Search and Rescue H3 Alpha build

[06 H3]

The lowers won't be an issue but the upper for the driver side is gonna suck. Gas tank in the way

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

The lowers won't be an issue but the upper for the driver side is gonna suck. Gas tank in the way

The pictures are just a for-instance/example. In the picture the upper arms go to the frame rails - however, there's no law that says that must be the case. I can also go from the outside to the center. Alternatively, I can simply run 3 bars like the B-body GM cars had (e.g. 65 Caprice). I honestly haven't decided (meaning, it will be decided the second I build it) whether or not I'll simply run a triangle to a single point and a ball - like GM used on their track-bar suspension (like what NASCAR uses today - that was adapted from Chevy pickups).

The trick is the longest bar possible to keep U-joint angles down, and to give you better traction on your instant center (the point where the 4 link suspension meets if you drew imaginary lines from the arms with the suspension at rest. the benefit of further forward is it puts more weight on the rear wheels when you accelerate)


or I can simply build a gas tank like I did when I put EFI on my Corvette

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

back on the lift again.
Yep still there is oil.... however, I'm not losing any engine oil
nor is there any oil on the inside of the bellhousing


it's actually good news because labor time on that is 15.9 hours


not the point - most people (maybe even all the normal contributors) would all say "I speed when it's safe" - meaning, not putting another person at risk. And that's the point about doing it right, you take as many precautions as you can to prevent injury to another person.
look at front differential

(not from the fill plug, that was from me filling it)
leaking from a bolt on the differential... which would coincide with the gear noise I've been hearing lately... damn

so I had a mechanic friend do work on the front differential, and asked him to be sure and put the royal purple back in. He didn't, I didn't know - so all this time I've been operating under the assumption that if it was differential fluid, that it'd be purple and smell like royal purple.

ugh

I'm going to make him reseal it, and put royal purple back in.... it appears that the worst leak is the drain plug, followed closely by a bolt

As the double check, the oil level is correct; the differential level was 1/2 quart low.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

6060 lbs with all my gear and me in my H3.... dang, there's a lot of junk in the trunk

 

[lugantom]

LOVING this thread. My H3 Alpha parks next to a 1972 Centurion convertible with a 455. Lots of plans for that, too.

Never saw the pics of your factory GM switches. How did that work out? I always figured that, if I put some lights on there, I'd want to connect to those factory swtich spots. My truck same with the factory clearance lights. I keep thinking about re-engineering that whole assembly to become a combination of driving lights and clearance lights.

Please keep posting the pics!

 

[H3Ray]

SuperBuickGuy:
You Sir, are a true American!
Having the know how and courage to make things better ...
This is why the US is still the most innovative and patent capitol of the world.
I'm honored to be a member here and privileged to view this work of Art, your H3 ....
Peace

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

LOVING this thread. My H3 Alpha parks next to a 1972 Centurion convertible with a 455. Lots of plans for that, too.

Never saw the pics of your factory GM switches. How did that work out? I always figured that, if I put some lights on there, I'd want to connect to those factory swtich spots. My truck same with the factory clearance lights. I keep thinking about re-engineering that whole assembly to become a combination of driving lights and clearance lights.

Please keep posting the pics!

My first car was a Buick that I absolutely and utterly hated - however, eventually I ended up with a 455 powered Skylark; and, well, the rest is history. Right now I'm building a 1950 Buick Sedanet with a twin-turbo 430 ci (sleeved 455), and efi.

As for the switches, I'll take a snap shot, but, in honesty, I'm not in love with them because they're hard to reach if you have anything in the pocket in the console (and my mastiff has figured out how to turn them on)

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

If anyone is planning on doing a front e-locker.... here's some part numbers
GM part number is 25800300 and Eaton number is 19835-010 AND AAM part number 40045120

And I ordered the e-locker. I have a few more questions, but I think it's going to be fine. I'm not going to change the gear ratio - after all, I think that 4:1 1st gear is wayyyy too low for where I wheel, so having 20% larger tires will actually be of benefit to me by reducing the gear ratio. I also don't know whether or not I have to buy different gears for the front - GM has two different part numbers for the ring/pinion for either open or e-locked; hopefully not, but I guess I'll have to find out before I tear the truck apart. I suppose the other option would be to shim or blanche grind the ring (and have it heat treated afterwards) - though in both of those cases, the wear pattern will be different so I may be stuck anyway.

I am going with e-lock vs. ARB because I really did some soul searching and realized that there's no benefit to me for having a locker that operates full time above 30 mph. In short, I'd like the ARB system a lot; but it just doesn't make a lot of sense to spend the money for the system - at some point, the winch cable is coming out.

With that said, I am going to lift it and run 37s.

 

[06 H3]

Nice! I have an e locker up front too but it's in the garage. Not sure why mine won't lock. I may have sent too much power to it and killed the stator.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

someone on here (recon?) did a rebuild on one; and the disk that transfers the current seems to be about the only thing that's sketchy - fortunately, the parts are very available and pretty cheap.... dunno, I've much to learn.

 

[lugantom]

If anyone is planning on doing a front e-locker.... here's some part numbers
GM part number is 25800300 and Eaton number is 19835-010

And I ordered the e-locker. I have a few more questions, but I think it's going to be fine. I'm not going to change the gear ratio - after all, I think that 4:1 1st gear is wayyyy too low for where I wheel, so having 20% larger tires will actually be of benefit to me by reducing the gear ratio. I also don't know whether or not I have to buy different gears for the front - GM has two different part numbers for the ring/pinion for either open or e-locked; hopefully not, but I guess I'll have to find out before I tear the truck apart. I suppose the other option would be to shim or blanche grind the ring (and have it heat treated afterwards) - though in both of those cases, the wear pattern will be different so I may be stuck anyway.

I am going with e-lock vs. ARB because I really did some soul searching and realized that there's no benefit to me for having a locker that operates full time above 30 mph. In short, I'd like the ARB system a lot; but it just doesn't make a lot of sense to spend the money for the system - at some point, the winch cable is coming out.

With that said, I am going to lift it and run 37s.

Am I understanding correctly that you are installing the factory front electric locker? I am very interested in that as well. My 2008 Alpha was missing two key things later trucks had - bluetooth on the stereo / OnStar and a front locker.

What do you plan to use for a switch for the locker? Do you intend to throw both lockers with the button for the rear, or are you keeping a separate dash toggle for the front? Will you be able to implement the control logic that only allows the front locker in 4 Lo and releases it when your speed gets above the set limit?

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Am I understanding correctly that you are installing the factory front electric locker? I am very interested in that as well. My 2008 Alpha was missing two key things later trucks had - bluetooth on the stereo / OnStar and a front locker.

What do you plan to use for a switch for the locker? Do you intend to throw both lockers with the button for the rear, or are you keeping a separate dash toggle for the front? Will you be able to implement the control logic that only allows the front locker in 4 Lo and releases it when your speed gets above the set limit?

You are correct, I'm using the factory locker

I'm not thrilled with the backup camera screen in my mirror, so plans are, someday to swap the stereo then wire the camera to the stereo. Once I do that, I'll either eliminate the rear-view mirror or use a much smaller one - but that's a subject for another day (along with replacing the rear-most windows with panels).

I haven't decided, yet, whether I'll bypass the switch or not. If you spin the wheels too fast for too long, you can damage the locker - which is why GM did what they did (4-lo). Honestly, I see no reason not to wire the switch with the same credentials. However, it would mean a more elaborate wiring scheme - fortunately, the wiring isn't a bus system, so it's just a matter of getting the right wire.... which someone on here already identified (will have to google)... and the worse part (to me) - where do I put the switch so that it doesn't look hacked? it's my understanding that the GM switch moves the stability control switch "somewhere else".... unfortunately, I've not seen a 09 up with front locker so I have no idea where that somewhere else is and whether I can do the same thing....

as for the 4 lo locking-only. you can start in 2nd gear while in 4 lo, but generally with the V8, you still don't have precise throttle control (thanks GM for drive-by-wire, grrrr) even with SC off. It would be nice to be able to lock the axles in 4 hi lock.... but will I live without it? dunno

thus, I don't know how I'm going to wire it yet, and I don't know where the switch (or switches) will be - suggestions?

 

[06 H3]

I think you can take an OEM factory installed rear locker and wire it to where you can lock it at anytime. I didnt have the adv package when I started so when I added the rear locker I have it wired independently from the OEM harness. I can lock my rear locker in any mode I want. I plan to do the same for the front.

 

[RamRod]

Here is how the factory does it, lockers top right, stability control bottom left.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Thanks for the input - keep it up. I'm leaning towards snipping the wire to the existing switch and wiring it so I can use it in any situation (and if I do ever sell it - unlikely - I'll simply wire both through the OEM switch). I need to do a switch panel anyway because I need to be able to control more lights (imagine, people get lost at night - so being able to switch each light would be useful... weird, huh?) - so the need for a switch panel already exists

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

good news and bad news....

The good news - I'm getting black mirrors for my H3

The bad news. I hit a post while backing in.... arrrggghhhh!!!!!

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Front locker install .... first, internet resources
locker rebuilding
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109143
rear install - basically the same as front
http://www.hummer4x4offroad.com/forum/showthread.php?1314-Eaton-E-locker
front install
http://www.355nation.net/forum/i4-i5-engine-drivetrain/40503-install-h3-e-locker-355-front-diff.html
wiring
http://www.hummerxclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=12430

but I may have a problem - hold on for pictures

sure enough, these wires are pulled out of the magnet... no installation tomorrows... damn

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

So here's the plan (after I get the locker fixed)
install locker


fix the oil seals (the reason for tearing into the differential)


install a steering kit from Preferred


turn the bars up a bit more and put add-a-leafs in the back to re-level the ride (I carry a lot of junk in the trunk for SAR)


never fear, though, the 4-link suspension is coming, but first I have to finish my press brake so I can build a new gas tank.... and get the lift-knuckles from Rancho... and about a billion other things - so this is a stop-gap until I get time to do the work.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

hmmm... talking to myself again... ah well, at least I'm interested

So I knocked the mirror off my H3 on a post - other than the 350 it cost to replace them, it was a good thing (bye bye chrome)



door panel


window controls and side panel pop off to reveal 3 screws (one behind handle)


and 4 bolts and a plug for the mirror


broken one


muy bueno


as you can see, my little helper is impressed



after I was done with that, I wanted to test my air-jacking bag


I have on-board air - so it was a perfect time to try inflating with the on-board air....



I really need to add a second battery, so after this round of updates; that will be my next big deal (after the front locker install, the new diff bushing, 2" lift and the scorpworks rack brace)

 

[RamRod]

That's ****ty news about the locker wires!

Keep posting up pics as you update!

 

[RamRod]

oh and how did the airbag work out??

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

That's ****ty news about the locker wires!

Keep posting up pics as you update!

I sent a note on Sat. night to the Chevy dealership with a picture of the damage - they responded Sunday morning with a promise to fix it. I offered (in the initial email) that if they could find the coil; that they could just send me that and I would install it. They notified me this morning they had found the coil and it's on its way. Amazing customer service (they're in Virginia somewhere).

oh and how did the airbag work out??

it will be handy*, you do have to be careful about it rolling. It looks like a marshmellow, but it actually forms into a beachball -so if the vehicle can move, it will... I also wish they had just a plug for the exhaust inlet (when you're using the air compressor, you have to plug the exhaust inlet hole with the hose... it's cumbersome and kind of in the way. the other criticism is this bag is pretty limited as far as vertical lift (24" IIRC).... most of us have at least that amount of travel (up/down) - so it would require some careful work to actually lift a tire off the ground... and whatever you do, follow the instruction about the puncture blanket....

*a couple weeks ago, I was wheeling in the snow with a friend and I got stuck. This bag would have worked quite well to get me out if I had been alone or with someone who didn't have a winch.... there were no accessible trees.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

coming attractions
​

 

[RamRod]

Image no working


Sent from handheld smoke signal device

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I don't know what the problem is - I've inspected the element and verified the path...