I am considering purchasing a 1990 Montero LS. The guy that owns it claims it overheats and it may be a head gasket. The vehicle has 169K on the OD. Interior is in semi good shape as is the body, just needs some cleaning up.

I will be going by again this week to start it up and was hoping I could get some input on what I might look for. I know I won’t be able to drive it long before it over heats and would like to check out the 4 x 4 to be sure it works....thought I would place cardboard under the front tires to see if the 4 x 4 worked when I accelerated. I don't know if this would be a way to check it, but it is all I can come up with as there is no dirt lot near enough to test it.

I can see where he poured some sort of pellets into the radiator to possibly stop a head gasket leak. I do not know if this will cause even more problems than what it already has, would anyone know?

Also, could anyone advise me as to why they think this vehicle may be over heating?

And what should I watch out for when purchasing one of these vehicles?

Thanks for your help!

 

I bought my montero and it damaged the cylinder heads (hope this is the name in english). When they were fixed it showed that the previous owner had poured some of that sealing liquid to fix it quickly. But the real problem came to me when of the cylinder heads cracked and oil passed to the radiator.It is not cheap. Then after a year the head gaskets failed again and had to fix it again. In my case the engine never heated. As of today after two fixes in my hands the engine works fine and the montero never lets me down. Just my testimony about the head gaskets I do not know much of mechanics