I'm looking at buying a 2009 H3. I have been reading up on it and the fact that there is a plastic shift fork in the transfer case really bothers me.
My question is: Did GM ever change to a Metal one or was it always a plastic / Nylon shift fork?

Is there anything I should really check out before buying?

Thanks

 

Hello and Welcome to HF.

First, just like being afraid of the boogie man is silly, so is being afraid of the plastic fork.

I have looked, talked with many, used my contacts at GM... there is no Serial # cut off for when the forks were changed due to discovering the problem. The metal fork was designed then available about early 2008, that is when dealers started using them for warranty fixes.

Production of the BW T Cases is a different story. BW eventually switched to the metal fork too, but there was already a bunch of assembled units sent out previously still going into vehicle production that had the old plastic forks and GM was not going to crack open brand new T Cases ready for assembly into new production vehicle just to replace the fork. So..... nobody knows when/what build date that every new H3/H3T had the metal forks. I once was under the impression (made an assumption) that by Jan-Feb 2009 production the switch to metal fork was going into production vehicles, but found out from others that was not true.

Its a role of the dice. Some 2009s have the plastic fork T Cases, others don't. I know I had my early 2007 H3 for 12 years with the plastic fork and never had any issue. Zero. Sold that and now have an 09 Alpha Off Road with no idea which fork is in the T Case. You deal with it when/if it becomes a problem.

 

Thank you for the quick reply - Doc Olds

I guess I'm not to afraid. Used to be a mechanic years ago and I would tackle a fork replacement job before breakfast. Now i'm too old and have to use my credit card instead of my wrench to fix problems. lol

 

How do you know if the fork is still original? If replaced,metal. Mine is still original plastic and I sleep well.

 

I recently (well about 6 months now) had the shift fork replaced by my GM dealer and I can confirm that they replaced the plastic with an aluminum one. I have not had a problem since.

 

after 14 years .... still working fine on my manual 2006