Hey everyone,

I just strolled along this forum site for us H3 owners and enthusiast. Interesting thing happened to me today as I drove to work after lunch. My wheel basically popped off. My front passenger side wheel stayed on long enough to get me to safety but has made me wary about the stability and safety of the H3. I've posted some pics of the situation on flickr...here's the link... http://www.flickr.com/photos/11946828@N05/
As a added bonus I took the H3 to the dealer last week for an oilchange and a nail in one of my tires...upon their inspection they noticed that I had an axle differential fluid leak so they took care of that under warranty. less then 6 days later the damn wheel pops off at the axle, one of which was worked on. Could this have contributed to the problem? I'm in a pickle and have requested a 3rd party from GM come look at the vehicle before they touch it to determine if it was a general problem with the H3 or if the dealer messed up.

 

I don't think they are supposed to do that.

I would say that there is a good chance that they removed the spindle while doing the axle work last week and didn't get it put back together right. I don't have mine here to look at now, but I'm guessing that's supposed to be a bolt thatkeeps the spindle attached to the control arm?

All things considered, it looks like the damage isn't that bad.Something like that could have caused serious damage if it had happened at higher speeds.

 

Wow!!!!!! More than your wheel came off! It's either a dealership error or a parts failure. Yes you are very lucky that didn't happen at 70mph! I've never seen or heard of this before. My first guess is the dealership..specially if a part is missing.

 

That is a Detroit Axle carrier in the front. If they did gear work??????? when repairing your leak???? To disassemble, the shaft has to be moved to the right (direction of your problem) so what most mechanics will do is take apart the suspension, let it hang on a strap, and when done they are supposed to put it back together completely!!! Looks like dealer error to me Sherlock??? [sm=oopssign.gif]

 

I looked closer at the pics you posted, this one has the back to the future wheel setting for take off and time travel, cool custom ride



Look at this one


Right in front, the top ball joint shaft came out of the spindle clamp assby. In the other pics I do not notice any oblonging of the bolt hole, so I think someone forgot to torque the bolt/pin down, there is no cotter key to prevent failure. Could have been factory assembly deficiency, but I highly doubt it. Great post, great pics.

 

I appreciate the input guys. It's really weighing on my head and I'm worried the dealer is going to be semi-jerks about this and give me back this car saying it's fixed. After all, they did a bang up job the first time.

If anyone else has more input, that would be great, i'm not a mechanic so getting familiar with what's what and what could have gone wrong helps! thanks again

 

You might consider purchasing the two volume shop manuals for the H3. The 2007 was just released from Helm Publications ($135) It will pay for itself in no time. Lotsa illustrations too.

 

Apparently, no info on the rear differential, huh Vader, huh[:@]?

dnalreven; I could nail it down if you tell me what "leak" they were fixing up front. A shaft seal requires some disassembly, gears out. If that is what they fixed, I'd be willing to wager Vader's sweet ride that it was the mechanic at the dlr that did not do his job. I love incompetence. Just ask the dealer to keep that guy away from YOUR truck!

 

might be just me, but i would assume the dealer is going to be doing anything/everything possible for you to avoid a potential lawsuit.this happeningabout a week after you picked it up from the dealership? probably would be agood call to get the GM regional rep to spear head this repair and resolve. call anotherarea dealer if you want to get contact info. i would doubt this dealer wants you to make that call......

 

I would think that the dealership really made sure that was fixed correctly. Knowing what could have happened to you, I would imagine they went the extra mile to make sure of this, even if they are semi-jerks. On the other hand, I would not leave there until I got a complete explaination as to why this happened(IN WRITING). Good luck