So my son broke a timing belt in his 2002 Montero Sport 3.0. Took out a total of 4 intake valves (2 per head). This is my first experience working a Montero but I got it back together and ran into a problem.
It starts and runs for about a 1 to 1 1/2 seconds and shuts off. It shows some characteristics of a leaking head gasket (steaming exhaust, coolant burn smell, and moisture in the oil). my 1st questions is, does the head gaskets have an up/down? Could I have gotten the gaskets incorrect even though I was very particular to make sure passages lined between gasket and head?
I started tearing the engine back down and not I am not completely sold that this may be a head gasket issue, but I am not sure what the problem might be. I know that makes no sense but hear me out.
When I pulled the intake I found 3 intake ports on the head full of coolant. Could I have made a mistake in reinstalling the intake to cause the problem?
Please feel free to ask any questions to clarify what I am trying to explain.
Any and all help is GREATLY appreciated.

 

Not sure if the 3.0 and 3.5L use similar cylinder heads or not.

Here are pictures of the FelPro head gaskets on my 3.5L. See Post 81 of my engine rebuild.
https://mitsubishiforum.com/forum/mi...e9/#post315070

 

Excellent job.

 

When I did my rebuild i had 128,000 and the belt was kinda loose, I knew ti had an interference motor so i did a front and top rebuild. Also I had 100,000 shaved off the head and it was warped just a hair and didn't want to take the chance of failure when i put it back together. This could be your problem seeing as it was compromised to begin with.