h1 specs?

[Big_Luke]

might be looking to buy a mid 90's H1 soon.


what are the specs on the different year models.

year the 6.5 TD came on the H1?

are the 6.2 and 6.2 TD decent at all?

any major upgrades throughout the years?

any other important answers for H1 newbie?

[ron b]

try these sites:

http://www.lynchhummer.com/Changes/h1.changes/h1changes.index.html

http://www.flashoffroad.com/features/buyingTrucks/buyingUsed.html

http://www.flashoffroad.com/features/ChangesByYear/Year-by-YearDifferences.htm

[BigKofJustice]

might be looking to buy a mid 90's H1 soon.


what are the specs on the different year models.

year the 6.5 TD came on the H1?

are the 6.2 and 6.2 TD decent at all?

any major upgrades throughout the years?

any other important answers for H1 newbie?

6.2 was phased out in 1994. 6.5 was standard with the the turbo option added to the 6.5 in 1996.

6.2 is underpowered and you have a 3 speed transmission. It would be ok for off road use but if you are doing any sorts on road travel it is painful, you are limited to 55 mph and it would be very loud at that speed.

I'd look at 1997.5 onward for a truck. Look for a truck that has service history, many used H1's are ticking time bombs due to lack of maintenance. Roughly 20-25% of the turbo diesel trucks from 1996 to 2000 have the old GM block design, look up #8 cylinder failure on GM 6.5 Turbo Diesels on google for more information. Low mileage turbo diesel H1's from that year range would be a problem, if the truck has more then 50,000 miles on the engine then you should be ok from the #8 problem.

Get the truck checked out by a good mechanic first

A truck with 17" wheels would be a bonus. Getting 16.5" tires is rather difficult and expensive, unless you want to run used military M/T's which generally have bad ride quality. Tires average 1200-1400$ for a good set of new rubber. Most new OEM 16.5" rubber is being shipped out for the war, so you are better off going to 17" wheels asap. Tire shops hate 2 piece wheels with run flats. It doesn't matter if its the old 2 piece 12 bolt rims or the new hutchingson alloy 2 piece 17" wheels. Tire shops will want 1-2 hours labor per wheel to mount tires, and thats even if they want to touch them. The 17" wheels need specialized tools to remove the runflats, some tire shops aren't equipped to deal with this.

Some h1 suspension components have high torque specifications. If you take your truck anywhere for alignment and suspension work make sure they torque the a-arms and springs to 300/ft lbs. The last shop that worked on my truck didn't do this and I almost lost a 120 lb wheel driving down the road. The shop paid a dealer to fix it, and I wound up buying a heavy duty proto torque wrench to double check all dealer/mechanic work done on my truck from now on.

Look for leaking seals on the engine and drive train, make sure your suspension isn't sagging, have them check the ball joints. Make sure your steering box is good, etc.

Check for any aftermarket electronics upgrades, I've seen people buy trucks where the previous owner cheaped out on getting their audio system installed only to have the truck eventually burn up or short out due to bad wiring.

If the truck has the CTI system, check all the wheel connections and the compressor manifold for leaks with a spray bottle of soapy water. OEM T-connectors for the wheel quick disconnects can run up to 150$ per valve, most can be repaired or you can opt out to replace the wheel lines with a stainless steel setup from Cepek for 500$.

Any truck that you buy I'd have about $2,000 to $5,000 set aside to fix any problems the previous owner may have had on the truck.

I brought a truck with full service history and the new engine block and I still had to do about $2,000 in repairs and replacements [seals, filters, fluids and a new transfer case] after I brought the truck.

Once you get the initial gremlins out of the truck, you'll be fine. Just keep to the maintenance schedule every 3000 miles.

I just went through a ton of stuff buying a truck after years of research, I should do a big pdf file checklist on things to check on a used truck, ranging from looking for military parts on civilian trucks, to little small electrical things to look for when inspecting.

[Bebe]

I should do a big pdf file checklist on things to check on a used truck, ranging from looking for military parts on civilian trucks, to little small electrical things to look for when inspecting.


Fantastic info BigK....if you do get around to that .pdf, I promise to make it a sticky:grinpimp: