New to our family is a 2005 Montero Limited. We have been looking for a nice clean used Montero Gen 3 for about 6 months and finally found an "acceptable" one owner (female) truck last week with 78K miles. I am planning on a simple expedition type build as this truck will also be my daily driver, retiring my Gen 1 to weekend duty and finally finishing all the upgrades planned for it.
So here goes for the Gen 3: Tires are first. I know that tire size of 265/65R/17 are stock. I am planning on 285/70R17 for the upgrade. I posted separately about possible maximum tire sizes for this rig as stock lift and only post reply was 265/75R/17. After visual investigation, these seem a bit small for this truck and want to fill the wheel wells with more rubber. The 285 tires measure a hair under 33" tall and certainly should fit. Hey if the 285 series rub a little OME makes 1 1/2" raised coils for this truck and all 4 can be to my door for under $400. Very soon - or simultaneously will be shocks. Who makes replacements? I found Bilsteins for $418 shipped what about KYBs unless I am looking in the wrong places not to be found... Again may need to turn to OME although they generally get a bad rap, similar price as the Bilsteins. After these improvement I'll focus on some interior bits like a GPS or Android tablet and some way to interface my iPod to the current sound system. (any ideas? geez a 6 +1 CD changer such obsolete tech already). Lastly - being the Limited has an "open" rear differential I'll look on adding either a Locker or Limited slip from an earlier year Gen 3 XLS. Hey - I have a Gen 2 - 9.5" Locker 3rd member sitting in my garage - can the center carrier guts be swapped into the Gen 3? I'll also assume the StarQuest 8" LSD will fit in the front. That is all for now except for the pic (day 1)...

nice clean looking truck. Let us know how she does on the trip. I have been looking for one of those trucks to get as my DD.

01-02 Limited had an LSD also. Gen 2 third member will not work nor will the 8" Starquest.

Good luck and I hope your pockets are deep. Oh, make sure the timing belt has been done! If not, you're 18K overdue.

Good looking truck. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> I hope it suits you well.

I can't really help much on the lockers or LDSs for that thing as my experience is mostly with Gen I's. However, I would caution you not to be so quick to scrap the CD changer in lieu of an MP3 device and certainly not an iPod. Apple's compression algorithm is terrible and best and a joke in the extreme. MP3s compressed smaller than 320bps become so lossy that you're missing some of the parts that are most pleasing to the ears.

Spin those discs if you still have them. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I agree, that is a great looking color on the Montero.



I certainly agree with Ed on principle and my $.02 would be...

Depending on your audio system and your own hearing/hearing loss (sorry, that usually does come with age) you have to check for yourself if you can really hear the difference. I know with my iPod/USB memory stick, Pioneer Premium deck, & Infinity Speakers I have to listen very, very closely to notice the difference between a CD and an MP3. Plus there's a far smaller difference when driving with typically louder MT tires.

That said, most systems that support an iPod will also support any USB music device and also off the shelf USB memory devices (4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, etc.). If your deck supports this too then just rip your CD's to MP3 with a high enough sampling rate and use USB memory instead of an ipod. This way, you don't risk destroying your ipod off road and if your rig is ever broken into, you only loose a cheap usb momory device versus an iPod.

This coming from the guy that's tried all the above. HTH!
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cyclops.gif" alt="" />

Good advise, indeed.

I'll readily admit that I'm a snooty SOB when it comes to tunes. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> I hear everything and, except for the odd pops and crackles, would still rather listen to a record than a CD; and a CD over MP3s or an iPod (I might be the only person in the world that doesn't own one for personal use).

Perhaps it's a character flaw... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

SOB=Audiophile=Nit Picky <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I know what you mean. I'm a recovering Audiophile myself. Started a business in my teens selling stereo's. Bought them via mail order and then sold & installed them for our clients.

My ultimate dream system in the early 80's was a Macintosh Vacuum tube Amp & Pre-Amp, Nakamichi 1000ZX tape deck, A component turntable with a Shure V15 Type IV cartridge and the Infinity 4 tower speaker system (don't recall the model any more). For dance music, I also wanted a pair of Klipsch LaScala's. Yes, this was before CD's came out. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" /> (I need an OLD Man emoticon <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />)

Edit: Oh and before I forget, TDK MA-XG metal tape cassettes with the metal alloy housing/casing.

I have a pair of Magneplanar MG-1's, if you know what those are.

And I used to have a cassette deck with dbx noise reduction.

I wish I realized what I was doing years ago when I started downloading all my music from the internet. Now I'm stuck with a whole lot of music at 128k. Yuck.

John B.

Ah, my fellow audiophiles...

I know we are steering a bit off topic, but I too am very picky about mp3 conversion/bit rates and the like. In order to not have to carry all of my CDs around, I use a burning software called Exact Audio Copy. It is an open source and free software that uses a variable bit rate when converting waveform to mp3. Uses a higher bitrate when the music is more complex, and a lower bitrate when it is not needed. The mp3 file created is maybe 10%-20% larger than a standard mp3 file, but the sound is far superior, and is very difficult in most cases to distinguish from the CD wave file. My .02.

Back on topic, nice looking ride! Looking forward to see what you do to it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I can't argue that, so I won't. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />




A lofty goal, to be certain...even by today's standards. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> I have to tell you a funny story and I hope the OP will forgive me for quasi-hijacking his thread... Several years ago, I had a turntable cartridge fail on me. Although Circuit City was on its last leg, I'd bought cartridges from them before and hopped in my truck to go do so again. Upon getting there, I talked to some snot-nosed kid who had no idea what I was asking for (i.e. turntable cartridge), so I asked to see a manager. Well, a slightly older snot-nosed kid showed up and told me that if the cartridge was worn out, so was the turntable and advised that I needed to buy a new one. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> The one good thing that came of it was that I abandoned the notion of fulfilling my quest at the "box" stores and called a guy who owns a high-end stereo shop. He introduced me to Grado cartridges.

My old records have never, ever sounded as good.

@JBP. Take heart, brother. I'll wager that much of what what you downloaded in the "early days" was stuff you'd wanted from days gone by. Am I right? The chances are good that most of that stuff didn't have production assets that were stellar anyway. Rendering them to MP3 might have taxed them a little, but not a lot. You might be better off than you think. Besides, you don't have to satisfy anyone but yourself. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />