H3 Straight axle Swap

[SolidusJ]

WOW great job man!!!:horns:

 

[4speedfunk]

Nice. Welcome to the club.

 

[cbetts]

Out in Johnson Valley testing and tuning the shocks

You need to bring that beast out to Redondo Beach March 29th! Many of us would like to see this in person. More info here: :link:

 

[owlxxx]

awesome!

 

[JonBishop]

I'm drooling! Thing is Sooo awesome!!!! Great job!!!!


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[06 H3]

More specs please!!! Lol stock wheelbase? Height? Tires?

 

[RamRod]

Looks down right sexy!


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[Dana 60 H3]

Overall height is about 82". (Top of onstar antenna)Fits in my garage. I switched to 14" 2.5 kings with the adjustable remote reservoir. Running 200/300 front. 150/275 rear spring. Terra flex dual rate front sway bar. 40" Toyo open country M/t on 17" kmc wheels. The front is forward about 3" and rear about 3 also. Ill measure to get a wheelbase for you. PSC steering box reversed with ram assist. Still need limiting straps bump stops. And the list goes on and on. 5.13 gears puts my speedo at 3 mph over actual speed GPS.

 

[06 H3]

How about width? 81-84? That's a guess. Can u shift t case modes without turning it off due to no abs

 

[Dana 60 H3]

82" wide. Wheelbase is 119"

 

[3Hummers]

Very nice.

 

[4speedfunk]

82" wide. Wheelbase is 119"

Wow...what a moose! How's the turning radius? I'm sitting at 113.5" wheelbase, and I'm still very maneuverable....but not as good as the stock IFS (then again...what is?). I guess out west in the desert you can get away with 119" but, here in my area...119" wheelbase means 3-point turns pretty much everywhere you go. We have lots of trees and tight turns, and 119" will be a work-out on the trails. Not to mention all the Jeep guys behind you would be wondering what is causing the hold-ups? - LOL. Another prime example of how builds can vary according to terrain. No doubt the extra 3" means better high speeds stability (also never a concern here in the midwest). Great looking job. I'm very curious to see some close-ups of the steering box and the 4-link.

For comparison...My axles are 80" wide with the 6-lug Dana 44 front & stock 10-bolt rear. That is "center-of-tire to center-of-tire" and that includes the -11mm offset wheels (left-over from the Rancho kit).

 

[06 H3]

What are you outside tire to outside tire? I'm at 79. I love the wide stance for added stability. Both of you guys are making me consider the jump over to the other side

 

[Dana 60 H3]

The turning radius is good but I need to modify my Terra Flex Sway bar. It is the dual rate model that has a big knob to engage the street sway bar. When disengaged my tire at full lock will rub.
I need to machine the bars and flip the engagement knob. Doesn't look like a huge task. Overall Im happy with the turning radius. The longer wheelbase is handling the high speed desert terrain quite well.
Ill let you know how it treats me on the forest service trails.
What sway bar are you running? My Terra Flex is off a JK. it might be a little stiff on the trail. It seemed to limiting my
Articulation. I'm not running a rear sway bar yet.

I do need to trim some more rear bumper until I get some time to build a new one.

Ill get you some close ups of the Steering box and 4 links. I'm happy with the PSC box and Ram assist so far. I might get the pump built to help when I'm at Idle.

 

[06 H3]

Holy ****! I'm drooling. Are u going to the meet and greet or pre Moab shakedown run at last chance canyon? I need to see this

 

[06 H3]

I got a quick rough measurement for my roof line, its not exact or perfect I wasnt on level terrain but I am roughly 74-75in to the plastic molding up top around 77-78ish to the top of the on star antenna and 82ish to the top of the rack.

You kept that thing pretty low huh? Any idea how much lift you are over stock?

 

[ReconH3]

I've got 81" wide with 113" wheel base and 79" tall at roof. No roof rack. The axle being moved back should help clear fuel tank being hit by the D60 yoke like in my case.


"Ex Umbris Venimus"

 

[4speedfunk]

I'm not running any sway bars, and I need to do something about that. Since my steering box is mounted to the outside of the frame rail...it pretty much blocks any chance of a normal JK/TJ type sway bar. The pitman arm needs room to swing and thats where the sway bar arm would normally sit. The JK Anti-rock center-bar and mounts will probably work but, I'll have to make my own arms from scratch. They need to look like dog-leg to go up and over the steering box on the driver-side. Here's a photo that shows the room I've got to work with...

I've got several other ideas on how to mount the sway bar but, the traditional way (like Recon and Dana60) is IMO the only way to go for off-road. I have absolutely no problems disconnecting it for off-roading. My rig is way flexy, without even trying...so I would love to limit the travel. On-road at least. Its on my list of "spring-time" mods to figure out. Just like Recon says...fine-tuning a rig takes lots of trial and error, and nothing is ever completely finished.

 

[06 H3]

4speed have you thought of running a stock sway bar in reverse? Behind the axle? I have seen some setups like that before.

 

[4speedfunk]

Yes. I have thought of that and it may be my only option. This will require a very wide bar however because the frame rails get further apart aft of the motor mounts. Really like to keep it like stock if possible. I also studied a Ford F-350 pretty close. It has the bar actually mounted to the axle tubes (alot like the H3's rear bar)...and the arms point rearward with links up to the frame just behind the front wheel wells. Now that I got the t-case replaced (works freakin better than it ever has)....I'll be moving on to solve the sway bar issue.

BTW...the heavy "thud" that I thought was axle wrap at take-off and stopping is GONE. The sensation felt like the rear axle housing pivoting up and down every time I would stop or take off. It had to have been the t-case. I think it was "sticking" and not releasing the front/rear from each other in 4HI-Street mode. Anyway...I might just hold off on the rear torque arm. The new t-case is... s m o o t h. It actually drives much better. The old one has parts rolling around inside it. Sweet.

 

[06 H3]

Do you mind sharing some pics of the steering and all that stuff. I saw this rig in person before the axles were hung. I may not be too far behind you in terms of drastic changes to my rig.

Next year we both have to go to KOH. I think it would be cool as hell to see two SAS H3s do some tough trails after the race. If we could get bebe down there in her H3 too that would be icing on the cake. 3 black H3s all run 37s or bigger and modified suspensions.

 

[Cajun_Tiger_Hummer]

How about a update on this bad ass piece of machinery?

 

[zackcrum]

X2!

 

[Dana 60 H3]

Sorry been away from the forum for months. Slammed at work not much time to work on things. I'll get you pics of the steering. If you still have my number 06 H3 text or call with questions. If not I'll IM it to you.

I will be at KOH this year again.

I just got back from Ocotillo last week still tweaking the coilovers valving Etc.

 

[zackcrum]

studying some stuff and HAD to bump this thread, any updates here?