I'm looking to purchase a 2002 Montero Sport ES with an automatic transmission. It has the AWD. Anyway, when I went to look at it I noticed there are 2 different sets of tires on it. A regular street tire on the fronts and an A/T on the rears. They are the same size, but since it is all wheel drive I'm concerned that this may result in an expensive transfer case repair at some point in the future. I didn't measure, but just by looking these tires have very different tread and tread height. It drove fine, I didn't notice any handling or shifting difficulties. Anybody have any experience with a similar issue?

Thanks in advance for any help!