I've bought my 2006 Hummer h3 last year and have loved the thing since purchase. Recently my vehicle started pouring out white smoke out the back so I sent it into a mechanical to get it diagnosed and learned the seals ruptured in the engine and it will need to be replaced.

I'm in need of advice of what to do as I learned for them to put a refurbished engine in it will cost me $9500. I've been wanting to do some customization on the vehicle and would love to put a diesel engine in it.

I came to this forum which I lurk on to see if anyone has ideas that would be more beneficial to me for the $9500 for a engine swap. Any ideas will be much appreciated!

 

Welcome to HF. There are other threads on this topic, the SEARCH functions is your friend.

Why don't you ask your mechanicals people what "seals ruptured" because I'd love to hear that one. $9500 is WAY, ..... way overcharging for a motor replacement unless it is brand new and gold plated.

The 06 came with an I5, and an engine compartment built around that, that limits the realistic options. You could have a used low miles 3.7L swapped in for the tired 3.5L at appx half your quote.

You'd be about the second guy on the planet to put a diesel in an H3 and it would be much more than twice what your quote was just for starters. You could hire out a V8 swap for around $14-16K, but it would be chained to your neck when you try to sell it.

I would suggest running (fast) from the mechanical people that already looked at it and go to a reputable full service shop for a second and real opinion.

 

Thanks for welcoming me.

I got the quote today and instantly thought it was higher than it should've been. I was thinking of trying to get something to replace the I5 and have seen different build ideas and since this would be the first time something like this has happened to me.

Completely understandable. The diesel was a out of the park idea and thought i would throw it out to see what people would think. Once in finished with work I'm going to get the specifics of what's actually wrong.

 

Check these out:

5 cylinder 118,000 mile engine/trans
3.5L 5 cylinder engine 118,000 mile(can hear it run)

 

A 3.7L swap will be your best bet, and a true 10% bump in power (even before adding a header, PCM tune, exhaust, etc.) Should be an easy plug and play. PCM updates for the new motor and you are back on the road. It could be done on a long weekend by a motivated crew in the driveway. Myself, I would spread it out over two weekends and buy some BBQ and beer for the pit crew.

 

Nice links Halo! That last one, for $1100, gets you engine, trans, t-case & rear axle...****, I might have to buy that for a spare everything on my son's H3...

 

Agree with rsc on the 3.7 swap. Just do a search on the forum. If I am not mistaken an '08 is pretty much a drop in and go. Newer 3.7's may require new PCM and wiring harness. These newer vehicles don't like engine swaps. You might end up using some sort of stand alone computer and having to permanently disable things like stability and traction control. Then you might need another stand alone for the transmission. Do some serious research.

 

Thanks for the finds. Those both look great already. I plan on getting the h3 out of the shop on Monday since they won't give me a full diagnostic report and just keep telling me its a problem with the gaskets and seals.

I'm currently doing as much research as I can and currently I am leaning towards a 3.7l. I appreciate all the ideas guys and am currently scouring multiple forums for ideas.