Accidental new Montero Sport owner.

[Ruffin' It]

Through a combination of halfhearted looking on my part and a bored, retired father, I unknowingly purchased a 2000 Sport XLS/XRS/whatever. I was curious about the full size Monteros - he was excited and didn't know the difference; here we are.
So, instead of the mountains of research I generally do PRIOR to purchasing a vehicle, I am now trying to find out more about what I bought.
My first questions revolve around how much travel will I loose by cranking up the torsion bars? Is it the normal "for every inch you increase your ride height, you lose an inch of travel", or did they figure out a better way?
Also, the rear locker issue. I couldn't tell you if it has a LSD (I have not seen it yet and he doesn't know). From what I've gathered, the Limited can come with a locker, but also a larger engine, which seems to mean different gearing and, thus, not a straight forward swap. I also have the impression that the Sport is essentially the previous generation Montero underneath. Does that mean a locker from a 97 or so SR drops into a 2000 Sport?
Over all, I'm excited. They seem like well built, reliable, comfortable, and good looking trucks.

 

[Mudrunner]

The Frame is actually the same as the L200/Triton, which is the Mitsubishi pick up truck. I don't know what will swap over from the Full size Montero. Here is a link to a Sport specific web site, http://msport97.proboards.com

As far as the larger engine I would imagine it really wouldn't matter as the 3.5L was available to the full size and they would probably have the same gearing from truck to truck. I don't know for sure though.

Most people who own the Sport are very happy with them. I was in the market for a full size and ended up with a sport and am very happy about it. I like the looks and drive of it. Best power I have had in a SUV ever.

 

[yzfgsx]

Look into the ARB air locker, it is worth the money. I didn't notice any negative effects from cranking the torsion bars. That and OME suspension make a huge improvement.

 

[Ruffin' It]

Thanks guys. I have been lurking over on the monterosport forum. There seems to be a fair amount of good information here. I also found a great build thread here on ExPo. I'm not sure how much I'm going to putting into the Sport. If I love it and feel it's a really good off road base, I'll build it. If I feel its a good truck, but not quite what I want off road, I might get an older full-size (what I really wanted to being with) and keep the Sport for a DD. A locker will definitely be in the mix if I end up liking it off road. From the YouTube videos, it looks like they are a bit challenged in the flex dept. It was only $2500 with 122K miles and is in nice condition so I really can't lose.

 

[off-roader]

What kind of wheeling do you want to pursue with a sport? Trailriding? Extended Overlanding? Rock Crawling?

It's capable of all of that but has limitations depending on what you're doing with it. As for how you build it and what I'd recommend, that really goes back to what you want to do and of course what you want to spend.

Some rigs I've seen that are used straight out of the box with only minor modifications. Others are heavily modified (suspension, armor, etc.) due to the owner's intensions.

 

[Ruffin' It]

I think with a locker, a 2" OME kit, and a set of 32" BFG's it will get me where I like to go in a Sport. I'm not interested in the hardcore stuff. I generally prefer to "get away from it all" and go enjoy to outdoors rather than the bump and grind of rocks. I have had a heavily modded vehicle before and am not too interested in that route again. I'm more interested in reliability and ability to find spares if something does go wrong. I found that, even with a very well-prepped truck, I didn't get much pleasure from doing trails above a 6 (1-10). My worry is more based on can it take my wife, kid (maybe a second kid), and dogs (one 85 lbs, one 30) along with enough stuff for 4 days in the back country. Since having our daughter, we have thought about starting an organization that teaches outdoor skills (rock climbing, kayaking, survival, etc) to children. If we follow through on that, we are going to need space to haul stuff. A trailer might do it, but that's a whole can O worms I'm not sure I want to get into. I'm not overly excited about roof racks stacked with stuff either (although, I have to be honest, that is pure truck porn for me). I thought my 80 series Cruiser was as small as I'd want to go for interior space, but maybe I can get creative and make it work. For $2500, even if it just gets me to and from work in comfort, I really can't be disappointed. From everything I've read, the people who discover Monteros can't say enough great things about them.

What kind of wheeling do you want to pursue with a sport? Trailriding? Extended Overlanding? Rock Crawling?

It's capable of all of that but has limitations depending on what you're doing with it. As for how you build it and what I'd recommend, that really goes back to what you want to do and of course what you want to spend.

Some rigs I've seen that are used straight out of the box with only minor modifications. Others are heavily modified (suspension, armor, etc.) due to the owner's intensions.