BBYHUMR 06 Re-build

[BBYHUMR]

This will not only be my first post but also the start of my ‘build’ (rebuild) thread. I have worked in the auto industry for roughly 20 years starting as the low man on the totem pole by mopping shop floors. I eventually worked my way up to be an express service technician for a local BMW/Mercedes shop before becoming a main line tech for the same shop. After moving to Texas I decided to move to the office side of things and again, began as the low man at a Ford dealership writing express oil change services before working my way through the ranks to drive manager. Eventually I moved onto the body shop side of things prior to my current role as a catastrophe insurance adjuster. This project will be something for me to tinker with during my week off each month and to hopefully teach my daughter a thing or two about wrenching and the satisfaction that comes along with doing it yourself.

I recently picked up an 06 H3 from our mail carrier. It had been involved in a collision with a post during an ice storm a couple years ago and just sat in their driveway ever since. She had it inspected by our local mechanic who told her the valve cover was leaking & had shorted out the #5 coil, all of which she openly admitted to me and provided me the prior receipt from the inspection.

After eventually getting it started with a completely dead battery I limped it the 2 blocks home and parked it in the driveway for the repairs to begin.

The following day my helper and I went about replacing the valve cover gasket, the spark plugs and the #5 coil. All of which I had pre-ordered prior to bringing the rig home. Once I got it home I found out during the time it’s been sitting the #1 & #2 coils had also failed due to water/oil intrusion. I have since ordered a full set of coils along with a replacement battery that are waiting for my return from assignment in Iowa.

The next 3 days prior to my departure were spent cleaning the inside of the rig. Our mail carrier lives & worked on a dirt (caliche) road. If you have never tried to clean caliche I hope you never have to. It is a nightmare to try to get rid of even with cleaning products – no you cannot just ‘wash it off’ with a hose.

I will be returning home to continue the work toward the end of July and hope to have another update at that time.

The other part of this build is other than the replacement body panels I hope to pay for the majority of the components using points from my hotel/airline/rental car memberships – relatively easy to do when you live in hotels for 3 weeks a month.

 

[3Hummers]

Looks like quite a project. Looks like something you and your helper will bond over and remember for a life time.

 

[alrock]

Welcome to H4O! Looks like a good project with a good start. Glad you have a great helper, it's always fun when the kids get into it.

 

[BBYHUMR]

Thank y’all for the welcome. Yes, hopefully she will be able to get more and more into it as her age progresses. She’s already very mechanically inclined and constantly “fixes” our dining room table with some of my old tools. She’s been asking me during our nightly FaceTime conversations when I’m coming back so we can “work on the truck”.

 

[H3Hummer]

welcome to H4O, a nice project to do and you have already help from a Newby

 

[BBYHUMR]

Well as promised, I got back from my rotation in Iowa last Friday. The family and I went to Broken Bow, Oklahoma for a weekend get away when I got back. Wednesday I took a trip down to Dallas to a few junkyards and picked up all the parts I needed minus the grill. Also stopped by Decatur on my way home and picked up a set of 7” headlight adapters from a fellow H3 owner.
Today my helper and I got to work getting the new (to me) parts put on.

Finished off the day by getting the wiring and relays set for the replacement headlights. Just need to pick up a half dozen spade connectors to attach the harness to the relays.

Also went through and pulled off the running boards as I’ve never been a fan of them and cranked up the torsion bars an inch to get closer to level between the front and rear. I may go higher eventually but will have rear shackles and tires installed before getting too “Carolina squat”

Before:

And after:

Of course my helper was plugging along the whole time stealing the nuts and bolts and wrenches I was using.

Even helped clean up afterwards (a large accomplishment for a 5 year old)

All in all it was a productive week. Also got the remaining ignition coils and battery replaced, still have a bit (super minor) of a hesitation like it wants to die after deceleration which may just be a matter of the gas that has been sitting in the tank for the past two years or some build up on the MAF or throttle body or a lazy o2 sensor, but she runs flawlessly otherwise, no valve or lifter noise, no knocking - quiet as can be.

 

[BBYHUMR]

Got back from my last rotation and came down with covid so lost a few days worth of work which resulted in a relatively unproductive week off.

Was able to get the headlight’s wired up and working. Found out I was using a double ground (ground from harness & ground going to battery from relays) which was keeping them from working. Once I removed the ground to the battery my self made harness worked just fine.

I started tinkering a bit with the fog lights that came with the headlight kit however I was never able to come up with a surround to take up all the extra room in the bumper opening. Has anyone had any luck with their conversion to cover up the ugly gaps? If you did what did you use? I know there is someone online selling a trim kit but last I heard he was either out of stock or not returning emails so looking for alternative options.

Went ahead and changed the engine oil while I had the time and had some healthy clumps of sludge come out. Immediately after the oil change I had a crank no start issue. Started off with the normal cleaning of MAF and throttle body both of which were nasty. Problem still persisted afterward so finally found my old scan tool and found error codes for intake & exhaust cam sensors – pulled both out and uh yeah they were nasty.

Cleaned them up and cleared codes, started the truck, ran very very rough and had to feather the throttle to keep it running. Died again so plugged in my code reader again, found same codes present so I decided to order a replacement set of cam sensors. Threw them in and cleared codes again, truck idled much better and gave better throttle response but after shutting the truck off it would give me another crank no start issue until I cleared codes then the truck fires right up with no issues. However, once I shut it off I get the same thing, crank no start. I finally decided this was due to all the gunk inside the engine and am hoping it will resolve itself once I get a few oil changes done.

Spent a couple hours after this degreasing the engine bay. The vehicle had a valve cover gasket leak when I bought it that looks like it had been leaking since the truck was new. Got it mostly cleaned up for now before heading out to NJ for assignment. Believe it or not, this is much better than it was before!

I am certainly considering engine options at this point. When I bought the truck it had difficulty running due to failed coils and the engine internals were relatively unknown however the price was right even if it needed an engine. After changing the oil and seeing all the clumps coming out of the oil pan the engine replacement is certainly moving up the list of next steps. I am a realist and do not expect this engine to recover to the point it can be considered reliable. Wife has already told me she wants me to put a v8 in it so the investigation into a 5.3/6.0 swap begins….

 

[BBYHUMR]

Minor update.

After coming back from assignment in NJ (for those of you who live in NJ, all I can say is i'm sorry) I was able to source a replacement aftermarket grill. Fitment was okay, both ends toward the turn signals needed some persuasion to attach to their tabs correctly. Even with this i still have some very minor fitment issues with the hood gap but nothing terrible, photos are before fitment adjustments took place. I think part of my fitment issues were from it being an aftermarket part and likely some due to the collision. For what it is i'm happy with the result though.

Started working on building a fog light bracket although once installed I was less than thrilled with the outcome so back to the drawing board on that, however I did get the wiring run and connected so the DRL & turn signals inside are working correctly.

I went out on a whim regarding my occasional crank-no-start and found the cam actuator solenoid was clogged up and missing a screen as well. Quick order one of those and now the truck starts up just fine.

My assistant apparently misplaced the connector from the harness to the right side turn signal so ended up searching around for a replacement just to find out it's included with the discontinued harness only. Found a $10 socket pigtail from autozone that fits the housing with minor modification however I haven't wired it up yet in hopes I can still find the connector - if anyone has one of these they're willing to part with i'd be happy to discuss further!!!

Let the wife drive the 3 around our block a bit. Haven't taken it on the highway yet since it's pending an alignment and wanting to do a suspension shake down on a lift but it handles as you'd expect it to so far! Next things on the list is back to the drawing board on the fog light brackets and trying to source a fender liner for the right side. Once that is completed then it will be ready to go for state inspection here in Texas and hopefully be legal to drive around. Getting excited to have the old girl back on the road (legally).

Still ongoing with research on a V8 swap as i'm sure the life span on the i5 is closing in. I believe I have the technical side of things sorted out, just need to start sourcing parts and a good sound power plant that wont break the bank (even if needing a rebuild). I will likely do the wrap on the truck prior to pulling the motor though unless the i5 gives up it's last breath prior to then.

 

[Korby7]

PM sent on the light socket.