I Need Help on Purchasing a 99 Open Top
 

Hello everyone, I'm in the process of purchasing a 99 Open Top - 43 K Miles. Need a little help please. Test drove it ran very good, alignment was off, and trans made a light thump noise when I coasted and also when I would get back on the accelerator. Wasn't bad, Could it be the trans mount or something more serious? Don't know if the engine was replaced how can I tell? Had it on a lift and noticed there were some small leaks - hoses from engine, trans, and crank case, The seals looked good visually. Possibly weathered hoses? What problems should I look for ? How do I locate a good inspection service in the Philadelphia, PA area? Any feed back would be greatly appreciated - Thank You .

If it is the one at Car Vision you might want to check the front passenger brake assembly, also. There looks to be a good bit of grease/oil on it and I could not tell where it was coming from from a quick look. The castings on it also indicated it was an updated block from what I could tell. That leak looked to be red in color. T-case or trans fluid. You might want to check the ball joint and steering assembly on it. The carfax does not have service info on it. Hopefully the sales guys take you seriously. They blew me off.

I would also be interested in who could inspect in the Philly area.

The clunk is fairly normal. All my H1s do it. Without crawling underneath it is hard to comment on the leaks. If they are coming from hoses they are generally inexpensive to fix. If you have seals, gaskets, etc those get more expensive. If you get the VIN Lynch or Tustin Hummer will run the service history for you. They should be able to pull up at least all of the warranty service history.
Go to www.Humvee.net and post that you need someone in the PA area to inspect the truck with you. I am sure someone there can help you with the inspection or a good lead on someplace to get it inspected.
It would be wise to pay a certified H1 mechanic an hours labor to do an inspection for you if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself.
The steering could be tie rods ( 155.00 ), idler (70.00 ) or pitman arm ( 135.00 ) and/or center link ( 285.00 ). Prices are for parts only. All of those things are easily swapped out by you. It can also be caused by the tires.

Thank you very much for the help It is much appreciated.

Yes it was the one at Car Vision.

Was also looking at a wagon same year same issues aside from the clanking and alignment needs to be done, I am having it inspected by a Certifed H1 Mechanic, the vehicle had a warranty and comes with all service records.

What should a alignment run me ?
The hood is rattling and I noticed the rubber seats are worn down. Is this common and will I be able fix it by replacing the rubber seats? Or does anyone have any suggestions?
Also when I test drove it I was coming down a hill as I applied pressure on the brake the right front end felt like it was bouncing, has anyone experienced this?

Thank You Again BRSTRKR & 3Hummers Your help is greatly appreciated.
Hopefully I will be posting pics and sharing my experiences soon.

Glad you are having an H1 mechanic look it over for you. Wheels shouldn't bounce when you brake. Probably need pads or a rotor. New hood snubbers could help the hood creaking problem. You can also get some popping noises out of the windshields sometimes. usually those noises occur when the truck is flexing some. Good luck.

I took a look at this Hummer as well. Took a test drive last week but not being an expert I couldn't tell if there were any real problems. The battery was dead so they had to jump it, but it started right up (probably sat for a while). I crawled around under the truck a bit, didn't see any oil patches on the ground but the transfer case had oil all over it.

Took a second ride in it a few days later with the wife. The engine started fine but I noticed the brakes felt weak. I am considering this one but would have to take it to a shop that knows Hummers and have it thoroughly checked out first. Also, at $40,000 it is priced way too high for a 99 so they would have to come down quite a bit before I would bite. I would really prefer a 02-04 wagon...