So, THIS time, they found the loose stuff I'm hearing is my differential, AGAIN!. FINALLY, after a year and 3 visits later, one of the techs finally found the bushings were bad. I've been telling them this for a year, but nobody could find the problem. It's not their fault though really. Also, one of the bushings that holds my streering gear box is broke, and it's causing the whole column to move, along with my moving loose differential.

Before anybody thinks bad of the service guys, they are AWESOME. I love this dealer and their staff. They are the absolute best people I have ever had to deal with from a customer service standpoint. The problem is the rarity of a 5-speed. Everybody thinks the clutch slack when it's worn out is what i'm feeling and hearing.I've had 3 dealers tell me this. I thought, ok, that makes sense. But, now somebody finally found the bushings are worn.

Note: I am the one of maybe 2 5-speeds they ever work on, and they are the largest selling Hummer dealership in the mid-west. That goes to tell you how rare they are. I've been told by the dealer when we purchased the H3 there were only 2500 '06 5-Speeds made in the entire country.

This is the third time I'm getting my differential bushings replaced. The first ones cracked under pressure, which later GM issued a TSB about, so they were replaced with thicker stronger ones. Not even 3 months later those broke under extreme turning pressure while in 4WD, and for about a year, it's been loose.

I had no idea the steering column was messed up though. That would explain why it makes this snapping banging noise every morning.

So, this is probably the 6th or 7th time I've had a loaner in 2 years, and i'm telling you, I REALLY don't want to go off-roading anymore with this vehicle. Apparently, all these little defects keep happening with the 5-speeds. Maybe it's the torque from the clutch, or something else. I don't know. It's getting annoying now. It's nobody's fault, other then how it's designed. The Automatics don't seem to have this issue.

Anyway, I think until I get a H2 or H4, my H3 is going to be strictly "Pavement Princess - The Second" in honor of Bob, since we have one car and I can't afford to keep doing this all the time. Blah [&o]

 

I'll see ya at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes next summer. Pavement pounder til then.

 

5 speed, auto, doesn't matter Mike...any good tech would have put the chassis ears on teh truck and located the problem rather than just ASSuming it was your clutch. This is what gives carsa bad name to the public....you are exceptionally understanding but if someone not so understanding were in your shoes, tehy would be here bashing the brand and not the crappy dealer techs you've dealt with....glad they finally got it cleared up for you.

 

HG, I'm with you on the stopping offroading, almost. I doubt I'll do anything too technical but I still like taking out on the weekends for light offroading and having lunch down at the lake. I've had about 6 loaners myself, in 6 months, but only two or three were for offroad issues. You've seen from my other thread about u-joint noise how this offroading is affecting me. For one, the noise began after light offroading and increased a week later after more light offroading.

I get conflicted on this. I can't turn it into Pavement Princess 3 since I bought it for offroading. If I wanted a pavement princess I would've just got a CTS or other cool car. For me it's hard to defend the mpg, the brick-like aerodynamics, the 4WD, etc if it's going to stay on asphalt.

Nonetheless, glad you got it worked out.
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They did put the ears on the first time. It may have been something that happened since the last time and it just added to it. I don't know. All I ever wanted was it to be fixed. I hope this is it though I thought maybe there is something different in the drivetrain on the manual transmissions that's causing this stuff to always happen.

Rock, do you have a 5-speed as well? The progression of your issues happens the same with me. It seems like after the fact you throw something off, it progressively gets worse over a week or so, then stays that way until someone finds its broke. I'll do trails and so forth, and of course, doing on a Sand Dune is not going to do a damn thing to you unless you hit a block of cement at 45 through the sand, so I'll make an exception there. I'm not afraid of breaking stuff, but since my warranty is almost gone for the bumper to bumper, I'm afraid this stuff won't be covered under the 75k mile drivetrain warranty. I'm trying to find out what is and what isn't.

I'm sure this stuff isn't cheap to fix. Specific technical problems like this I don't think a normal garage or shop would find. Maybe I am too nice, but hey, you know me

 

the diff is part of thedrivetrain and should be covered under the extended warranty, clutch is about the only thing that won't be covered as it's considered a "Maintenance" Item.

 

I hope so. Technically I know this, but you know they can come back and tell you some BS, GM that is, that it's not covered. Like I said, the dealer people are great, but I think because nobody ever works on manual trannies there (since Caddy's are all auto-shift I think), I think the problem is nobody has much experience with them other then the 5-speed H3's. They are all used to dealing with Caddy's and H2's which I think are all Automatics. At least that's my theory, even though it's not an excuse,I have a feeling that's why.

As long as they keep giving me a car to drive, I can't complain, but alas, I always do somehow Mike hasn't let me down yet.

 

No, I have an auto. I asked for a 5 speed when I got my H3. They had one on the lot and I didn't want that color.

I'm being a nice guy too - maybe it's not paying off in the short term but I believe it will in the long run.
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We wanted a 5-speed in the dark green, but would have had to wait 2 weeks for it, and pay a fee, so we said forget it.

I also believe in giving people a chance. I mean, it's like anything. The first time you work on it, you really don't know what you are doing. The second time, you are a little better because you've worked on it before, and by the third or fourth time, you know it very well. They all know my truck in there. It's famous since it's the only 5-speed they see on a regular basis, and believe it or not, some of them don't know how to drive it

 

Dang kids can't drive a stick, can't tie shoes, can't find an address without a nav radio/phone, it's a wonder they can put air in a friggin tire But they fixed yer truck, we hope. [8D]