Had my h3 for a couple years now and I wanna start some offroading. Nothing maor just some trails. Wondering what are some of the common breakages suspension wise that I should be Leary of. Only mods are craked tb and 35,s on stock rims. Thanks for any input just wanna be as prepared as I can possibly be.

 

Carry spare tie rods and maybe a cv axle, and the tools. Other than that careful on the wheelspin you should be good.

 

Started a new thread on the tie rod question as to make sure I don't hijack this one.

 

Most of the breakages are from wheel spin & grip... if you are going up a hill or and you start to loose momentum, ease up on the throttle as the truck slows down... flooring it will cause you to bounce around and suddenly gripping will snap a CV or grenade your differential.

 

What year and suspension package do you have?

The earlier models have 14mm tie rod ends and the later models have 16mm. Most who wheel will buy a complete set of 16mm just in case of a trail mishap. You will need both inner and outer to swap from 14mm to 16mm.

X2 on what Sugarphreak said about wheel spin. Take it slow in the begining, learining what your HUMMER can and can not do. Not a point and mash the skinny pedal vehicle. You will be very surprised at what your rig can do with the 35s!

May I also recommend some UCP (under carriage protection) if you plan on wheeling more than fire roads. $300 to protect against $3000+ in transmission/transfercase repairs!

 

It's an 06. Not sure about suspension package. Dont wanna get involved with burying myself in a mud bog but I guess things happen. Probably better off stiffening uptime rods first as a precaution.

 

Another question are the half shafts universal.

 

I am going to jump on this thread too. I've got an '08 Adventure and am planning on taking it to Colorado in August for a week of camping and ofroading. The truck is stock with the exception of tires. Has any taken their vehicle into this kind of environment stock and come out unscathed? I am not expecting wheel spin of the type you have in muddy trails. How common is it to break a halfshaft or tie rod end?

 

In the top right corner of the center dash console do you have the locker switch (rear axle with an X in the middle)? Looks a little like this-
/--/
I
I x I

If you do then you have a rear locker and adventure/offroad package suspension.

 

I "think" that some point that they were made slightly longer due to some shafts pulling out on tight u-turns?