H3 Thinking about dismantling my h3 :/ ?

[LagunaH1]

...space is an issue with my truck, but I do drive it as much as possible -- too damn much fun to ignore.

:hans: Yeah! I'm about to go drive mine

 

[Ron B]

:hans: Yeah! I'm about to go drive mine

Pulling siht out of my doghouse to make room for goodies + I just pulled off my 7 yr old rockers -- going to Hummer Dan's this weekend for a new set! Didn't feel like fitting in an ocean container anyways.

 

[06 H3]

I can't really agree that the H3 breaks more then other 4x4s...I have friends in jeeps that have been through trannys, multiple transfer cases and front axles. If your gonna wheel **** will break. Its a fact and if your going to really bulletproof it you will need a lot of $ to make it bulletproof and then you will still probably break stuff. I wheel with a guy running dana60s on a super light TJ and he has broken more axle shafts then anyone I know. My point is stuff breaks, the H3 may break a lot but others break too.
the axle seal is less then 20 bucks. Change it out yourself and that's free. The rack is expensive but for 250 shipped from that guy on ebay is a steal. Those racks are piles of ****. They break....somehow I am on my original with 90k miles. Do I not wheel hard enough?!?

If your gonna sell it and build a new 4x4, like your buddies mud truck just know it didn't come like that. Those axles, lift, and possibly motor (a lot of mud trucks add bigger motors) are added and it will take you time and money to get to that point and you would still want a daily driver seeing a mud truck like the "mud slut" aren't DD worthy for 40 miles one way 5 days a week.

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[cgalpha08]

In my opinion, if you sell the H3 your gunna miss it a lot!! Heck im just missing it right now! When im home for the summer, i drive around a 10 year old suburban, which still runs like new and i love driving it but i would much rather drive my 3. But again like others have said this is your call based on your needs .

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[cgalpha08]

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[backcountryislife]

Hopefully you can find a way to make it work!! They're fun toys, and if you're not needing huge flex in what you do, they work as well as anything else. Seals, broken parts... par for the course. Around here EVERYONE has a jeep in one state of mods or another, I'll say the front axle isn't at the same risk ours are... but they're always having other issues.

I've got a buddy with a cherokee, and literally EVERY time he goes wheeling with me he breaks something trying to keep up, and I even strap him on harder stuff on occasion. he's sitting in his driveway with a flat tire, bent up exhaust, and now he can't come play this weekend... shoulda bought an H3. A buddy put it this way: Jeeps are more "durable", but less reliable... from what I see, that seems pretty fair.

Just coast for a bit, keep from breaking the 3 & get back to a comfortable spot... Then go pound on it & break some REAL stuff so you don't get TOO comfortable!!

The steering rack really is a very easy fix, we just did the 2nd one in mine in about 2 hrs. Find the service manual on it though BEFORE you swap it out, there are some parts to it that aren't obvious (might be to you, wasn't to us)

 

[06 H3]

Hey, I hear rod hall can change em out in 12 minutes :wink: . . .4 hours later.

had to be in moab to understand that one....LOL good times

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[Scarsman]

I agree with the many others here. I would take the time to sit down and really crunch the numbers. I would really look at getting something cheap and good on gas for driving to work. Find something like an old beater Honda that gets over 30 MPG. they run forever and are everywhere! We sat down and did this figuring last winter and ended up getting my wife a car. We calculated the gas saving between it and the H2 for all the running around we do where we don't take the whole family, and it just made sense. Now we only drive the H2 when we all 6 go somewhere. Or I just have to drive my beast! :wink:

On a slightly different note, I have to say it is refreshing to see a 21 year old truly hacking it on his own! Kudos to you! I was driving a rusted out '78 GMC P/U at 21 that I bought and paid for myself. I get tired of seeing 17 to 2X year old kids driving new/near new expensive cars and trucks given to them by their parents. What happened to earning what you have? I work with guys who groan about having to buy their kid a vehicle and how their kid insists on having this or that car for tens of thousands of dollars. I think there is great value in earning what you have and the appreciation that comes with that. My parents didn't give me anything, they taught me how to go out there and work and make it for myself. And that is the best thing they could have ever given me. Ok, I'm off the soap box now! :emb:

I hope you can figure out a way to keep it and make it work. But if not, you know the future is still wide open and you can always do it again!

 

[4speedfunk]

Adding a weird twist to the conversation...

My H3 has been up on jackstands for five months and I miss the hell out of it! Unfortunately, it was more than a couple seals...and I quit counting at five grand. So hang in there...its only money!

 

[backwoods]

If i win the lottery i will pay for 5 hummer buddies to have sokid axle conversions done ....the right way lol

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[kflips]

Adding a weird twist to the conversation...

My H3 has been up on jackstands for five months and I miss the hell out of it! Unfortunately, it was more than a couple seals...and I quit counting at five grand. So hang in there...its only money!

Patient man

 

[Sierra H3]

The old beater backup car/truck concept has panned out well for me too. My 96 Olds V-6 does relatively well on gas and my 85 low mileage F-250 big block pulls my toys/ loads my projects reasonably well. I get out the H-3 to carry the family in style and for some occasional off-road fun. Amazing how cheap the two old ones are for annual registration. The 85 is also simpler/cheaper to repair. Carburetors rule! Damn, the F-250 is now considered a classic and has bottomed out in value, its only up from here! I may turn the olds into a project car for my son - paint, tires, suspension, bucket seats. This is a better solution than buying the next generation something that they won't have real fun with or value/earn. I still smile every time I see a 60s Galaxy/LTD which was my first car.

 

[bebe]

Adding a weird twist to the conversation...

My H3 has been up on jackstands for five months and I miss the hell out of it! Unfortunately, it was more than a couple seals...and I quit counting at five grand. So hang in there...its only money!

Uh yeah - I think Recon and I have those number beat by a bit...not that it matters. We all went different directions.

But I have to say the issues backwoods are having are very minor...time to get some confidence and tools. Go for it Boi - yew can dew it!!

 

[bebe]

If you drove 500 miles per week @$4.50 per gallon

30 MPG = $75.00 x4 = $300 per mo = $3,600 per year = $9.86 a day
20 MPG = $112.50 x 4 = $450.00 per mo = $5,400 per year = $14.79 a day
15 MPG = $150.00 x 4 = $600.00 per mo = $7,200 per year = $19.73 a day

Saving $10.00 a day is not worth the fun you'd be missing IMHO.

 

[backcountryislife]

Boy... maybe it's an altitude thing Beebs.... but my H3 is far from FUN to drive around here :wink: (on the road only I mean!) 35's, soft suspension... road driving it's painful!! I'm SOOOOO happy to get back in my TDI & go rip!! My TDI sucks in the trails though, ya know???

 

[06 H3]

Probably the lack of power at 10,000+ plays a role too

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[Flash]

If you drove 500 miles per week @$4.50 per gallon

30 MPG = $75.00 x4 = $300 per mo = $3,600 per year = $9.86 a day
20 MPG = $112.50 x 4 = $450.00 per mo = $5,400 per year = $14.79 a day
15 MPG = $150.00 x 4 = $600.00 per mo = $7,200 per year = $19.73 a day

Saving $10.00 a day is not worth the fun you'd be missing IMHO.

Absolutely agree here.
My vehicles are daily drivers. If it is fun enough to own, then it is fun enough to drive. One reason I don't have an H1 is that as a daily driver I prefer the H3. I have never been able to afford the luxury of having multiple vehicles "sitting" waiting to be used. I have too many varied interests and thus too many dollars spread out to ever tie up 20-30K sitting in the garage.

Mine is set up pretty mildly - yet has done some pretty serious roading on Drummond Island with lots of H1's and H2's and way more seriously built H3's. I think the H3 is a very versatile vehicle capable of being a fun daily driver and an equally fun off roader.

My vote is to fix it and drive it. Hummer - Like nothing else!

 

[alrock]

I did the math for my own habits a while back. I realize that if I owned a commuter car it would only be for commuting. The weekends, the road trips, etc. would all be in the H3. I only have a 14 mile r/t commute so I'd save 70 miles per week if I owned a commuter car and that savings wouldn't even cover the insurance on a second car, let alone the other ownership costs.

I'd still consider a second vehicle if to reduce the miles on my H3 but that's not a big enough concern for me.

 

[backcountryislife]

Probably the lack of power at 10,000+ plays a role too

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It's conceivable...

Driving my TDI during the week pays for my H3.

42 mpg avg in the TDI, 13-13.5 in the H3, 100 mi/day= $20/day for me saved from the H3, comes out to $400/ mo almost exactly the amount of the H3 payment ! (which is WAY more than the car+ insurance+ maintenance costs)

Running 35's, having no power... the H3 is a BLAST offroad, wouldn't trade it for anything right now, but on road, it's the last vehicle I'd want to be driving. Even in Denver (5000 feet lower)... this thing is painful to drive on the road. I just don't understand the "fun" part of it. What makes it GREAT offroad... makes it suck on road.


so... not driving the h3... pays for the H3:wink:


Obviously TOTALLY situational... a guy with a 10 min commute would be stupid to buy another car to save gas... for me, it makes a huge difference & makes my day much more enjoyable.


:jacked::hans:

 

[bebe]

Boy... maybe it's an altitude thing Beebs.... but my H3 is far from FUN to drive around here :wink: (on the road only I mean!) 35's, soft suspension... road driving it's painful!! I'm SOOOOO happy to get back in my TDI & go rip!! My TDI sucks in the trails though, ya know???

I know I'm not as High as you are - but I'm further north.

I drive 20 miles 1 day a week - I bought another H3 for my DD, but I don't DD. I do have a 7 R/T hour commute on Mondays during the summer, but that's only for 8-10 weeks. The rest of the 42 weeks, the bebemonster only gets driven on weekends. And I do have to run to the Property (another 8Hr R/T) about 2 times a month. So most of my driving is long distance - makes sense for me to have a second car if nothing else it saves on gas and $400+ a piece tires.

 

[backwoods]

If my bike ever gets outa the shop thats my gas saver fill up 2x a week

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[backcountryislife]

I know I'm not as High as you are -

I thought you lived in California????:wink:

:asoff: oh... I'm so funny...

 

[backwoods]

After sitting down and looking at numbers and looking around at cars which the only thing ill drive is a mustang which i dont need cause i have one ... i realized how much i love my rig shes built up by hands and broke my mine as well im a tinkerer always have my mind rolling how i can do something different so on so forth i can fix it and improve it with help of you guys out there ... So im here to stay and owning a hummer is what i will continue todo ...fix it break it mod it break it again ....thanks all for the thoughts and advice and hope to see you on the trails soon

Respectfully
Dwight

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[cgalpha08]

Woo!!

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[06 H3]

Glad to see your gonna keep on modding. Remember, mud sluts are built not bought :hans:

I will never forget the call I had with Tim after I broke a tie rod in the sluice box. I was done and ready to get rid of it...thinking about it I realized how much the hummer has been a part of my life. I love it and even everyone knows me by it. I was impulsive thinking the grass was greener on the other side. To think about it my buddy bent his tie rod in his jeep. I guess carnage happens to the best of us.