Hi, I heard a fellow Hummer H3 user in southeast asia blew out his front diff in the Malaysian rainforest, after having his traction control cut in and out frequently (he also had his rear fuel cap break off while reversing into a tree branch in the middle of the night - is the rear fender a weak spot too?).

I've been googling the broken front diff stories as well –*have any of you broken your front diff before? Are there aftermarket H3 front diff upgrades/kits?

Or is there a specific driving/gas pedal style that will prevent the front diff blow-out?

Curious, since I haven't taken my H3 off road yet - just want to be fully prepared.

 

Some front diffs are aluminum,can be streached/broke with a heavy foot revving the engine and causing rapid traction control braking,hard to say how hard the driver was abusing the veh.
Back fender plusthe others, plastic,hit a tree, it will give,what else?

 

As Happy3 states, an IFS rig like the 3 needs to be wheeled in a different manner than a solid axle front.

Also, keep in mind that like any other axle assembly made, the bigger and heavier tires you run, the more strain it puts on the gears, housing, and brake system.

 

I have heard of many issues with aluminum front diffs. I have broken my cast iron one but I also broke cvs and tie rods at the same time given the stress I put on the front sus
Ensign coming down on it at the top of a hill. Front diff gears are a weak link, not a fatal flaw. Number of successful attempts by some to replace with non ifs suspensions but I like ifs and keep learning the limits of the H3t

 

The usual way the front diff fails is when the driver uses too much throttle causing wheel spin, then add bouncing the front.

Example: excessive throttle = wheel spin, front end starts bouncing causing the tires to spin, then grab (sudden stopping of the spin), spin then grab...... (this bouncing of the weight on and off the front axle also flexes the aluminum carrier) .......spin then grab = Gears toast.

Avoid front end bounce and too much use of the skinny pedal.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. Will be gentle with the pedal when i'm 4-wheeling the baby.

 

to raise a thread from the grave but I have a 08 alpha does it have an aluminum differential? since I am planning performance mods such as a turbo and shooting for 350whp or closer to 400whp am I asking for a broken differential just due to the power if its aluminum??

 

Without giving the answervaway, the quick way to tell might involve testing it with a magnet

 

I guess that would make sense. however how much abuse can the aluminum differential handle? I'm going for power more than off-roading.

 

You have the cast iron front diff