Painful Video of Hummer H3 Blowing Front Diff

[Thai]

Hey all,

As you know, one of the major weakness of the h3 is it's aluminum front diff. It is apparently undersized for the size and torque of the H3. This is why the '08 H3 Alpha has a cast iron differential along with the stronger engine.

Carnage video: https://migglet.homeserver.com/yay/bitesdust.wmv

The H3 was apparently a base model because he apparently did not have the rear locker. The main issue is that the driver turned his steering wheel and gunned the throttle. This would be a problem in most SUVs, much less an H3 with a weak front differential.

The grinding sound just makes me cringe....

 

[JB.]

The H3 was apparently a base model because he apparently did not have the rear locker.

And seemingly very little traction control. It only seemed to marginally slow the spinning wheel. Never even came close to stopping it.

 

[AmbideXtrous]

The link doesn't work for me. Probably because of the httpS.

 

[Even Steven]

That's an old video. I remember watching it at least 2 or 3 years ago. If the link doesn't work for you, just search for it on YouTube.

Edit: Maybe not. The video I saw was an H2 in a verys similar situation.

 

[Thai]

That's an old video. I remember watching it at least 2 or 3 years ago. If the link doesn't work for you, just search for it on YouTube.

Edit: Maybe not. The video I saw was an H2 in a verys similar situation.

What you saw was an H2 that broke the tie rod. This is much worse...this is the front diff grenading!:awais:

 

[Mark86]

Ouch, that is ear piercing and tough to watch. Can that happen on our 4Runners? :awais:

 

[Thai]

Ouch, that is ear piercing and tough to watch. Can that happen on our 4Runners? :awais:

I hear more about the FJ's breaking the tie rods doing something similarly reckless. I don't hear much about front differential busting like that! But anything is possible i guess.

 

[josh220]

So what exactly did he do wrong to stress the front so much?

Think a 4runner could have handled it?

 

[JB.]

So what exactly did he do wrong to stress the front so much?

He let the wheels spin too much, for one thing. If they're spinning that much, it's time to try a different approach.

Think a 4runner could have handled it?

I don't want to blindly cheerlead for the 4Runner, but the traction control seems to work so much better than what I saw in that vid. I can't imagine my truck being stuck in that situation. Might just be too hard to tell from video, though

 

[Uneek]

Gotta love the gal's voice you hear being sympathetic, much better than the grinding sounds that sound like a wind up toy.

 

[Even Steven]

What you saw was an H2 that broke the tie rod. This is much worse...this is the front diff grenading!:awais:

I know the video you're talking about with the H2 on the rocks and the guy hit the gas hard just as the tire touched a rock and got traction. I believe he popped the tie rod. But the video I was talking about was an H2 that completely blew up his front differential. THey showed the carnage close up at the end of the video. If you search for it, you should be able to find it on YouTube.

 

[4Runner1371]

That's so cool! Wheels still spins after the differential blowing up!

 

[nated05]

That is one scary situation I hope im never in. What the hell do you do? Im not sure where they were, but what if a tow truck cant even get to you.

 

[Mr. Dabadina]

ARB should use this as an ad to promote there lockers. A locked rear would've got him up no problem.

So is wheel spin like that a big no no when wheeling?

 

[Thai]

Well, it looks like the H3 Alpha cast iron front diff is not any stronger either: http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32329

 

[Thai]

ARB should use this as an ad to promote there lockers. A locked rear would've got him up no problem.

So is wheel spin like that a big no no when wheeling?

I think that the problem is when a wheel spins and suddenly catches traction...the result is too much torque on the differential gears (& tie rod if you're turning and gunning the gas pedal).

I think that certain vehicles are more prone to it than other due to gear strength and differential design. The H3 has been notorious for having weak front diff for such a heavyweight. But, i never thought that it was THAT WEAK!

 

[Run'n'Gun]

dude should have bought an old H1. The inline 5 and the gears on the H3 are garbage. I was driving in mexico once with my while it was stock and my buddy's little brother was in his new H3 and he couldn't keep up, not even close, both on the pavement going up grades and off. The only Hummer I would get is an H1. I don't understand why a company with a pedigree like hummer would build such a p.o.s.

 

[Pincushion]

Did that little bump next to the tree cause that or was there an obstacle we couldn't see? That looked like an easy trail. Those tires didn't look very aggressive. No wonder he couldn't get traction.

 

[Mike07SE]

dude should have bought an old H1. The inline 5 and the gears on the H3 are garbage. I was driving in mexico once with my while it was stock and my buddy's little brother was in his new H3 and he couldn't keep up, not even close, both on the pavement going up grades and off. The only Hummer I would get is an H1. I don't understand why a company with a pedigree like hummer would build such a p.o.s.

The H2 and H3 are handoffs to GM using the name to make the company more money.

 

[jwa898]

I believe the main reason they have gotten away from the H1 is because the price of gas has gone up so much and the H1's gas mileage was atrocious.