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Greetings from Colorado! New member here making a move from a 2008 Hummer H2 to this 2017 G63 AMG. Primary use cases are off-roading in the high country and towing our boat that we keep in Michigan. The Hummer did both of these duties great but parts were becoming scarce so the search began several months ago. This low mileage example showed up so I pulled the trigger and it is scheduled to arrive next week.
I haven't driven a G-wagon yet, but my wife has a 2018 E400 wagon that she loves and the reviews certainly seemed mostly positive. Has anyone made this same move, and if so were you disappointed or pleased w/ your decision?
While it only has 10k miles on it, it was driven in NY and I'm concerned about rust and corrosion - is this a big issue for these vehicles? Thanks and I look forward to being a somewhat regular contributor on this forum!
Sounds like a great deal, welcome to the community. I don't think rust is a big factor in only 5-6 years.
G is a factory restomod, its a very old car that's been stuffed with new tech over the years. So it will feel new and old at the same time. The M157 sounds very very good and the aural experience alone adds a lot of value every time you drive it.
I would assume the diff locks have never been engaged so they are probably stuck/clogged and I would budget a full service. Call @JACWAGN for a lift kit and suspension. Budget about $5-7k to do a lift, shocks, tires and a few other things right and you got yourself an awesome vehicle that is rare and unique. Makes off-roading really easy due to small footprint (great angles), mechanical grip and BRILLIANT all-around visibility. Look at @shiann thread to get a feel for all maintenance and improvements even if yours is newer and won't need a lot of that for a few more years.
Thanks for the reply and comments, Xxaarraa - really appreciate the info. I will have a week to inspect the vehicle and determine if it's a keeper or to get a full refund, and I have a very trustworthy Mercedes indy mechanic who has agreed to check everything out. Are suspension mods and a lift kit essential for taking it off-road? The nice thing about the H2 is that it can be driven off-road in stock form.
I have indeed done a fair amount of homework and fully realize I'm buying a 40-year old platform and that it's not setup to be a daily driver. It is our 4th vehicle and more special purpose and this generation seems well suited to our needs. I just received word that it will ship on Monday and is due to arrive by Friday, can't wait to see and drive it! Cheers,
Rust is always a concern though the lower the miles, the lower the chance that you'll have rust to contend with.
Happy to go over rust prevention techniques with you if you'd like.
I'm all ears! Many thanks for the offer. I hope to get the car on a lift in the coming weeks to see what we're dealing with. One of my Hummers was from the Northeast and Midwest and I couldn't control the rust and had to sell it.
I was looking for a CA/AZ vehicle only when this one appeared, fingers crossed! I'll post some photos when I can get my hands on it.
Congrats Ski Racer and look forward to the pics...these are very capable stock, lifting allows for a bit more tire/ sidewall and you'll find swapping shocks and widening stance can vastly improve handling and ride. stay under 2"/50mm and a 33/34" tire and you avoid the slippery slope......
I'm all ears! Many thanks for the offer. I hope to get the car on a lift in the coming weeks to see what we're dealing with. One of my Hummers was from the Northeast and Midwest and I couldn't control the rust and had to sell it.
I was looking for a CA/AZ vehicle only when this one appeared, fingers crossed! I'll post some photos when I can get my hands on it.
I did my own undercarriage rust proofing with a creeper and cans of B'laster Surface Shield. That said, I wasn't able to work comfortably until I had the lift + larger tires installed.
Probably the single easiest preventative measure you can take is to load up the cavity behind the front windscreen weather stripping with an anti-corrosive aerosolized grease or oil. As an aside, I like B'laster because it aerosolizes nicely (gets you good coverage in hard to reach areas), is formulated with several anti-corrosive chemicals, quickly drives water out and lasts a very long time. Nearly two years after application there is still a thick coating of it on exposed parts of the chassis.
Get a 3' long aerosol can straw to use with your can of grease/oil. The included straw isn't long or flexible enough to effectively apply product. Use a plastic or rubber putty knife to pry back the weather stripping and insert the straw as far as it will go. Start applying heavy coats of oil, either gently and slowly pulling back as you do or stopping every 1-2" to spray. The more grease you spray, the better. Grease will start to seep through the weather stripping which is okay - it just means that it is coating all surfaces. Make sure to spray the entire perimeter - top, sides, bottom, etc.
I did my own undercarriage rust proofing with a creeper and cans of B'laster Surface Shield. That said, I wasn't able to work comfortably until I had the lift + larger tires installed.
Probably the single easiest preventative measure you can take is to load up the cavity behind the front windscreen weather stripping with an anti-corrosive aerosolized grease or oil. As an aside, I like B'laster because it aerosolizes nicely (gets you good coverage in hard to reach areas), is formulated with several anti-corrosive chemicals, quickly drives water out and lasts a very long time. Nearly two years after application there is still a thick coating of it on exposed parts of the chassis.
Get a 3' long aerosol can straw to use with your can of grease/oil. The included straw isn't long or flexible enough to effectively apply product. Use a plastic or rubber putty knife to pry back the weather stripping and insert the straw as far as it will go. Start applying heavy coats of oil, either gently and slowly pulling back as you do or stopping every 1-2" to spray. The more grease you spray, the better. Grease will start to seep through the weather stripping which is okay - it just means that it is coating all surfaces. Make sure to spray the entire perimeter - top, sides, bottom, etc.
I can make a video for you if you'd like.
I cannot thank you enough, JD, for this great info and generous offer for a video. Let me wait to see what condition the vehicle is currently in, as I have a 7-day money back guarantee if it doesn't pass rust and corrosion inspection. I've been a long-time Audi and Porsche forum member, but first time on MB - this forum rocks!
Congrats Ski Racer and look forward to the pics...these are very capable stock, lifting allows for a bit more tire/ sidewall and you'll find swapping shocks and widening stance can vastly improve handling and ride. stay under 2"/50mm and a 33/34" tire and you avoid the slippery slope......
Cheers
Thanks, Tex! I was really hoping to hear something along these lines; the right areas to focus modifications on that will improve and not degrade handling performance and off-road duty. It seems that my G-wagon adventure is about to begin!
Are suspension mods and a lift kit essential for taking it off-road?
Jim
A very skilled driver can take anything offroad in stock form. Lift and underbody armor just expands the safety margin for most people.
The stock tires on any G are silly p-rated things meant for going to the mall that I wouldn't trust offroad. I also would cut off the side exhaust tips, plenty of accounts of side tips getting caught offroad and pushing exhaust into the rear wheel, or worse, pushing exhaust up towards the front.
A very skilled driver can take anything offroad in stock form. Lift and underbody armor just expands the safety margin for most people.
The stock tires on any G are silly p-rated things meant for going to the mall that I wouldn't trust offroad. I also would cut off the side exhaust tips, plenty of accounts of side tips getting caught offroad and pushing exhaust into the rear wheel, or worse, pushing exhaust up towards the front.
Understood and thanks for the exhaust tip advice. I'll also need to drive 1,500 highway miles each direction for our summer vacations so I'm interested in a multi-use tire. While I have summer and winter setups on the E400 and my Panamera Turbo, I prefer to only have one set of wheels and tires for the G including winter use. I have the BFG T/A K02 tires on my H2 and they seem to do everything well. I don't see that these are compatible w/ the G63.
As noted by xxaarraa with the lockers (assuming they'll engage) the 663's do well.... we did all of Imogene that we wanted to and explored a good bit of Moab with just of Toyo 305/55 At2's.... but then added a better offset rim, 50mm spring spacers and Fox shocks....
The intercoolers and the exhaust are the weak spots - MBRP's turn-down exhaust for the 63 is well made for the price and works well with the turbo'ed 63- not so much on a 55... The ic's really need a relo or custom steel bumper(few options - hence my 55 build). But a light lift and larger tires helps...
I have the BFG T/A K02 tires on my H2 and they seem to do everything well. I don't see that these are compatible w/ the G63.
I have run Nitto Terra Grapplers (275x55x20 - 32"), KO2s (275x65x20 - 34") and Cooper AT3 XLTs (275x60x20 - 33") - all with no mechanical/clearance problems after a 2" lift and wheel spacers. My radar cruise stopped working with the 34s, but working fine with anything under and including 33s. Some of us also use the G for towing, and keep in mind that will impact your choice of springs when doing the lift along with adding some requirements such as brake controller and trailer jack configuration - see thread from @Mopars with useful information.
I would use a tire size calculator, decide on your size and just order whatever brand you want in that size, instead of going off of tirerack or discount tire's compatibility algorithms. Given G's weight, I would recommend an E-rated tire, but YMMV.
Well my G63 ownership has begun but not without an interesting journey- the first vehicle I bought pictured above never arrived and the seller ghosted with all funds lost. It took several months to recover and restore the funding but it ended well with this 2018 delivered to my home: California vehicle Purchased from a dealer in Scottsdale 14k miles Excellent condition It’s in really nice shape and loaded It cleaned up really well
I have several questions already:
1. Has anyone disconnected the oil pump solenoid to improve oil flow to the M157 engine?
2. Is it possible to permanently disable the Auto Start/Stop function?
Thanks in advance for any help with these items, I really love driving this vehicle even more than I’d hoped!
Understood and thanks for the exhaust tip advice. I'll also need to drive 1,500 highway miles each direction for our summer vacations so I'm interested in a multi-use tire. While I have summer and winter setups on the E400 and my Panamera Turbo, I prefer to only have one set of wheels and tires for the G including winter use. I have the BFG T/A K02 tires on my H2 and they seem to do everything well. I don't see that these are compatible w/ the G63.
The new BFG T/A K03 tires are definitely the way to go!
The new BFG T/A K03 tires are definitely the way to go!
So they are just starting to release these over the next few months for all sizes. Have you tried them? I’d like to get a pair for my landcruiser which has geolandars and they are excellent. I hated e rated tires for daily driving so nittos have sat a long time in storage. What’s your thoughts if you have used them. I went geolandar over ko2 for the three peaks and the new rating on the bfg makes me really want to try them.
So they are just starting to release these over the next few months for all sizes. Have you tried them? I’d like to get a pair for my landcruiser which has geolandars and they are excellent. I hated e rated tires for daily driving so nittos have sat a long time in storage. What’s your thoughts if you have used them. I went geolandar over ko2 for the three peaks and the new rating on the bfg makes me really want to try them.
I can’t give much of a review since I’ve only had them for about 100 miles, but they certainly look awesome and the reputation of the K02s makes me feel like these are only going to be better.
Well my G63 ownership has begun but not without an interesting journey- the first vehicle I bought pictured above never arrived and the seller ghosted with all funds lost. It took several months to recover and restore the funding but it ended well with this 2018 delivered to my home: California vehicle Purchased from a dealer in Scottsdale 14k miles Excellent condition It’s in really nice shape and loaded It cleaned up really well
I have several questions already:
1. Has anyone disconnected the oil pump solenoid to improve oil flow to the M157 engine?
2. Is it possible to permanently disable the Auto Start/Stop function?
Thanks in advance for any help with these items, I really love driving this vehicle even more than I’d hoped!
Congrats - great color and spec on that..... Plans for it ? I love the 325/65 Toyo At3's I ran on the 55... have them avail on Alpha rims(set of 5 f) if you on the hunt for new sneakers...
We did a Eurocharge E40 tune on our 13' 63 and they coded out the shutdown aspect - think I had to do the TCU as well for that but it was worth it.... I don't have the Dyno but it was very similar to our tuned E63 Wagon 680hp/830tq
Here's a link to a YouTube video about disconnecting the oil pump solenoid - sure looks like a no-brainer to me as it may eliminate many of the issues w/ the M157:
03-01-2024, 04:38 PM
