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Mitsubishi Montero & Montero SportThis sport utility vehicle offers more size than the other Mitsubishi SUVs, but manages to keep a sporty look and comfortable feel, unlike many larger SUVs.
Larry, the posts you link surely sound like they describe what is happening with your vehicle. When you drop the tank, check if its excessively rusty inside. I've dealt with a car (now my daily driver) that would not run at all when I bought it. It turned out that the fuel pump was a solid lump of rust and the inside of the tank was very corroded. Not wanting to splurge for a new tank, I used KBS fuel tank coating to fix the rust in tank. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That stuff worked like magic. I owned the car now for 7 years and there is not a speck of rust in the tank (I know because I had to replace a faulty sending unit, so I got a chance to look inside not long ago).
Thanks Hunter
What are your thoughts on first draining the fuel tank to see what comes out? Any chance it would simply flush the crap out if it were the cause? I read somewhere here to take the fuel cap off so it flows rapidly out the drain.
The drain plug washer appears to be a replacement service item? Am I literally opening up a can of worms fooling with the drain plug?
Larry.....Thats great that your tank has the drain plug. All the older Montero's have drain plugs, and they really come in handy. I have drained 4 old Monteros so far, and never had a problem unscrewing the plug, and always put some anti-seize compound on it when putting back. I probably made a post about draining the tank, and loosening the fuel cap to allow it to pour out faster. But it will be good to see if any rusty crap comes out, or if it is completely clean. Also will greatly lessen the weight of the tank before removing.
Funny you're having issues right now as I am too with my 95. I dropped the tank Friday after draining it. It was NASTY!
After dumping a gallon of Evapo-rust in it and flipping it over and over and over again for 12 hours. I rinsed it out, sucked out any remaining water with my shop vac, then turn the hose on my vac around and let it dry out for about an hour, then added a 1/2 gallon of Denatured Alcohol swished it around and dried it out again. It's still pretty nasty in there, but looks better.
I stuck my phone down in the tank and took a short video if you're interested.
sjeff........yep, its still looking pretty cruddy in that tank. Probably a good candidate for that thick tank coating stuff.
One trick that I use when cleaning the rust out of motorcycle gas tanks, is just 100% pure apple cider vinegar. I try to do gas tank cleaning in the hot summer, and fill up the tank with vinegar and then sit in the hot sun for 3-4 days. Then dump all the vinegar and crud out into a 5 gallon bucket, strain it, and pour back in again and soak longer if needed. Then dump half out and add 50 metal washers and slosh/bang those around for 10 minutes, and they really do a good job at "washer-blasting" any remaining loose crud. Flush with water, then add a cup of baking soda and a gallon of water and let that soak awhile to neutralize the acid. Flush out, then use a hairdryer to purge out remaining moisture (with petcock off to help with air flow). I then add either diesel or cheap motor oil to keep the tank from rusting again, and the oil stays in the tank unless its a bike I plan to use.
With the big Montero tank, the vinegar might be a bit pricey...20 odd gallons. So that chemical tank liner might be the way to go.
sjeff........yep, its still looking pretty cruddy in that tank. Probably a good candidate for that thick tank coating stuff.
One trick that I use when cleaning the rust out of motorcycle gas tanks, is just 100% pure apple cider vinegar. I try to do gas tank cleaning in the hot summer, and fill up the tank with vinegar and then sit in the hot sun for 3-4 days. Then dump all the vinegar and crud out into a 5 gallon bucket, strain it, and pour back in again and soak longer if needed. Then dump half out and add 50 metal washers and slosh/bang those around for 10 minutes, and they really do a good job at "washer-blasting" any remaining loose crud. Flush with water, then add a cup of baking soda and a gallon of water and let that soak awhile to neutralize the acid. Flush out, then use a hairdryer to purge out remaining moisture (with petcock off to help with air flow). I then add either diesel or cheap motor oil to keep the tank from rusting again, and the oil stays in the tank unless its a bike I plan to use.
With the big Montero tank, the vinegar might be a bit pricey...20 odd gallons. So that chemical tank liner might be the way to go.
Yeah, it's still pretty bad, but I put in a gallon of gas today and then drained it out and it was 1000 times cleaner than before. Someone on the Montero Facebook page recommended finding an old style radiator shop and they might be able to clean and coat it. I'm going to check into that.
sjeff35 - thanks for sharing the video. That is pretty cruddy tank you got there. You can see how badly rusted the sending unit is. It will fall off one of these days. I think my tank on my E30 was just as bad or worse. I used gravel instead of metal washers for my tanks internal "rock blasting".
Larry - i think draining the tank is a great idea. But I wouldn't hold much hope for getting the fuel pump sock getting cleaned out that way. If you had a way to vigorously shake the whole car as you are draining fuel, then perhaps the agitation motion of the fuel would dislodge some of the crud, but just passively draining the tank will not do it. It will make the tankj lighter to jostle around... In addition to that, we don't know if it is just the filter sock that is plugged or if the whole fuel pump is giving up.
sjeff35 - thanks for sharing the video. That is pretty cruddy tank you got there. You can see how badly rusted the sending unit is. It will fall off one of these days. I think my tank on my E30 was just as bad or worse. I used gravel instead of metal washers for my tanks internal "rock blasting".
I've ordered a new sending unit. As soon as I saw it I knew I needed another one.
Thanks for the feed back guys, it seems like I am on the right track and others have been similarly unfortunate. Was not able to fool with the Montero yesterday.
I have ordered a new fuel pump assembly that was shown in the video. I figure if I will be pulling the tank, I may as well replace it all while there. I ordered an Airtex E8439H Fuel Pump Hanger Assembly.
Yes the drain plug (assuming its there as per the manual) will surely aid in reducing the weight of the tank. ETA for pump assembly is not till 9/10-13 so it looks like the Montero will be down for awhile (not real interested in having daughter stranded again...).
I have not been able to find the Mitsubishi part number for the fuel tank drain plug washer. The online parts books only get me to the tank assembly which is still available for $880 +/-. The fuel pump assembly is also available for $460 +/- while the aftermarket one I bought was $200.
Larry.......The gas drain plug bolt on my 94 Monteros were steel, and I believe they had a copper washer. I just smeared some anti-corrosion paste on the threads and did not go crazy Arnold Swartzernagier when tightening them, and not a single leak. I suppose you could use some teflon tape on the threads if you wanted to.
That price of 460 for a fuel pump assembly is just highway robbery. My brother has a 98 Monty, and he found a pump for a Monty Sport for $60 (on ebay or amazon), and he shortened the length and did some tweeking, but got it to work fine.
