2002 Montero Limited 6 cy Engine Problems
 

I have 233k miles on this truck bought it new. Recently had all the gaskets replaced now it's burning white smoke from the tail pipe and burning one quart every 1,000 miles. I had the thermostat, hoses changed and radiator flushed but the temperature gauge reads hot. Diagnostics does not show engine over heating. Can anyone help?

wow! 233 original miles?!?! on a 2002? the truck really had a long life. I have a 2002 limited also, and I just hit 60k miles LOL.

anyways, is there any odd noises from the engine? does it sound fine. so are you ABSOLUTELY sure a blown head gasket is not in the equation? (you did mention no over heating, and all gaskets (assuming head gasket as well) was changed)

check to make sure the engine is in good condition?

It sounds like one or both head gaskets were installed incorrectly. Did YOU install them or a shop? As far as your temperature gauge goes, I have 180000 miles on my 2002 limited and have the same problem. Maybe yours will clear when your head gasket problem is rectified, but everyone that has the temp gauge problem goes to a shop, shop says sending unit. Not the problem, then thermostat. Not the problem, replacing the gauge cluster seems to be the only thing that works. But boy are they expensive. I havent done it yet. But back to your oil consumption, is your oil foamy, white, or strage looking when you check the dipstick? Unfortunately the first place I would look is the head gaskets.

I am very grateful for you taking the time to help. The oil is clean and had been kept changed every 3-5k miles. I see no milky oil but the use of oil is about one quart every 1,000 miles. You can hear the lifters slightly but no real noise.

Response Thank You!
 

I had the gasket work done at the Mitsubishi dealer in Daytona. All the dealers are one hour away and difficult to schedule time with. The over heating problem I took to a local radiator shop. The oil smoke is white and smells of fuel if that makes sense? Thank you very much for your help with this. I plan to walk into the dealer with a solution after speaking with my fellow Mits owners. This truck has given me good service for many years and need it to run just a few more if possible.

white smoke is only produced when coolant is burnt. oil smoke is blue, excessive fuel burning is black smoke. seen a few head gaskets go bad, also seen a few heads develop cracks and leak coolant into the combustion chamber. if your not having to add coolant on a regular basis, its not burning coolant.

My 2002 mitsubishi montero limited, when i start the engine the coolant fill back into the reservoir bottle. This started after an engine severe overheating when the coolant dried up due to leak from two pipes under the car that carries coolant to and from a cooling coil at the back. I have replaced the leaking pipes and there is no more leakage.Is it top cylinder gasket problem?

The same exact thing happened to me in my 03 Limited...it blows white smoke and if you feel the exhaust smoke with your hand it's steamy...gonna monitor it for a few days and see what happens

try to put some "steel seal, blue deavil or the cheapest K-seal"in your coolant.
The first two takes a day to fix the problem because you need to let the seal cure for a quite a good time, and I prefer "K-seal" not because is cheap but because it fixes the problem in a matter of minutes. Good luck to you!

about the smoke and oil burning, as you said that all is normal...oil, coolant etc, maybe I think its the valve seals are shot......now regarding the overheating issue try checking the clutch fan, start the engine and observe the fan if its blowing more air into the engine when revved up, if its not then the clutch fan fails.....that solved my overheating issues....