Frame swap on a 08 h3 alpha

[ucalall]

It has been determined that my '08 H3 Alpha adventure is in need of a new frame (rusted out). There are not many alpha frames on the market. I see there are far more i5 frames on the market, can I just use one of those?

 

[650Hawk]

My guess is that the only changes would be in the front motor mount area, but not sure. I do know that the firewall in the Alphas was pushed back a bit for the V8 to fit, but not sure if that also translated into any changes on the frame.

 

[atvspeed4]

There are a few changes but biggest would just be getting motor mount adapters like the ones current performance sells.

 

[TD-5]

Looking at the GM parts listings, there were 5 different frames for the Hummer H3,
#19256809 - 2006-2007 3.5 & 3.7
#19210038 - 2008 3.7 - all
#19210039 - 2008 - 2010 Alpha
#25841058 - 2009 - 2010 Alpha
#25841059 - 2009 - 2010 - 3.7 all
The replaceable frame components fit all the frames, so the differences must be in the motor mount support locations and possibly the transmission cross member mounting location. It is interesting that they list two updated frame part #'s for 2009 - 2010, 1 for Alpha, and 1 for the I-5, and yet Pt#19210039 is good for all Alpha's 2008 - 2010.
Most likely there is something unique about the 2009-2010 frames that support the H3T version.

 

[ucalall]

Yea, there's a frame from an '06 that's nearby and priced well, so I'm hoping I can make it work without too much trouble. Thanks guys!!

 

[Jeepwalker]

If you buy it, let us know what differences you found

 

[Acer4LO]

To be honest, it's probably not gonna be worth the trouble unless you have like 20K worth of modifications invested into it. You should just scrap it. That's the end. Nothing you can do. Paying for a frame swap from a shop is not going to be cheap and makes no financial sense whatsoever. It's gonna be a minimum of $10,000 to $20000 for a shop to do it. Also, you are going to have to look super hard to try to find a shop that would be willing to take on that kind of a project. You can buy a 2008 H3 Alpha these days for 10 grand if you come across a good deal. If you were thinking of doing it yourself, technically it's possible, but it's impractical. You see, the frame is not the expensive part. That's cheap. You probably can get one for like $500-$1500. Heck, one time I saw a H3 frame for free. The problem starts when you try to take off a lot of the parts off the old frame and put it on the new frame. Some of them are going to be broken and some should just be replaced anyway. This turns into a game of: "might as well replace this as long as I have easy access to it and I'm doing it anyway". New brake lines, fuel pump, bearings, joints, etc. Not to mention, if your frame is that rusty, you will be fighting tooth and nail for to remove every bolt. Also, some of these new parts you’ll need to replace literally don't exist anywhere anymore and have been discontinued. That is the thing with the Hummer H3. Its shares very very very few parts with any other GM vehicle. Almost all the parts are unique to the H3 and are non-interchangeable with other vehicles. Let's not forget how long this going to actually take you to do if you decide to do it yourself. I estimate 8 months if you work on it weekends or 1 month if you work on it full time. If you were able to find a used entire rolling chassis, that could make a little bit more sense, but those are harder to come by. In terms of actual differences between the Alpha vs I5. There are not that many, so that is not really going to be a problem. But yeah, for most people, it makes no sense.

 

[Jeepwalker]

I agree a guy could get carried away. But depends how he goes about it. OTOH, new parts will make it drive & handle better. IDK about 8 months. It could be, like you say, if he gets carried away. It's really hard to stay on a job like that if you have kids at home and a wife/family, etc. I might have to do that on mine. The inside of the pass side i discovered has pretty bad rot on mine. Or I might just buy a lower mile rust-free job down S.

He could pull off the front fenders, unhook the misc stuff & lift the body/engine with a 2-post hoist. Roll the frame out right out and under. Swap the stuff over. Me and a guy completely removed the cab, body, Engine & box off a (wrecked) 4dr 4x4 high-end Chevy dually, back in the day. The guy I worked for hit ice and nailed a concrete bridge with it. We cut & removed the front half of the frame, Z-welded the new (good) front frame section on. Had the engine rebuilt, put on new header panel, inner fenders, new front sheet metal, glass, lot of new parts ....put er all back together & painted er up (in the booth). I think it was 1.5-2 months of not full-time work. We had other projects we were working on. But this other guy and I worked real well together. We just knew what each other were doing and that can make a job go real quick. But yeah we had a lot of hours into it. Came out sharp. Owner drove it for 10 years or more afterwards. It was a pretty valuable truck (at the time). And sentimental to the owner. He wasn't worried about resale/payback. We used to do a lot of rebuilders and frame work back then.

Hopefully the rest of the OP's H3 is in good cond. Yer right, if you have to pay someone to swap the frame over that could add up quick.

 

[ucalall]

Yes the body is in great shape, got a good deal on the vehicle, so there is some room to spend before it goes into negative equity. It has been very difficult to find a mechanic willing to take on this project, I've got 1 so far after talking to about 25. He is quoting 6-8k for the labor and there is a potentially viable frame close by.

 

[Jeepwalker]

You're probably better off taking your truck to a welding shop and have them price out the cost to piece in new steel. That's not as difficult as you might think. That should be a LOT cheaper. If you have to pay a shop, it's going to cost you a bundle and I'm going to agree with Acer4Lo that it's not worth it. And you are for sure going to get into scope-creep ..new this and that and next thing you know you have $10k into getting a frame under it.

I was thinking you'd do it yourself. You're better off buying a one-way $400 plane ticket to Orlando ...have some fun at Disney, then buy a rust-free H3 and drive it home. Then get it fully undercoated and spray inside the frame with oil every couple years to keep it from rusting. It works ...I have land-rovers that are well "rust-proofed" ...lol, if you get my drift. Use your existing one as parts.

 

[Can007]

Really solid advice everyone. Buying another Alpha is the way to go.

1. You will have access to additional parts.
2. You can always sell parts
3. Overall cost will be very close to project that you have in mind.

 

[4speedfunk]

I currently have three customers looking for solid frames (or sections thereof). H3s are RUSTY vehicles.

 

[Happy Hummer]

I think Acer4Lo gave a pretty complete answer.

 

[jcam]

After reading these posts I see I'm not the only one with significant frame rust. I'm taking mine to a welder to have the repairs done but we're looking for the front left body mount bracket since that rusted out also. Does anyone know where I can get replacement body mount brackets?

 

[Sbc350_h3]

After reading these posts I see I'm not the only one with significant frame rust. I'm taking mine to a welder to have the repairs done but we're looking for the front left body mount bracket since that rusted out also. Does anyone know where I can get replacement body mount brackets?

Your welder should be able to fabricate a perch for the body mount. Pretty straight forward .

 

[650Hawk]

Glad I live on the west coast. Zero rust on my chassis.

 

[jcam]

Your welder should be able to fabricate a perch for the body mount. Pretty straight forward .

I purchased a body mount bracket from Summit Racing for $100. Here's a picture of the rot behind the old bracket.

 

[Teahead]

I would just buy ANY frame that's local and not bent/rusted.

When you take off the old one, compare the differences between the old frame and new one and make any mods to the new one. Can't be THAT many differences.

 

[4speedfunk]

Sbc350's comment "Your welder should be able to fabricate a perch for the body mount. Pretty straight forward." is a good assessment. However, you must have something to actually weld-to! My experience with patching H3 frames is that you just keep blowing holes thru rotten metal every time you try to weld-on a patch. You end up going further up the frame to find solid metal that can accept a weld, and sometimes you simply run out of real estate. All the rotten frames I have seen, seem to be consistently rotten. That is...they are rotten everywhere.

Swapping a frame is a huge ordeal but, I know a local guy here in Indiana that is doing it right now. He has access to a four-post lift, and he sent me some photos of the body suspended up in the air. Roll the old rotten chassis out from under it...roll the new rust-free one in. Sit the body back down. Simple right? Haha...wishful thinking! Like most projects...you always end up finding more work than originally planned for. His intentions were just to replace the frame but, the donor frame is from a 5-cyl and the rotten frame is from an Alpha. Because of this drivetrain difference, he also has to swap out the exhaust system, motor mounts, and axles (due to the difference in gearing). I personally like the idea of using the 4.56 axles already in place under the rust free 5-cyl. chassis. But, that would mean giving up the cast-iron front diff under the Alpha...so that's a judgment call on which he thinks is more important (gearing or housing strength).