Yea there's a lot on there. several hummve in texas.. my problem is if I managed to get one, I would not part it out for the truck, I'd want to drive it LOL. didn't see any take out engines though. several onan, cat, and cummins engines on there.
I have come to the conclusion it is a mistake buying a take out engine from the military.
There was a large campaign to update older hmmwvs - basically refresh them regardless of if the engine was good or not- to get them all up to the turbo power and 4 speed level.
When that was happening there was a lot of take out natural aspiration engines. This is identifiable by having the intake manifold that looks the same as the truck lower intake manifold.
But once you see it is a centermount turbo engine- this engine came out for a reason almost every time.
If you get a hmmwv- MAKE SURE you file for the paperwork SF-97. That is like the military bill of sale. The paperwork is the same value as the title to your truck.
Many hmmwv owners replace the 6.5 with a cummins, dmax, or LS engine.
So selling a hmmwv without an engine but with the SF-97 should mean your net cost is still only a grand and almost all have under 10,000 miles, majority around 5,000 miles.
A couple of things to try:
Steelsoldiers.com is a forum for ex military rig owners and plenty of hmmwv guys are there. Sign up, start familiarizing yourself with the guys incase there is a steaksauce type of guy to avoid- but you might find take out engines that are good from there. Texas being a pro hmmwv state and descent amount of auction hmmwvs there - you might work out some smokin deal.
If you get a centermount turbo engine- it’s not bad to loose that turbo, and a little plumbing to make that intake work.
Mark owns ModMafia.com and is in Texas. He owns a mechanic shop that works on Hummers/hmmwvs as well as vipers and some other exotics. His shop is a high dollar shop and as you see his 6.5 parts prices online- he is not shooting for the first time buyer type customer- but he might come up with a descent 6.5 take out from time to time so a call or email to him might get a good result.
A lot of the hummer and hmmwv crowd is 20 year old crowd now that doesn’t do normal forums. More Facebook and other short post social media that doesn’t have searchable database for reference information- I don’t follow any of it, just hear guys mentioning it from time to time. Maybe look into that arena for a low mileage unit where they want high powered conversion.
A type of hmmwv to look for is the ones that have the grille that sticks out past the hood- where the grille stays put when the hood is opened. These have a much larger radiator, larger fan at an angle behind it so the engine doesn’t get overheated to the point it destroys itself (cracked block or heads form heat). You will not find cracked main webs in military engines just because they simply don’t get the mileage on them.
The military does run them hot enough that they shorten the ring life so I would still expect any military used 6.5 with 1,000 miles on it to get early blow by. I would say at about 1/3 to 1/2 the normal time. But that makes it a great candidate for a re-ring job. Pull apart, new gapless rings, new head gasket & tty bolts in heads, everyones favorite valve cover annoyance, 24volt ip stuff off for 12v stuff or your ds4 depending on situation. Clean out the flashing. Use your thermostat crossover, front engine brackets, exhaust manifolds & turbo, etc.
While inside there it’s your call if you drop ship bearings to TSP for coatings and have the rotating assembly balanced, maybe the bolt mod in place of the plastic rocker arm retainers.
Absolutely you can just swap on your parts without opening it up- but the weekend or two spent and the extra few hundred dollars at least for the flashing removal and new gapless rings is basically buying you the miles from 175,000-300,000 mile range delaying the problems currently faced.
As to daily driving a hmmwv- again the better choice is that separate grille looking one. 12 mpg. Tires are stupid expensive. The 2 door ones have the 8’ bed, 4 door has a 3’ bed- all beds are 4’ wide between fenders. The brakes wear out faster, but front brake pad job is done in 20 minutes after you done it once or twice. Rear brakes take as long as a pickup but require a couple special tools. You don’t remove wheels or jack up the truck for brake jobs, oil changes, anything under the truck is done easily on the ground. Idler arms wear out faster. Some models so do pitman arms- but if you leave the tires at 37” tall and 12,5” wide- even the older units get 75,000 miles from them. Mine because I grease every oil change lasted 140,000 miles so I don’t think thats bad- when guys go to 40” tires or 14” wide tires- thats when they get bad quickly- or do the insane off road stuff- normal offroad use doesn’t hurt, actually helps them and ball joints & suck last longer flexing the rubber and spreading the grease.
All hummers/hmmwvs should replace the spindle nuts to the “blue hummer lock nuts”. That’s pricey @$580 but is a one time fix.
Is it practical- if you keep it db2, diy your own fuel - yup. And resell value is always there. Look up hmmwvs for sale- a few offroad lights, a winch, flashy rim/tire and a little interior work. Now spray on shiny paint and it is a money maker. If I was physically able bodied- I would buy and flip them from auction.
My beat up self has been the main reason mine has been apart for years.
If you can work on your truck on the weekends and have no problem going to work on Monday- there is money to be made. I wouldn’t pull the engine in flipping them. Just doll them up. If a guy could buy two at an auction- fix one up and sell it- the profit would pay from both to be done up. One with bling and the other for a keeper.
The key is living in a state that lets you register them for normal on road use. Nevada does not. If it did I would hire a 18 year old to spin the wrenches and just supervise. Less profit but still would make a profit. Each state has their own rules on how many per year. I don’t know any 18 year olds that like to wrench who wouldn’t do it after hours of a McJob and on weekends to do it for the knowledge and to earn his own outright after having built & sold 3 for me…but understand your training your own future competitor because the money becomes obvious quickly.
