FrankReynoldsCPA

Basically, I'm tired of my LS400 and worried about having problems with it in the near future, so It's on craigslist right now.

I've been looking at 2 different and completely unrelated models.....the Mazda6 and the Mitsubishi Montero Sport.

I know, I know, I'm kind of all over the place. The Mitsu wouldn't actually be far behind the Mazda for city MPG. Either would be a decent improvement over my current POS. An automatic transmission would be a deal-breaker. I want to row my own gears again.

Has anybody had any experience with the Montero Sport for reliability? My parents bought one last summer for $1300 that has 275,000 miles on it. It doesn't rattle, runs decent, but we don't know the history. It could be on its second or third engine for all I know. They don't drive it around enough to give me any feedback on it.

spwolf

did you check to find some forums for Mitsu/Mazda?

nikko2jzge

Some Mitsubishi 6g72 engines are prone to have valve their valve stem seals to go bad. It causes smoke at startup and sometimes idle.

bnizzle87

My gf uses the Montero Sport for school and weekend trips. Her family has had it since 1999, and that thing runs like a champ. 200k on the odometer with nothing more than basic oil changes, a tranny flush, and replacing tires. She had it stall at my place, but we later found out that the battery needed replacing. No mods, aside from a double din. You can definitely throw a lot in it and take it practically anywhere.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Big fan of the Mazda6, don't know much about the Montero

FrankReynoldsCPA

What I love about the 6 is that it is so closely related to Ford, especially the 3.0 duratec.

I'm looking at a specific Montero Sport at a nearby dealership. 1998, 3.0 v6, 5-speed manual, 150,000 miles. $3500

mmarshall

Be careful shopping for a Montero Sport.....unless you don't need (or use) the 4WD system much. Some versions of the Sport (especially during early-production) used a dated, archaic, part-time 4WD system (with a manually-operated transfer-case) that was unsuitable for dry-pavement use unless the pavement was slick (those systems are generally designed for harder-core off-road use). The problem with part-time 4WD, even on slick pavement is that you don't always know exactly what is under each of your four wheels at any given moment, and part-time 4WD systems force all four wheels to rotate at the same speed, with no slip allowed in corners. Normally, on a dry -pavement curve, the outer wheels, naturally, have to rotate faster than the inner ones because the radius of the curve is greater. If they don't , the driveline can bind, scrub, and cause tire/driveline damage and repairs.

This was an issue that I remember complaining about to Mitsubishi officials about for several years (they forced you to buy the bigger more expensive Montero/Pajero to get a full-time AWD system). Eventually, they did put the automatic full-time AWD system on the Montero Sport...(I don't remember which year) which they should have done from the start.

FrankReynoldsCPA

It's not an early production, it's a 98. IIIRC, they started making them in the early 90s. I can't see it being much worse than driving a 4x4 pickup. Every vehicle we've owned that has had 4wd capability has been part-time.

Aron9000

Simple solution to that is that you leave it in 2wd on any paved road until it has a coating of snow or ice. I don't know why you are *****ing, its just like any other conventional 4wd truck since the beginning of time, you have 2wd, 4hi, and 4low. You don't use 4wd unless its seriously slick out. If you want some sort of sophisticated full time 4wd system, you need to buy a newer, much more expensive computer controlled truck.

1sWt2GS

iTrader: (6)

may i ask whats wrong with the LS?

FrankReynoldsCPA

Electrical gremlins that I am sick of chasing.

bagwell

My old neighbor had one of these, didn't seem to have any issues with it....but he did have it towed in one day (he moved shortly thereafter and I didn't get to ask him about it).

FrankReynoldsCPA

Lol, that's even the exact color scheme of the one at the dealership around the corner from me that's going for $3500.

mmarshall

True, but roads are sometimes half-plowed...or the sun will melt one spot and not another in the shade, etc..... or one jurisdiction will clear the roads and another won't. There are many possibilities...(that's one reason why I drove an Outback for some seven years).

The point is that, on winter pavement, you don't always know what is underneath each tire at any given moment.


I'm not the only person bringing up these matters....can't just point a finger at me. Much of the criticism of conventional part-time 4WD systems has come from the auto press/auto magazines and Consumer Reports. Even hard-core off-road trucking/SUV magazines admit the limitations of the part-time system.


Well, that was just my point. First, later models of the Montero Sport do have a better, more sophisticated full-time (or AWD-on-demand) system like the larger Montero/Pajero....presumably fromcustomer-input. That was the point I was making to the OP. Second, the full-time or on-demand/center-differential system was developed because of the earlier problems experienced with part-time systems. Too many tires and drivetrains were getting scrubbed, binding-up, or needing repairs.

FrankReynoldsCPA

I don't think i will be running around in 4x4 on pavement very often. We see one light snow storm a year at most.