06 H3's Rancho build!

[06 H3]

Thorparts didn't have any in stock last I spoke with him, gonna email him again as I need that driveshaft.

I think the upgrade is in october??

We shall see how reliability is on this trip. Two things that must be fixed and is a non rancho problem is the weird steering rack noise and that its starting to split after 86k miles (saw that during rancho install) and the front frame mounted axle bushing is a non rancho part and is bad. That bushing will blow an axle...luckily I had a spare in storage that I sent to preferred chassis while they make a better replacement as the bushing is not serviceable. Will throw that in before moab too.

Cg the wedge adjusts the pinion angle. This helps keep driveline angles much nicer

The only thing that pisses me off is the axle clearance...I gain all height at the rockers, bumpers and midsection but lost axle clearance. I still think a new spring pack is the best choice but even with research I never found this as a problem, I also would like clearance numbers for Hunners rear skid axle clearance with a 35...I still probably have more with the tomp skids which is a plus.

Time will tell...just like nugget, when he did lots of trial and error with turbos and superchargers for the I5 he had to change and modify things till he was happy, same goes for me...moab will tell me how much I get hung up, this may be the solution for me or may not be, but one plus for everyone else is that they can view the pros and cons before they pull the trigger on anything. Im the test dummy



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[Hunner]

Ok, got a little sleep and time to read all that news.
I was a bit surprised at how many leaves they used, but, these guys have done the trial and error for you and may have the best solution. Thinner leaves instead of fewer thicker leaves have more flex and I guess needed to have more in number to retain height in the case of the heavy H3. I too was going to say losing a bit of clearance right next to the wheel is sort of the nature of the beast in the H3 case. I have never been hung up and left for dead because my "skid" was holding me back. They "skid" over rocks with the turned up approach and slide down the back back side, or if when backing for a better line will "skid" up on an obstacle rather than taking a hit on a square edge between the square plate and springs.
If you want to feel better look at a Chevy or GMC SR whatever offroad package truck and see how those shocks hang down??? Same guy with seniority must have designed that too for that cushy city truck ride?? I had a guy at a tire shop actually say his offroad Chevy was too nice to take off road? Huh?
I'm thinking since you have the spring bolt removal down now, is to just weld some side plates on a front skid so it can be bolted on and hang down enough to clear the wrap. What maybe a 1/4 inch? I first was going to make them bolt on but it cost more and welding was easy to do and solid and they day we were drawing them on the cad the guy just said, this will work and be solid against the mount and we knocked out a pair.
I will have some of those fronts for you to try just as soon as I can. Heck maybe just put another one over that one??
Clearance at the lowest point of the Hunner skid in the rear is 9 1/4 with Cooper 35 inch tires. That is figured with Bilsteins with the larger eye and the skids that are now bent further back to allow it to go up higher against that bigger eye. If you are using Bilsteins with the original bend in the skid it could be an 1/8 to 1/4 lower.
What is the actual clearance you have now? Include the bottom of the exposed lower shock eye. I think that is the lowest part with those plates.
The Hunner skids are designed to protect the ends of the spring ubolt ends as well as being wide enough to protect the lower shock mount eye and bolt. (on stock plates)
Now that you have lost some clearance even though the flat plates give you a bit more and pre-compress the shock by raising the lower mounting point, the lower shock mount and bolt will be at a higher risk of collision with something. It's always sumpthin!
Did you say the rack WAS slightly separated where the black tube meets the gear box aluminum drivers side. Scarry! I thought I saw that moving.
I would get a spare rack, install it and carry what is left of that as a spare if when you remove it, it is still together. BEFORE MOAB!
I went back one more time and read that part about the Rancho being 1 1/2 I believe and the Deaver being about 3+ BUT, the Rancho did not work, there's your sign!
Best I can measure on the OEM springs on my Alpha are 1 7/8 for reference.

 

[06 H3]

Gotta run, Giving blood this morning and then off to work. Gonna re read this and fully understand it before I reply. I will say one thing though, The bottom of my skid is at 10 1/4 or something like that...Will remeasure and double check what I wrote down too. Also the rancho springs are thinner then stock? Ugh....thats not good...no wonder why they cant hold weight...

 

[Hunner]

Don't give too much, you need your strength!:shifty:

 

[06 H3]

Welding two can be beneficial...It would probably clear the deavers. I can take some measurements to double check and be 100% sure. Today the ride home from work was very smooth, I really like the ride. Since the rear came up the front came down a tad, the bumpstops are really on the A arm. I will bring it up a tad and get an alignment. My only real problem with these damn springs is how they go and take clearance away. It may not be an issue or it might, time will tell. I really want to look into some shocks down the road if I stick with the deavers and get full use of travel, possibly some currie anti rocks to allow minimal body roll and max flex.

While I am kinda pist the shock mounts are low the JK's are the same way. Close to the wheel, like our springs, but allow more travel. I think my best bet is to wait and see and BE PATIENT for once, see where I get hung up and go from there. If I dont get hung up then I dont have to worry. I really wanna get out there and wheel in the rocks to see how they perform.

If and only if I look for a spring over I would want to chop off the leaf spring hangers on the front. It would allow less hang out and a better arched spring which would allow better up/down travel ratios, the flatter it is the worse. I would go deaver again though for a spring over...

I am kinda pumped to see how these perform in moab!!!

As for the rack its the same, I just mentioned it so no one can blame the failure on the lift. It was already like that haha

 

[Hans3T]

Ok so the deavers are in.



Ride height. The front may come up a bit...not sure yet, gotta check

That looks like it should now. Very nice -- and CONGRATS! Now that it's as high as it should be, I'm sure you're feeling better about it. :cheers:

 

[06 H3]

That looks like it should now. Very nice -- and CONGRATS! Now that it's as high as it should be, I'm sure you're feeling better about it. :cheers:

I definitely am....now I wanna wheel!

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[SC_Hummer_Guy]

So Chris like I said before I give you 10K and you build my truck up... Still sound good haha?

For real tho the 3 is looking awesome, totally jealous buddy! Some day soon tho imma catch up to you and Hans on the lifts and then it's all fair game from there!


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[06 H3]

So Chris like I said before I give you 10K and you build my truck up... Still sound good haha?

For real tho the 3 is looking awesome, totally jealous buddy! Some day soon tho imma catch up to you and Hans on the lifts and then it's all fair game from there!


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Thanks dude!! Sounds good to me. Id love to spend someone elses money

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[06 H3]

Went out last night. I had the itch around 1 am...lol

I understand why rod hall uses a similar type spring for his H3, these things are so insanely smooth at high speeds, I jumped it and its safe to say that it felt like the rear landed smoother then the front...on road and at slower speeds id say the ifs has more of that cushion feeling.

Hope these things do well in the rocks...since I do more rocks then high speed

My problem is that I get really OCD over the hummer and I get a bit crazy with expectations for ride quality and off road performance...lol

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[backwoods]

Glad to here you got everything worked out bro

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[cbetts]

I jumped it and its safe to say that it felt like the rear landed smoother then the front...on road and at slower speeds id say the ifs has more of that cushion feeling.

Are you kidding me? Dude, not the best thing to do, especially before a big trip like Moab.

Drive safe!

 

[06 H3]

Probably not the best idea now that I think of it...luckily no damage occurred

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[Sierra H3]

Great info Chris. Hopefully, you can make it to Hungry Valley where I can see your upgraded beast in person!

 

[Hunner]

I think your catching on about old guys and experience!!

sent from lake on sailboat.......................

 

[06 H3]

testing

Looking back when I did that I had no thoughts of breaking something/moab. Experience is what I lack...sometimes sense too

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[Hunner]

Your doing fine,at least your doing it!! dam 20 to 30 knots gotta go yeah hawwwww
and dark!!!!

 

[06 H3]

Can someone take a picture of a stock H3 with stock shackles in ride height position...I wanna put my hitch back on but need to make sure its not gonna hit...Do these look like stock position?

Later I will try and jack up the diff to full compression to see if the shackle hits the hitch

 

[Hunner]

Will this help?

 

[06 H3]

YES! thanks hunner, I think my shackle is about the same as yours...I will get a different angle. For now I will throw the aftermarket hitch back on but want to eventually buy an OEM one later down the road...

 

[06 H3]

I reinstalled my reese hitch tonight. At ride height it didnt hit the hitch. when pulling up the driveway I had no "BANG" sound like I did with the rancho leaves, I went up to the "flex out hill" up the street to see if my shackle hit at full flex and it was resting against it...Not sure if I should pull it out or not. Any opinions? Personally I want it in for moab as I use the hitch to slide over rocks instead of the bumper because the bumper doesnt slide...My question is anyone using an aftermarket hitch on stock height have the shackles hitting the hitch fully flexed out...I think its very possible. It isnt hitting like it was with the rancho leaves, if feels normally in the few miles I drove it, that is why I think I will leave it in. I really need to find an OEM one for cheap...

 

[HUMMER INVESTMENTS]

Id say keep it in for moab to protect:thumbs:

 

[06 H3]

I know I said I would have measurements from the pre lift to post lift and I never got to it...I have a list of stock measurements when being cranked to 23.25. So these measurements are comparing from a leveled 3 with 35s. If I was to compare to bone stock the difference would obviously be greater.

Anyways, First thing I want to mention is I am running my rancho low! Im sure we all noticed that in moab. I just measured that I am 25.5in hub to fender when rancho recommends 26-26.5in. I will be adjusting them I just havent had time. So I think its safe to add/subtract .5-1inch for each measurement.

I think the main one you all wanna know is front diff skid height seeing that is being dropped at a loss of clearance. in moab, T-bone and I had a small difference in height, these measurements varied as I did measuring on a much more level terrain in CA. All measurements were also taken in the same spot as it was pre lift.

Pre lift Post lift Net inches
Diff skid height 12.5in 11in -1.5
Rock slider height 18in 20.5in +2.5
Back bumper 18.5in 22in +3.5 *may be skewed due to moab clearancing out my bumper*
Frame height 16.5in 19in +2.5
T-Case skid 11.5in 14.125in +2.63in
Spring Hanger skid 11in 13.75in +2.75in

I tried to get these as accurate as possible. Please note, these measurements were taken months apart, while I did try to take away all things that can skew this (amount of gas, tire pressure, worn tires, junk in the trunk etc) This is just a gauge to show the added clearance is like a little bit more then a stock to t bar crank difference. Feel free to ask any questions.

Future things I want to add to the rancho....I wanna look for a better soultion for the deavers. They are great as they retain the necessary height but they are so thick I lost clearance under the diff...its like having 3 pumpkins ready to get hung up.

Possibilites are a spring over, Rancho improved springs, or a setup like H32NV. I saw his setup in moab, he had his springs rearched and had the spring hanger cut in half and rewelded to the frame. Seems good to me seeing the hanger is the worst part of the hang up.

Another thing I NEED to get done is upgraded diff brace bushings. The rancho crossmember bushing is a bit taller to adjust the pinion angle for the diff and I see that this puts more stress on the diff brace bushings, upgraded ones from Preferred Chassis will solve that issue quick! Other then that I just need to recrank em up to 26-26.5 and I will be good to go. . . .for now :shifty:

 

[06 H3]

Damn...I had a nice little chart for the #'s but it unspaced them :sigh:

 

[Hunner]

I hate it when that happens.
What was the issue on the steering gear and was it covered?