H1 Body Advice

[WIDELOAD]

Hey All,



I am new to the site and have joined to get some info before I purchase an H1. I have been looking at a few and one of them is not too bad. I have been around the car scene for a while, but have som unanswered questions about the aluminum/steel mix of the body. There is some corrosion on the body of the wagon where the rivets are that wrap around the rear. It looks to be a costly and labourous repair job. I have seen worse condition rust though. There are only bubbles in most spots right now.



The truck was re-painted about 5 years ago and some of the bubbles look like bondo lifting but the paint hasnt broken yet. I am worried about how bad it is under there.



Basically, should I keep looking at a different H1 or do you think maybe one could repair and repaint for a reasonable cost?



What does a good paint job on an H1 go for if there isnt really any rust to repair?



Thanks.

[Tom]

This is extremely common, you will find it on 2006 Alphas as well. Get steel and aluminum together and it will corrode. I have seen trucks that were fixed, have it come back after 5 years. Fixing it is costly, as you would need to pull the rivets and blast the area affected.

[WIDELOAD]

When you say you see it on H1 Alpha's as well do you mean a truck as recent as 2006 is corroding? That is certainly fast.



When you say it is costly to fix, are we talking $5000 for a moderately bad truck to be fixed or closer to $10,000, etc?



Anyone know of a good body whop who has worked on Hummer H1's and know the common issues regarding the H1?



All help is appreciated, thanks.

[pobegin]

[quote name='WIDELOAD' date='02 June 2010 - 11:23 PM' timestamp='1275535430' post='17786']

There is some corrosion on the body of the wagon where the rivets are that wrap around the rear.

[/quote]



FYI H1 Open top too have corrosion <img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... nfused.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[WIDELOAD]

[quote name='pobegin' date='04 June 2010 - 10:18 AM' timestamp='1275664727' post='17858']

FYI H1 Open top too have corrosion <img src='http://www.canadianhummerclub.com/forum ... nfused.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[/quote]



Thanks, but I am aware of this. The particular truck I am referring to is a wagon.

[Tom]

[quote name='WIDELOAD' date='04 June 2010 - 05:30 AM' timestamp='1275625845' post='17843']

When you say you see it on H1 Alpha's as well do you mean a truck as recent as 2006 is corroding? That is certainly fast.



When you say it is costly to fix, are we talking $5000 for a moderately bad truck to be fixed or closer to $10,000, etc?



Anyone know of a good body whop who has worked on Hummer H1's and know the common issues regarding the H1?



All help is appreciated, thanks.

[/quote]



Yes. Alphas were only made in 2006, and yes.. they corrode fast. A proper job is upward approaching the $5000 if your just doing the rear. 10,000 if your doing the entire truck.

[WIDELOAD]

[quote name='Tom' date='15 June 2010 - 11:34 AM' timestamp='1276619680' post='18244']

Yes. Alphas were only made in 2006, and yes.. they corrode fast. A proper job is upward approaching the $5000 if your just doing the rear. 10,000 if your doing the entire truck.

[/quote]



This is what I have come to realize after much research and repair appraisals. Thanks for the help.

[dbot]

The paint blister you are referring to are caused by water and contaminants getting in through the rivet holes. Aluminum does corrode - leaving a white powder residue. This is a common problem and CANNOT be permanently fixed. The best you can do is clean out the blisters repaint it and try to seal the rivets from behind. Unfortunately once it starts it is not possible to stop it from happening again. It is possible to prevent it re-occuring for a while(a few years).



The steel - aluminium issue is a separate one and can be stopped by placing a plastic insulator between the steel-aluminum contact point.





If you do develop paint blisters on the aluminum, best thing is to break them open and wipe off the white residue. The sooner the better as they will stay small at that point.This will stop them from spreading. If you leave them sealed, they will spread and can become quite large (many inches across). If you open them, the air seems to stop the reaction - paint it again without sealing the back and it starts up again.

[mhr900ss]

It gets more complicated...



There are a number of ways water can get in at the back and pool on top of the wheel wells hidden by the carpet. Assisted by the galvanic ally/steel joint despite the fact that the roof and body are separated by a rubber gasket, the steel roof can start to rust from the inside out.



The wheel well carpets are easy to pull up so do this and check the whole length and back of the roof/body joint on both sides. I am pretty sure that water got in on my right side only (no idea why one side only) from the little window vents - tiny holes at the base of the rear slider windows on the wagon. I have a tiny spot of roof rust almost directl below the little vent/drain holes.



The ally corrosion comments are quite correct although it is surprising that any water can get in through the body rivet holes as they are covered by a thick gunk on the inside and paint on the outside. Another typical spot for ally damage is where fixtures are riveted to the body; rear lights, markers, fuel doors etc.

[dwaxman1]

I have a few blisters.. popping the blister and the trying to match the paint is not that easy of a task...