Limited but I don't know if it used the 5-speed A/T from the Montero or not. All I know is that the '03 3.5L Limited 4WD AWD used the Montero transmission and it's different fluid than all the other 4-speed A/Ts both for the Montero and Montero Sport. I would be absolutely positively sure you get it right. The other fluids screw up the clutch in the torque converter and once its screwed up the only fix is to replace the torque converter. Flushing and refilling with the correct fluid will not solve the problem. The dealership quoted me about $3000 for labor and parts. The Jeep dealership I bought my '03 from replaced the fluid when they got it and used the standard Mitsu A/T fluid. I've been dealing with the results for four years. I drive it very, very little since it's just my emergency vehicle but I'm going to have to get it repaired eventually. The techs told me it'd just keep getting worse and they're right - that's exactly what's been happening. Sigh. Don't know much more than that about that transmission. I dislike A/Ts with a passion. My other two are 5-speed manuals for a reason. Yep. Every time I get in and out that's what happens. It's really annoying here in CO in the winter. I really like the OME shocks for a vehicle that's going to be used on the street primarily. They're good, durable shocks. Expensive, but they last. I currently run Rancho RS9000s but I'm not too pleased with the new version. I liked the valving much better in the old white body ones. I wouldn't recommend those unless you were planning on actually wheeling your Sport. The adjustability is nice but its pretty useless for a primarily stock street vehicle. Edward
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Post by emersonhart13 on May 30, 2014 14:21:26 GMT -5
Yes it is A4WD. I'll have to do some digging to double check the trans fluid situation. It currently has Bilsteins on the rear so I was thinking about getting a set for the front and running with those.
I have a manual in my GTO, the MS would be great with a stick, but you don't see too many clutch cars in and around Chicago.
Thanks,
John
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Post by ES_97Sport on May 30, 2014 15:00:03 GMT -5
... I have a manual in my GTO, the MS would be great with a stick, but you don't see too many clutch cars in and around Chicago. .... It's AWESOME! Unfortunately, the only manual Sports are the '97-'99 and they never came with the 3.5L. Which is totally stupid. I've been working on a 3.5L transplant into my big '97 Sport for the last two years. The machanicals are interchangable between the 3.0L and 3.5L - my 3.5L in my big Sport is a '02 with the '97 V5MT1-6 5-speed, but the electronics are not. Different ECMs for the A/T and M/T among other issues. The dealership dropped it in for me when #3 cylinder finally went south in the 3.0L at 535K miles rather than just replace the 3.0L. My big Sport weighs about 5600 lbs with the SAS and pushes (well) over 6000 when we go out to Moab and I have CO mountain passes to deal with since my big Sport isn't a trailer queen. The extra torque is great!! The difference between the performance in my '03 3.5L A/T and my big Sport with the 5-speed manual is amazing. I knew there'd be a difference between the auto and manual, but not that much. The 3.5L really likes having that 5-speed manual. I can't imagine what the 3.5L would be like in my stock '97 with less weight. Yep, that's the same as mine, then. Don't know how familiar you are with AWD. Make sure whatever tires you put on they're the same size all the way around - including your spare - and don't forget to rotate them on a regular basis. Even though everything on my '03 is in perfect shape, the fronts tend to wear a little faster than the rears and you don't want mismatched sizes with AWD, even if its just wear. Edward
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Post by emersonhart13 on May 30, 2014 15:41:28 GMT -5
Yeah the tires are a bit off when it comes to sizes, they either weren't rotated exactly evenly or something. Or like you mentioned the wear a bit weird. When people upsize tires what do you do with the spare? And now that you mention the spare it doesn't get rotated in, it is on a steel rim so you wouldn't rotate that... I wonder what the manual says about putting that on...? (I need to see if I have one...) I have been digging around for a maintenance schedule and this is what I have found so far: Downloaded from Mitsu Owners Website: 2003MY Warranty NonTurbos Maintenance.pdf (567.64 KB) Also found this: (Pretty cool!) Options.pdf (12.63 KB)
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Post by flipflop on Jun 2, 2014 8:25:50 GMT -5
Thought the 99-03 shared the same transmission/fluid.
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Post by ES_97Sport on Jun 2, 2014 14:49:54 GMT -5
Yeah the tires are a bit off when it comes to sizes, they either weren't rotated exactly evenly or something. Or like you mentioned the wear a bit weird. When people upsize tires what do you do with the spare? And now that you mention the spare it doesn't get rotated in, it is on a steel rim so you wouldn't rotate that... I wonder what the manual says about putting that on...? (I need to see if I have one...) Normally, on an AWD the spare is included in the rotation sequence. I think my '03 owners manual shows the sequence. My spare is also a steel rim. It uses the acorn style lug nuts. The standard aluminum rims use the shoulder 'mag' lug nuts. So, I'd figure out what you have and make sure you have lug nuts that work for your spare, or replace the spare steel rim with an aluminum rim. I didn't figure that out until I needed it and that kinda sucked all the fun right out of my day. Plugs, wires and timing belt stuff every 60K. This will cost you less in the long run as you have to pull the entire top end off to do plugs and wires anyway. Might as well do it all while you're there. NEVER use 'standard' plugs in a Mitsu engine. Use the iridium plugs. The techs I deal with will refuse to install anything else and in fact, sell the iridium for the same price as the cheap plugs just so they don't have to deal with any plug related issues. Its not worth eating four hours of labor to replace cheap plugs for the $40 a set the iridium plugs cost. Coolant every 2 years. It has nothing to do with mileage, its age. Brake and power steering flush every 2 years, also. If you're south of Mason Dixon line , I recommend a bottle of BG Super Cool. 'Oil' is the diffs, and t-case, I assume. You can extend this if you use full synthetic like Amsoil, Valvoline, Royal Purple, Redline, etc. But, it probably should still be changed every 125K depending on what you use your Sport for. If you're frequently though water above axle height you need to check it after every time you do that. I don't know where that 75K on tire rotation comes from. By the time you have 75K you'll be on the belts even with a 2WD. That's nowhere near sane. I do my 35" M/Ts four times a year - every three months - which comes up to about every 8000 miles. My two stock Sports are twice a year. And, I have them rebalanced when they're rotated. If you're doing about 10-15K a year and it's all street, once a year would be reasonable with a SUV and All-Seasons or A/Ts. M/Ts should be rotated and rebalanced AT MOST every 10K if you want to get the maximum life out of them. ESPECIALLY if you're taking them off road. Engine oil is every 3500-4000 for standard oil. I run full synthetic Mobil 1 and the highest grade Fram they make and I change mine at 8K. I run 10-40 'high miliage' in my 3.0L and my big Sport's 3.5L. I run the factory recommended 10-30 weight in my '03 3.5L - but it only has about 130K. Lube everything on the chassis one a year irrespective of mileage. If you're wheeling and there are water crossings, every trip, along with regreasing the front hub assemblies. If there's no mud or watercrossings, lube the chassis every couple months and regrease the front hub assemblies once a year. Use full synthetic high pressure molly bearing grease, like Valvoline. This stuff withstands water contamination much better than standard grease. Can't speak for the tranmission. Others here would have to chime in. Thought the 99-03 shared the same transmission/fluid. Normally, yes. But the '03 Limited 3.5L AWD came with the Montero 5-speed automatic which uses it's own special fluid. As I said above, if you use the normal A/T fluid for the 4-speed Mitsu A/T, you'll toast the clutch in the torque converter. It's damn near undocumented but I own proof that this is what happens. Edward
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Post by emersonhart13 on Jun 2, 2014 16:52:52 GMT -5
That should be 7,500 not 75,000 and all those numbers came from the maintenance pdf I attached to my post that I downloaded from the Mitsu site.
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