First of all, greetings from Slovenia! Not a natural habitat of any Hummer, so support at local mechanical shops is virtually nonexistent. I've recently bought a 2006 H3, 3.5 i5, VIN 5GTDN136968246413. Not sure about the package, as it has heated leather seats (which i think are part of a lux package) and rear locker, which i thought are telltale sign of adventure package.

My problem is with the offroad ability/behaviour. While the rear locker works fine, i thought the traction controlled brakes apply brakes to the front spinning wheel, transfering torque to the wheel with grip. In some moderate offroading i did in the previous days i figured out the front wheel keeps spinning, without any torque transferered to the wheel on the ground.

Can there be a problem with traction control system? Any way to diagnose and fix this? Currently it seems that as soon as i have one front wheel in the air i am basicly left with 2wd/rwd car.
There are no messages pointing to the faulty TCS, stability is turned off as i shift into 4LOW. I have no idea even if stability. traction control and ABS works at all - i never hear the ABS module working on hard breaking, but there is no dash lights or messages connected to mentioned systems.

I've tried searching the forums for some conclusive information on the topic, but were unable to find any, so any and all help would be much appreciated!

 

I've done more tests today. It turns out, in some positions while in 4Low and rear locked, NONE of the front wheels are turning while both the back ones are spinning.

If i understand this correctly, 4LOW = middle differential locked = 50/50 front/rear distribution, so at least one of the front wheels should spin at all times, is that correct?

If that is the case, what can be the problem? In some wheel positions one or both of the front wheels spin, but in some positions i've caught the back two spinning and front two only twitching.

 

Furhter tests revealed that TCS system works as intended, and what is not working is locking the middle differential (in transfer case?). When going from 4Hi to 4Hi locked and to 4Low there is no problem, Transfer case shifts to low gears and all. There doesnt seem bo be any middle lock tho. Performing sharp turns produce no rubbing/skipping of any wheels and no binding felt in the stering wheel like i experienced in other four by fours.

Can the problem be caused only by a bad transfer case fork? Should i go on and order one before seeing what is inside the TC?
I have limited options and want to optimize the times the car will be at the shop, and i need to come with the knowledge beforehand as there is no specialists near me.

 

Sounds like a T Case fork issue. Google it, there is lots of helpful info out there.

Good luck