Hello all,

My name is Kevin and I am new to this forum. Like everyone else I have always wanted a H2 but could never afford one. LOL I still can't but at this point in my life I want to realize my dream of ownership. I have been looking for several months, and off and on for years. There is a very nice high mileage one near me. This will not be driven much so I am not too afraid of high miles or MPG. But at 185,000 miles this has me worried. I know they can go upwards to 300,000 miles so not too worried. The transmission has not been replaced though. This is my biggest fear. The list price is $14,777. The truck is in very nice condition otherwise. Can anyone give me any advice on the transmission especially? I have a 2005 Escalade with 197,000 miles without a hiccup.

Any advice would be most welcome,

Kevin

 

If you're not going to drive it much then why buy it in the first place. Cars are ment to be driven, that's my opinion... moving on. If you're hardly going to drive it then the transmission will last years.
If the transmission was going to die anytime soon you would be able to tell on a test drive. If it has problems like slipping when changing gears or problems finding a gear, really slow and sloppy shifts. To check for this, drive it hard and mean, it should shift hard and presises. Make it shift up and down. If you dont feel anything odd then the transmission is fine. If you buy it then have the transmission serviced it will make a big difference in extending the life and make it work better. It may have another 100,000 miles left or it may only have 20,000. Just depends on how well you take care of it and how well it was taken care of previously.

For the most part its gonna be a lot like the Escalade except more off road oriented. By that I mean repairs and maintenance. What I said apply to the 4 speed only. The 6 speed doesnt always give a problem before it gives out. I havent had much experience with the 6 speed.

I am like you though, soon I'm gonna get one and I started a thread a few weeks ago talking about buying one and such. I have come to the conclusion that if you're gonna buy a high mileage one then you need to be prepared to use the savings to fix the problems that come with the age like transmission and engine troubles.

 

The point is, you are looking at vehicles that are between 10 to 16 years old depending on the year you buy. They are aged vehicles are WILL have problems. I have put a large sum of money into my rig for not only repairs but preventative replacement parts so something doesn't fail on the trails--that is coming from someone who doesn't really do any hardcore offroading. You can search the forums for any questions you are looking for. There has been in influx lately of new members not willing to search. This same question has been asked constantly over the years.

 

I purchased a 2003 with 207k miles on it about 2 months ago. I am from the north east so not a good environment for GM trucks because of the road salt. I have no service history on it. so far the engine runs strong. I have had to put in a great deal of elbow grease so far though. so far I had to rebuild the dash cluster, change the shift cable and shift link on the transmission as it was so rotted that the bushing would not stay on any more. that was within the first week of owning it. transmission shop charged 550$ to repair. they had to go into the transmission to replace the shaft that holds the shift link because the nut that held it on was seized but on a good note they said the transmission was either already serviced or replaced recently. I had to replace the front joule stops the from shocks from stabilizer links and the steering damper. it looked like inner and outer tie rods, lower control arms and upper balljoint have been replaced also the idler arm and pitman arm. on the rear suspension I had to replace springs, spring isolators, shocks, rear stabilizer bushes and links, and the traction bar. the rear jounce stop cups have rotted clear off the frame rails I need to figure out something there. I'm probably just going to order some Sierra 1500 leaf spring ones that have a bolt and try bolt them onto where the factory frame mounted ones once lived. I also had to replace the rear diff cover its bolts and the gasket and 3 liters of fresh synthetic gear oil that ordeal cost another 1260$ while I was down there I hammered and chipped about 20 pounds of rust scale from the chassis my tow hitch frame has a pretty sizable hole in it after knocking off the scale but the rest of the frame has been solid so far according to my hammer LOL treated it with rust restorer then hit it with rustoleum black paint. the list of repairs keep growing though. my passenger rear parking cable is shot and I think the rest inside the disc rotor might be seized idk as I have been battling suspension so far and rust. both my rocker protect bars are pretty much Swiss cheese. my rear drivers door has some rusting on the lower edge. engine runs very well at 207k miles but my exhaust manifolds are so rusted the heat shields are non existent. also rear drivers side manifold bolt seems to be missing but I guess the rust is sealing it quite well for now so avoiding disturbing it for now as that will be a huge can of worms once it gets disturbed. there are oil leaks in the engine bay I have not been able to find the source of so probably coming from under the intake manifold or valve covers or oil pan or most likely all of the above with the luck I'm having which in that case then thrown in the rear main seal hahaha. I believe I might also have the luxury of having to replace the power steering pump as it seems a bit wet and steering could be a bit smoother during parking maneuvers. so maybe now you might have an idea of things to look for and learn from my experience. but I really enjoy the truck daily. would have been nice if the drivers heated seat worked but the rest of my passengers can enjoy warm bums. the inside dash panels get a bit worn with age as do the radio buttons and anything on the dash that has a light bulb half probably won't light up. I had to repaint all my grey dash panels that hold the vents and the center console and rear vent panel. the radio I ordered a kit for like 40 bucks that had all the buttons for the 6cd changer radio so that also looks new again. ahh and also I almost forgot. had to seal the 4 corner driving lights on the roof as I kept finding my floors moist after rainy days. I'm sure there will be more to come but ill tackle those too as time progresses I guess.

 

ps forgot to mention check the 12 body bushes as well as you can as most of my lower bolts and washers had also disintegrated 3 where non existent.

 

BowerPower, I bought my H2 and used it for my daily driver for years, two years ago I parked it and drive it once or twice a year now to keep the fluids and fuel fresh. If it wasn't for people like me then there would not be any low mileage cream puffs for sale. My old Vette gets driven about a 100 miles a year as well. When I was 18 it was my only form of transportation.

 

I know, I know. I just dont see the point in having a car if you're not going to use it at least semi often. I feel bad because my Corvette doesn't get any attention right now. It sits under a tarp at my parents house. I used to take it out every weekend. You can still have a nice vehicle without only driving it twice a year. I guess I'm ok with it as long as stuff doesnt deteriorate from sitting. Lol not that what I think matters to other people.

 

I commute to work so my main transportation is a commuter car with good fuel mileage. The H2 for me comes out on the weekends for local trips. If I won the lottery my H2 would definitely be my daily driver. But until then....

 

Thank you for all of the replies. The not driving it much is relative. I do not have a commute to work so it will be a weekend and trip driver. I'm not worried about piling up the miles, I just don't want to have to put a tom of money into it. I'll be giving up a cream puff of a Corvette C5 so I want to be comfortable with what I buy. I have searched but it is nice to hear from people once in a while. Thanks again,

Kevin