Quote Originally Posted by noahwins View Post
Another tip, the 2.0 and the 2.6 like to overheat and blow heads, especially the 2.6. If you're mucking around with the fan shroud, consider upgrading to an aluminum or oversized radiator, and an electric fan pulling the most CFM you can find. And depending on the climate in Tennesse, consider running water and Water Wetter. Replace that water pump. You really can't cool these engines enough. You might get a nice power bump and better MPG with the electric fan, too, depending on your daughter's driving style.
I know exactly what your talking about. The whole story behind this is that I got it from a guy I know that purchased it from someone else. The other people put a head gasket on it and it still ran hot. The guy I know tore it down to fix it and found a place in the head. He was going to scrap it. My daughter wanted a land rover, out of my price range. Took her to look at the montero, and she really liked it. So I got it and it's been sitting for awhile. Sent the head to headworks of nashville to be repaired. A month later got it back with a note that said they couldn't repair it. So talked to a guy with connections with motor parts and he was ordering me a head. He found two complete 2.6 engines for me for 400$. So I took two and made one. The blocks are different where the trans bolt on. Had to use the montero block and the other head. Anyway, sorry for the long post. I have had my toyota engine and carb all apart, but this has been a learning experience for me. Wish I found you guys earlier!