[Jeroen]

Interesting.

Its good you checked you have two separate air intake temperature sensors. If you had only one, fixing it a set value, would ultylead to long term problems with the engine.

I am surprised you don't have an alarm as the two sensor readings are constantly different?

Jeroen

[benbsb29]

Congrats on your purchase and ownership experience on what is a very capable and reliable truck/SUV, K a s h. I read through your thread and kudos for tackling all the known maintenance aspects with the vehicle. Everything from the EGR delete to the manifold clean are the most common stuff that users have addressed across various forums in Australia as well as South Africa where the 4M41 engine is popular.

I've owned mine for over 9 years now and it hasn't missed a beat. Added a few goodies such as a Sony XAV-AX1000 Head Unit which works with the Rockford setup and provides Apple CarPlay capability as well as an ARB Long Range fuel tank which now provides 128 Liters of fuel capacity. A friend also helped me with installing stiffer Kings springs to the truck all round which has helped with a bit of lift and added ground clearance. All these go towards making it more capable than stock, for what is our family car that goes anywhere and everywhere - beach offroading, trails, long trips and so on.

A recent pic from a photoshoot I had done:



One of my attempts at a cinematic video.

https://youtu.be/39bhPq60zLU

Looking forward to your updates on this thread and wishing you lots of smiles and happiness with this car.

[K a s h]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Congrats on your purchase and ownership experience on what is a very capable and reliable truck/SUV, K a s h. I read through your thread and kudos for tackling all the known maintenance aspects with the vehicle.

Thanks. Your car looks smashing .

[GTO]

Congrats on your Montero! This is really the SUV that "got away" for me, and a car I regret not buying. Had come very close to buying it in 2006-07 for 30ish lakhs brand new. A timeless classic, just like the 80 & 100-series Landcruisers.

[K a s h]

Some photos of the interior

[K a s h]

From our recent trip to Munnar - @Gap road

[K a s h]

I was reversing my car in to my parking slot at home and was shifting between Reverse and Drive a few times. Suddenly the lever became free and started moving without resistance. Car was stuck in Reverse and was not parked yet.

Switched off and opened up the center console of the car. Just had to open up the cup holder and then two screws to remove the panel.



The 4wd lever is screwed on the stick. The Gear lever is held by 2 screws at the bottom and the screws are covered by the garnish.

Found the linkage popped out of its slot. I forgot to take a photo so this one is from the ebay item i purchased.


Found traces of the bushing under the linkage.


I put the linkage back without the bushing and parked the car.


I could not find this part locally so had to order it from ebay. Lead time was 2 to 6 weeks. The ASIN gearbox is shared across many car manufacturers and the dimensions in this item matched the one i needed.

So I was driving around with the central console open much to the amusement of my kids. The linkage usually popped out whenever i try to put it in Reverse or Park from Drive. I popped it in manually and continued.

Received the bushing today after 3 weeks.


Fixed it up and all is well now.


I have a few more bushings and if you need one for your car, hit me up.

[Twister87]

Thanks for this amazing post. Your car looks gorgeous.
At this point I am also looking at getting a 6-7 seater, 4x4 for casual offroading and expeditions and a highway cruiser for long road trips for the next 2-3 years, Budget under 10Lakhs.
I had shortlisted following cars for now -
1. Pajero SFX
2. Pajero Sports (Ruling out because of cramped leg space, I am 6'2`'')
3. Old Gen Endeavour (2014)
4. Hyundai Santa Fe (2014, ruled out because of Lower GC)
5. Montero (2010-11, had ruled out based on an owners suggestion because of parts availability)

I really love Montero and after seeing your post, my love got rekindled.
I have few queries for you.

1. After 2 years of ownership experience would you still recommend me to buy Montero? If not then which car would you recommend?
2. What would be a fair price for a 2010 Montero in market today?

[K a s h]

Originally Posted by Twister87

Thanks for this amazing post. Your car looks gorgeous.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Twister87

I really love Montero and after seeing your post, my love got rekindled.
I have few queries for you.

1. After 2 years of ownership experience would you still recommend me to buy Montero? If not then which car would you recommend?
2. What would be a fair price for a 2010 Montero in market today?

1. I would recommend this but this car is not for everyone. It's a go anywhere full size SUV with heavy duty suspension. May not have a plush ride, but it has its own charm. Check if all 4wd options work without errors. Be ready to spend on preventive maintenance to enjoy the car for many years to come.

2. Depends on how well it has been maintained. So i cant put a price on it. Ballpark will be 3-4 lacs more than a similar vintage Pajero Sport.

[K a s h]

The car was munching miles over long trips and was performing well for a few months. Slowly, the brakes started feeling weird. The Montero's brakes are amazing and are pretty strong. The pedal started sinking on quick successive braking, I was not feeling confident to drive like this. This had to be fixed.

The Montero comes with the ASIN's Brake Booster unit similar to the one on the Toyota Land cruisers. This is an ABS Module + Brake Fluid tank + Brake Fluid Accumulator and the Accumulator's motor all combined into a single unit. The Brake Fluid accumulator is a pressurized metal canister that holds the brake fluid under pressure and a motor feeds the fluid into this canister. This keeps the brake fluid at constant pressure and boosts the brake. Every time the brake pedal is pressed, the fluid from the accumulator is passed on the brake lines, the pressure decreases in the accumulator and the motor is switched on immediately to pump the brake fluid from the tank into the accumulator.



Since the accumulator holds the fluid with high pressure, the brake pedal feel is consistent and pedal never feels hard even when the engine is switched off. Compared to normal brake booster setup where the pedal gets hard by pressing it 2 or 3 times when the engine is off, this system will need you to press the pedal 30 to 40 times for the it to feel hard. When the brake pedal is pressed 30-40 times, the brake fluid from the Accumulator will all get released into the brake fluid tank by then and only then the pedal will start feeling hard.

There are only 2 failure points in this unit.

1) The Accumulator - Overtime, the pressure drops and it starts making chirping noise. That's the time to replace this.

2) The motor that feeds the accumulator - This is a simple motor with carbon brushes and over time, the brushes dig into the contact surfaces and finally it stops working. When its about to fail, you can hear this motor struggling to build pressure and it will run longer than usual. Its important to catch this before it fails, because if this fail, there wont be any pressure in the system and the car will crash.

The accumulator was not making chirping noises yet and our problem was diagnosed to the motor. So I ordered an motor rebuild kit from ebay.



The kit consists of 1 commutator, 2 copper-graphite brushes and 2 bearings



Let the pictures tell the story!

















Don't loose the metal wedge connecting the motor and the accumulator







Inside the motor was too dirty and the commutator was worn thin. Glad I caught this on time.







Old vs New commutator.












All assembled and ready to go in. Notice the spring washer that goes between the small bearing and the motor casing.





All Assembled.


The brake was bled twice and the brake feel was back to normal.
Did a 700km trip to Coimbatore after this and the car performed very well.

[jubin]

was on the hunt for a nice kept montero, finally sealed the deal after TDing this monster.

2lakhs on the odo, all service records, and overall a well kept mechanically strong vehicle.

[K a s h]

Originally Posted by jubin

was on the hunt for a nice kept montero, finally sealed the deal after TDing this monster.

2lakhs on the odo, all service records, and overall a well kept mechanically strong vehicle.

Congrats Jubin. Looks lovely. Wish you many more happy miles with your Montero .

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by jubin

was on the hunt for a nice kept montero, finally sealed the deal after TDing this monster.

Hearty congratulations on getting this beast.

Have seen this car up close many times as it belonged to a friend of mine. What a small world! Quite a unique garage they have with LR Discovery (not sport), MB W124 and a Mahindra EV.

[BlackBeard]

Originally Posted by K a s h

Be careful about buying parts locally. There are a lot of fakes around. You will also need a competent garage to maintain this car.

Indeed they are, concur with both points. Congratulations on your ownership thread and the meticulous maintenance of your vehicle is a treat for all to learn from.

Mitsubishi unfortunately tied up with the wrong partners in India and the result is there for all to see. Fantastic vehicles but pathetic after sales service & support, especially sourcing spare parts in India.

Originally Posted by K a s h

Parts for this car can be obtained from Amayama.com or partsouq.com. I usually ship it to US or Australia and ask someone to carry it for me.

I'm impressed by your resourcefulness & tenacity to source parts globally for the Montero. I was buying OEM parts from a guy in Delhi for my Pajero and he claimed to be the largest stockist/supplier pan India for all Mitsubishi parts apparently. I also managed to buy the Haines service manual in Amazon which was of immense help.

[K a s h]

Kick started our summer vacation with a trip to Goa. The dual AC compressors in the car kept us cool and comfortable all through the drive. The suspension was a lot better once the car was fully loaded.

Our resort was in North Goa, so took the Dharwad -Belagavi route via the Tilari Ghat.









At the Kharadi Bridge


Checking in


Some random shots at the resort






Side by side with a Fortuner


For the return journey, we took the Murdeshwar, Sringeri, Hassan route. It had some really good freshly laid tarmac and some really bad stretches too.













First summer rains :-)



The more I drive this, the more good things i have to say about the Montero. I stuck to the speed limit because of the Top box and rarely crossed 100 during this trip.