2000 Montero - Ship or Drive 2,000 miles

[montero.life]

Hello All,

I just purchased a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Endeavor in Texas that I plan to build into a family camping/overlanding vehicle during the winter months. I live in New Hampshire and I am trying to decide on whether I should ship it ($1,100 ouch) or drive it (2,000 miles) back with my 13 year old son. I have not seen the vehicle but took a chance and bought it after a friend looked at the car for me. From their description and the service history, it appears to be in pretty good shape.

It is a 208,000 mile one owner car with a detailed service history. Below is a list of work that was done to vehicle over the last few years. Oil and filter were changed every 3 to 4 thousand miles.

July 2010 - 149,178 miles Drive belts replaced
May 2011- 167, 691miles Lower control arms replaced
Oct 2011 - 175,655 miles Transmission fluid flushed and Rear differential fluid serviced.
Mar 2012 - 182,994 miles Valve cover gasket replaced, Brakes system flushed, Front brakes replaced.
Nov 2015 - 206,039 miles Air filter changed, Passed emissions inspection.
Nov 2016 - 206,874 miles Cooling system flushed, Passed emissions inspection.

If I did drive I was thinking of doing it in 3 days (10-12 hours of driving per day) since I cannot take too much time off from work. I wanted to ask the forum, looking at the service history is there any other preventive maintenance I should do to the truck before starting our journey.

Thanks in advance!

 

[jlocster]

Congrats on your purchase! The critical failure point on this vehicle is the crankbolt. Make sure yours is updated to the most recent version before you take it on any long drive.

MITSUBISHI 1100A141 Crankshaft Bolt, 3rd Version (earlier versions are obsolete, prone to failure and should be avoided)
MITSUBISHI MR994412 Crankshaft Bolt Washer

Also, the timing belt interval is 60K, so yours ought to have had that done around the 180k mile mark. Since your service history doesn't include timing belt replacement, and this being a vehicle with an interference engine, you may want to consider that before your drive, too.

 

[montero.life]

Thanks for the info guys. The service records I listed were off the carfax. Once I receive the detailed receipts in the mail I will look and to see if (and when) the timing belt and crankshaft bolt were replaced. I'm also going to start looking into reputable shops in Austin to see if they can do the work for me in case it has not been done so if I decide to drive there will be no surprises.

Thanks again and have a great weekend!

 

[plh]

Unless you are dead set on hoping in and driving a new to you old rig with a boat load of miles and no chase vehicle, I would seriously consider having it shipped. You can dump a grand quickly stranded somewhere.

2 one way airline tickets - $400 (estimate - didn't price them but seems every time I fly its around that), Fuel @ 18 MPG and $3/gallon - $330, Hotel 2 nights - $200 - no brainer to me. risk factor unknown $ - Ship it.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Based on the history already presented I would be very surprised if the timing belt was not done at proper intervals. We bought our 96 SR from the original owners last year with 216k miles on it and came with great history, high miles is not much of an issue with these rigs if maintained properly.

 

[montero.life]

The more I think about it I am also leaning more towards shipping since I will be rushing to get back and not really have time to see the sights and enjoy.

I was able to ask a friend to crawl under the car and try to take a pic of the crankshaft bolt and this is what they sent me. Is it possible to tell from this picture if it is the older faulty style?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Schitzangiggles]

That looks like the updated bolt.
The failure prone one looks kinda like a dumbell


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Doing_Dirt]

Unless you are dead set on hoping in and driving a new to you old rig with a boat load of miles and no chase vehicle, I would seriously consider having it shipped. You can dump a grand quickly stranded somewhere.

2 one way airline tickets - $400 (estimate - didn't price them but seems every time I fly its around that), Fuel @ 18 MPG and $3/gallon - $330, Hotel 2 nights - $200 - no brainer to me. risk factor unknown $ - Ship it.

I agree.
$1100 for shipping vs. an average of 1 mile per minute travel (60 MPH). Traffic, fuel, motels, showers, weather, food, restroom breaks...and these are the good stops. Take the worst case and think of your favorite horror movie. Stranded on the side of the road with no cell service...waiting for a tow to a shade tree mechanic that only knows John Deeres and Peterbilts.
The guys here are excellent about the Mitsubishi mechanicals, but I understand road travel.
I say ship it.
Good luck.

 

[normal_dave]

He's got the new, updated bolt...

 

[Swank Force One]

Mine was way worse, and the drive home was farther. I only got stranded once.

It was a great trip.

Financially/safety-wise, ship it. Fun-wise with a cheap disposable vehicle? Drive it. Whichever is more important to you makes your decision easy.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

It does indeed have the updated bolt, but unless you are sleeping in the car to offset costs I would just ship it since you don't have time to enjoy stopping anywhere.

 

[vintageracer]

Ship it if your time is worth anything at all!

There are far more fun local adventures you could do with your son than break down halfway home.

$1100 is a GREAT DEAL to ship a vehicle to the NE given all the additional tolls you encounter once you hit NJ/NY.

 

[montero.life]

Hello All,

I decided to ship the Monty over from Texas and it is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I am looking forward to getting her ready for some fun this winter. Thanks again for all the help and advice.

Cheers!