...what all of these H2 diesel conversions being put up for sale?

Once in a while, we see someone convert a rig & end up selling it for a huge loss. They typically tend to go for a little bit more than street price w/o the conversion.

Is there some overall problem? Is it that a lot of people expect more out of the conversion & get bored with it? Something else?

 

I have a 2008 duramax conversion that I have put 90,000 miles on and haven't had any problems related to the conversion. I have had plenty of hummer problems but nothing that had anything to do with the duramax or Allison transmission. Every now and then I kick around the idea of selling it because we are now a family of five and road trips had gotten crowded with three boys, the family dog, and all the camping gear.

The only vehicle I would consider replacing it with is a low mileage excursion with the 7.3l diesel which has become hard to find and the last 7.3 excursion rolled off the line in 2003. That being said selling a diesel conversion h2 is a different experience in itself. I had mine listed for about a year on Autotrader and had calls from all over the country from people who where interested but nobody willing to pull the trigger or that could get financing they needed on it. I had numerous offers on it but nothing that I considered to be reasonable for what it is. Ultimately I took it off Autotrader and put captains chairs in the second row and I now use only half the third row, so I now have seating for five, room for the dog, a cooler and a few bags... everything else goes on the roof.

I think done right the duramax conversion is a great set up for the hummer, it will pull anything, and gets respectable mileage doing it. I have zero complaints about mine, the only thing I would change on mine would be the color. Mashmotors did the conversion on mine and I would say it's top notch work.

I think the reason you see so many of these end up on eBay is most likely due to the owner losing interest. Most of the people that could afford having the conversion done probably have multiple vehicles and once they have driven it for a little while decide to sell, recoup what money they can, and find another project to sink there money into. That may not be the case... but that's my assumption.

 

Some of the eBay listings are pretty amusing too. 92 grand for an 09 with 14k miles! Yes its very low miles but wow!! Several limos for sale too.

I like the title on this listing...
"2003 Hummer H2 LEATHER SCREENS IN HEADREST"
OMG headrest screens must be the most important selling point that someone will be looking for. And they are leather screens..

Hummer H2?????
2006 Hummer H2 H2 HUMMER LIMOUSINE - HUMMER DADDY
I mean they do use the same part number for the exterior hood catches. I guess that makes it an H2 right?

 

Would still love to have made a deal with you on yours, H2DMax, it would be the perfect mountain truck for me. Without the cash put aside though, financing is just really hard these days. Sucks. I agree on the peeps getting bored, too. "Did that, what else ya got?" I know lots of those types!

 

Thanks H2duramax. I was hoping you'd reply.

If you don't mind, I have a few questions to ask you.

What is the hp/torque output on your rig? From reading around, I can't seem to find a lot of info on how a rig like this accelerates/drives. Any clue what your 0-60 is? Any idea how much HP/ft-lb your LMM is putting out?

From what I've gathered:

1. Predator: 465HP/1100ft-lb
2. Mash Motors: 400HP/???ft-lb (900ish ft/lb?)
3. Predator: 500HP/????ft-lb (1150ft-lb?)

There hits a point where you're just dumping money to effectively make the rig go from great acceleration to sports car acceleration. I was originally thinking of bumping whatever people normally do to a 600/1200 power plant, like what Duraburb did, but it just seems like overkill for normal driving. I just want to get on the interstate w/o everyone passing me.

How do you like having 2Hi, 4Hi & 4Lo lock compared to the awd & 4 Hi/Lo?
Did you experience the true AWD of an H2 before?

Everyone, other than Duraburb, only offers 2wd/4wd. I'm curious how that is in day to day driving. Duraburb was offering 2Hi, AutoTrac, 4Hi, 4Lo as an option, so if you need AWD in bad conditions (tons of rain like we get here, snow, etc), you have better control. From what I've read, AutoTrac is not like the stock 4Hi-AWD that we use. You cannot enable it 24/7. Well, you can, it'll just wear out quickly. I'm wondering if it's better to keep the power train simple 2wd/4wd only & just invest in the best tires for wet highway conditions.


Anything you'd have done different if you were funding the build?

 

Excluding the massive amount of torque and much improved fuel economy you can otherwise also stay with the gas engine and with a few mods costing a fraction of converting to diesel you can have much horsepower or more and speed. Of course you can also go additional crazy on the diesel and get those up over 600 hp too.

Basics - get trans rebuilt with better shifting and heavy duty internals with aux tans cooler. Does not "really" add hp but can increase hp at the wheels compared to hp at the crank. Of course will dramatically improve trans reliability and shifting.
High flow air filter (or cold air intake but not really needed as the factory air box is actually very good). Maybe 1 to 3 hp.
Swap clutch fan for electric fans (preferably using a complete relay setup from a GM HD truck along with the fans) and get tun to enable the fans in the ECU. 5 to 10 hp
Long tube headers with high flow cats plus full cat back exhaust. 20-40 hp depending on parts used.
Good custom tune - 20 to 60 hp.
To go further add a supercharger. Can add from 80 to 150 hp but pricey at 5 to 6 grand.

 

I'm familiar with all of that. I took at a look at superchargers. Increased power would produce single digit mpg. I have no interest in having a vehicle that only gets 300ish miles per tank. This is a DD, not a toy. If it was the latter, yeah, a supercharger makes a ton of sense.

I'm also unwilling to drop that kind of money on a powertrain that has been giving me issues for the last 30k miles. There's no one locally who can fix my issues, so adding power is only going to break the powertrain more quickly. If I start looking into repairing/rebuilding/modding both an engine & trans, plus exhaust, etc, I might as well start looking at a diesel with useful better mpg, the torque this rig really needs and something that just has less maintenance and a much long life.

Just for the mpg alone, 10 mpg w/ power mods would yield me 320 mile a tank. If I get the 22mpg like everyone says, I'm looking at a 700 mile drive per tank, if it's long distance.


You gave a great list as a path to power for those who want to keep their gasser, but I'd like to keep the discussion strictly to diesels. I do appreciate the effort put in. I know that took some time type out.

 

No - I agree and it makes sense if you are in the position of considering replacing pretty much the entire drivetrain. I'd also be considering diesel in that scenario. Heck I've looked into it regardless. Short of doing it yourself though, it is a 30 to 40k endeavor when its all said and done. So looking at one thats already done (if done properly) would be something I'd strongly consider as whoever originally paid for the conversion is going to take some of the financial hit on selling. I would love to have a converted one!

 

PM sent.

 

Flyday58 I would have loved to have made that deal with you as well, and I fully understand the financing part. That has been an obstacle in trying to sell my truck... the bank has no idea of its value they just see NADA value or whatever it is they use to determine loan value. I still enjoy the truck and will continue to drive it with a smile on my face until the right offer comes along.