"Loose" 2007 H2

[surf twang]

The lease on my H3x is up and I've been looking for an H2 replace it with. I drove a 2008 with 38,000 miles and it felt tight. Too bad it's out of my price range. I just drove a 2007 with 25,000 miles but it feels very "loose". It rattled over bumps and the steering didn't feel as tight as my H3. Is this normal for a pre-2008 H2?

[Camou2]

The steering "feeling" on an H2 is not as tight of a "feeling" as the H3. But the steering on my H2 is not loose! Just have a good mechanic look at the front end of the H2. With that few miles it is probably something simple or maybe nothing at all. Just the difference between the H2 and H3.

[HumminNBoatin']

I totally agree with Glen. Get the front end of that 2007 H2 Checked out. Odds are it needs new idler and pitman arms.

[surf twang]

Thanks for the replies.

I just drove another 2007, this one with 48,000 miles, and it felt much better than the one with 25,000 miles.

[surf twang]

What do you think would cause the idler and pitman arms to need replacing after 25,000 miles?

[HummerJim]

This seems to be a pretty common problem on the H2 if it's been offroaded at all. There are lots of posts about beefier aftermarket pitman arms. After driving an H3 the H2 isn't goint to feel as tight, it's more of a luxury ride than a truck ride. I had an H3 for two and half years and felt the same way you did when I first drove my H2. Having lived with my H2 for two years now, it would be hard to go back to the H3!

[splne1]

You can pick oup the idler and pitman arm on ebay for under $100 shipped. If your mechanically savy and have a tie rod rmoval tool it will be easy to replace both. Like the other guys said this is not uncommon to find on older or wheeled H2's If you run bigger tires of course the wear on those parts will be alot faster. If your going to spend some coin for the idler and pitman arm might as well get the cognito support kit also.

[surf twang]

Thanks again everyone for the responses. I'm looking forward to getting into an H2. I don't think the one with 25,000 miles is the one. Everything about it just feels too loose compared to the others I've driven.

[rmutchler]

If it's a 2007 with 25K, it should have well over a year left on the factory bumper to bumper? Don't blame you though...I probably wouldn't buy it either.

[Camou2]

Surf, just to follow-up, if you are going to off road your H2 you need to beef up the pitman & idler as well as the tie rods. Replace the factory stuff! I replaced them the first week I had my 2006 and have not had a problem with the front end and it has been wheeled allot!

[surf twang]

I'm not intending to intentionally off-road it. We drive from San Jose, CA to Albuquerque at least twice a year and we frequently run into nasty weather. Our H3 has gotten us out of trouble and through some very bad weather three times. We no longer will consider ever making that drive again in anything but a Hummer.

[surf twang]

Originally Posted by rmutchler

If it's a 2007 with 25K, it should have well over a year left on the factory bumper to bumper? Don't blame you though...I probably wouldn't buy it either.

The warranty expires in October so we're covered for a while. I just don't want to have to keep bringing it in for repair. The dealer is going to have it checked out tomorrow which begs the question, why didn't they check it out before?

[surf twang]

The dealer checked out the suspension and didn't find anything wrong. I drove it again and the steering feels better. Either the service tech did something or maybe I'm just getting used to the feel of an H2.

It turns out some of the rattling I was hearing was due to very loose luggage racks. They tightened them up and it improved things somewhat. It's probably now in the rattle range of the other H2 I drove. Still not as tight as my H3 but I guess it isn't supposed to be.

I'm at the absolute deadline for either extending my H3 lease or buying the H3 so I have to make a decision tonight.

[HumminNBoatin']

Originally Posted by Camou2

Surf, just to follow-up, if you are going to off road your H2 you need to beef up the pitman & idler as well as the tie rods. Replace the factory stuff! I replaced them the first week I had my 2006 and have not had a problem with the front end and it has been wheeled allot!

Allot is an understatement! lol