Sorry to post such a newbie question but searching this forum with these terms resulted in too many hits to be meaningful.

I am looking at a few Montys from 2002-2004 and see the 3.0, 3.5 and 3.8 engines. I'm skeptical of the data I found.

It would be so helpful to know which years & trims came with which size engines.

Thanks.

 

The 2004 Monty I am looking at has "LS" on the tailgate. When searching for parts, the choices I see for the 2004 Montero Sport are "Limited Sport" and XLS Sport, both listed as having 3.8L engines.

Does "LS" mean "Limited Sport"? I've usually seen only "LS" listed as a trim, this is the first time I've seen "Limited Sport" listed.

Thanks.

 

Nope, "LS" is just a trim level. At least since 2000, full size Monteros came in "Limited", "XLT" and "LS" trims (LS being lowest/least expensive). Can't really help you with engine sizes. You can try to do a VIN decoding on couple of them and see if different trims would come with specific engine sizes according to that.

 

Is there anywhere to find years, trims, options in one place?

Decoding VIN gives mixed, conflicting and missing results across different decode services. For example I've found listings where LS can be found with 3.0 and 3.5 engines in the same year.

Open to recommendations of a reliable decode service. (Not just Google results--I know the services, I'm looking for a personal, experience-based recommendation.)

 

What do you mean by "full size Monteros"? Is there a mini version?

 

Do all Monty Sports have rear disc brakes? My VIN decode information says no, all have drum brakes. Which I doubt.

Thanks.

 

In most auto manufacturers, you have a model name and a badge "Sport" is applied to a limited number of vehicles with some sporty upgrade. In case of Mitsubishi Montero, they are actually two completely different body styles and different size vehicles.
There are those that are called a "Full Size" Montero. They look like these: https://s.aolcdn.com/commerce/autoda...s/10MIGEF2.jpg
Then there are Montero Sport. They look like this: https://www.cstatic-images.com/car-p...is021a0101.png
As you can see - they are VERY different. This example is for the latest generation of them. Earlier models look a little different, but still Montero Sport is different from just Montero.
The biggest confusion comes from people who sell them wanting to make the car sound better and so they end up calling Montero Sport - Montero (not knowing that it is a different body style) and some who are selling full size Montero call theirs a Montero Sport (as in - it has a "special sport package" - total BS btw).
I think to help your situation you need to search the web for sales brochures from previous years of Monteros. There are lots of them out there and you might be able to put together enough information as to what trim in what year comes standard with a specific engine and which ones have an optional one. Here is an example of what I mean: Auto-Brochures.com|Mitsubishi Car & Truck PDF Sales Brochure/Catalog/Flyer/Info Diamante Eclipse Eclipse Cross Endeavor Galant i-MiEV Lancer Montero Montero Sport Outlander It will take some elbow grease or rather sore fingertips to do this, but it's one way to do it.