Heading out on a 2500 mile trip down south, I would like to take the wifes H3, as I like the comfortable seats, and the smooth ride, but my silverado gets much better fuel economy. I had a astro awd, and I would remove the front driveshaft for such trips and would pickup about 3mpgs. Anyone ever remove the front shaft? and what were the results? I am not worried about any abs or service warnings coming on, I have a scanner and can reset those. I just don't want to do any damage.

 

i could be missing something,not an enginneer,but the transfer case in hi,unlock,is an open differential and all power would go to the front! no driveshaft,like the spinning wheel.

you would need to run in hi lock which should provide a locked drive to the rear diff that is still in open mode. the locked tr case would be locked to a "no driveshaft"up front and the normal rear diff.
i think that would work,but i could be missing something.

it would be interesting to test.

i can tell u this, studying the operation of the tr case is fascinating! a lot going on,,a lot to contemplate.

 

Yep, the front drive shaft can be removed. Just remember you have to have the HUMMER in 4HI Lock (50/50 split) in order for it to move with the front drive shaft removed. Your front tires will still be turning the entire front differential assembly because you can't disconnect the hubs.

I'm not sure what if any kind of difference in milage you may/may not get. If you do do it, please report back and let us know how it went.

 

I am going to take the shaft out tonight, and drive it for the weekend. I will let you guys know how it works out.

 

ill be watching. ill guess u might notice no change except in traction in mud/snow which wont apply. maybe not in mpg either as taint said,the same stuff is turning,just no shaft. itl be good to confirm this though since it could be helpful in some front end problems.
i suppose you couid also do the reverse if you want a front drive hummer!!

 

I have been thinking about trying this with my H2, how did it go? MPG changes?

 

he didnt pull the shaft so we'll never know.

 

It doesnt make a difference to pull the driveshaft if you dont pull the axles as well. Just dont forget to leave something there for the wheel to bolt up to...

 

Sorry I haven't been on in a while, I didn't pull the shaft, I figured with living in the northeast, I would need the 4wd, but since we haven't had any snow, and there is none in the forecast, I pulled the front shaft today, I am going to use the truck for this week for work. I usually drive between 500 and 700 miles a week, so I will report back with the fuel economy numbers. I drove it home from my friends shop today, about 15 miles and it rode fine, no wierd noises.(if you try this, make sure you lock it into 4wd hi).

 

Had to cut my test short, The wife decided she was never going to get used to the limited visibility, so trading the H3 in on saturday.... I did get to put about 200 miles on it this week. When I drive I normally average about 16.1 mpg. I tend to go about 75-80 on the thruway and drive alot in some hilly areas. I found with the shaft out I got 17.2 mpg. Not a huge gain, but not bad for something that can be done for free. I had no ill effects, no warning lights, and it drove fine. The only thing I noticed was when turning at slow speeds, it seemed to turn easier. Which makes sense since the front tires aren't "pulling" during turns.
I will be sad to see the truck go, I really liked it. To be honest, I have had just about every full sized suv, escalade, denali, tahoe, even a navigator and expedition. Even had older big blazers, and Broncos. This is by far my favorite, for it's size and the track width, it is fantastic handling and riding. I currently have a company car otherwise the H3 would be staying in the family.