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What did you do with your H3 recently? NEW

Guerrero

Well-Known Member
Messages
124
Location
Spain
Hey Oscar.

No I didn't replace my valve body. it looked perfect when we pulled it apart. I know how difficult it is to get one of these so I was kina hesitant to permanently modify it for performance lol but here we are.


Hey Gpcalero

Its ok, yes, part number for 2008 H3 alpha is discontinued, I am going to test the previous part number #19209028 and comment if its valid for our alphas, the part is arriving to my home so in one or two weeks I will comment how it goes!!

Maybe we at the end have a replacement part for our valve bodies :giggle:

About Headers I will post soon! They need to be adapted in the driver side and adapt both catalytic pipes on both sides to accomodate it, even need to bend a little the body of the hummer to accomodate the o2 sensor on passenger side
My problem right now is with the contact between Headers and cylinder head, the design from JBA is horrible, is not a flat plate. So right now i am welding the primaries from outside and later going to flatten the plate for best contact using stock gaskets

Soon exhaust and tranny will be ready

P.D: What is discontinued and I really want to have is the Oem roof marker lights, impossible to find....:shame:
 

Gpcalero

Well-Known Member
Messages
254
Location
SW Florida
Hey Gpcalero

Its ok, yes, part number for 2008 H3 alpha is discontinued, I am going to test the previous part number #19209028 and comment if its valid for our alphas, the part is arriving to my home so in one or two weeks I will comment how it goes!!

Maybe we at the end have a replacement part for our valve bodies :giggle:

About Headers I will post soon! They need to be adapted in the driver side and adapt both catalytic pipes on both sides to accomodate it, even need to bend a little the body of the hummer to accomodate the o2 sensor on passenger side
My problem right now is with the contact between Headers and cylinder head, the design from JBA is horrible, is not a flat plate. So right now i am welding the primaries from outside and later going to flatten the plate for best contact using stock gaskets

Soon exhaust and tranny will be ready

P.D: What is discontinued and I really want to have is the Oem roof marker lights, impossible to find....:shame:

Well good luck! I hope it works for you. What is wrong with your existing valve body?

Also, I have just started to work on the headers myself. I'm not too happy with the flanges like you. Apparently they call it a "raised port design" to promote sealing. Blahhh. Looks like garbage to me to be honest. I got new OEM gaskets and using copper rtv to make sure it gets sealed.

Keep looking for the roof marker lights. You may be able to buy them from a parts/wreck-yard off of a totaled H3/H3T.
 

Schwarttzy

Sponsor
Messages
1,390
Location
Rockford IL
Going back to an OEM GM Factory radiator since the CSF is leaking, again. I figure now is the perfect time to hot-swap a camshaft in there. I'll already have the old radiator out of the way. So I bought the SUM-8718R1 cam! https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-8718R1 With a tiny bit of luck, this camshaft should help the 5.3 V8 hold 4th gear better while towing at 75mph. I don't plan on changing anything on the heads. Although, I would like to modify the heads. I'm going to hold off for now and make that a future project. The future plan is to ship the heads to be 5-axis CNC ported and polished to help the engine breathe better. I've seen places claiming to increase the flow rate up to 40%. Also, at the same time also decking, honing, valve job, and checking to see if it's possible to run larger valves in those heads. I'm excited to install a potentionally serious engine power modification!
 

Gpcalero

Well-Known Member
Messages
254
Location
SW Florida
Going back to an OEM GM Factory radiator since the CSF is leaking, again. I figure now is the perfect time to hot-swap a camshaft in there. I'll already have the old radiator out of the way. So I bought the SUM-8718R1 cam! https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-8718R1 With a tiny bit of luck, this camshaft should help the 5.3 V8 hold 4th gear better while towing at 75mph. I don't plan on changing anything on the heads. Although, I would like to modify the heads. I'm going to hold off for now and make that a future project. The future plan is to ship the heads to be 5-axis CNC ported and polished to help the engine breathe better. I've seen places claiming to increase the flow rate up to 40%. Also, at the same time also decking, honing, valve job, and checking to see if it's possible to run larger valves in those heads. I'm excited to install a potentionally serious engine power modification!


Nice!!

I cam swapped my 5.3 and loved it. I really wanted the same end goal as you, to be able to tow better at highway speeds. I used the TSP truck cam which is a little bigger, and it helped some by adding 51 hp and even gains from 1200 rpm up. But still, towing a car at highway speeds/75 mph, it still left some power to be desired, I was disappointed lol (hence the 6.2 swap). Love the sound though. Have you re-geared the diffs to 4.56? That will absolutely give you more towing performance than the 20-ish hp that cam will provide. That's on my list of items to do.

I also see that you don't want to change things on the heads, but while you're in that area, it wouldn't be a bad idea to change the valve springs and valve seals for the new cam. The LS6 springs are budget friendly.

One more thing, that cam you are looking at is a 3-bolt design so you will have to switch over from our 1-bolt cam. I recommend the BTR kit that includes a new tensioner, new cam gear and arp bolts. Grab a new timing chain while you're at it.
 

Schwarttzy

Sponsor
Messages
1,390
Location
Rockford IL
Nice!!

I cam swapped my 5.3 and loved it. I really wanted the same end goal as you, to be able to tow better at highway speeds. I used the TSP truck cam which is a little bigger, and it helped some by adding 51 hp and even gains from 1200 rpm up. But still, towing a car at highway speeds/75 mph, it still left some power to be desired, I was disappointed lol (hence the 6.2 swap). Love the sound though. Have you re-geared the diffs to 4.56? That will absolutely give you more towing performance than the 20-ish hp that cam will provide. That's on my list of items to do.

I also see that you don't want to change things on the heads, but while you're in that area, it wouldn't be a bad idea to change the valve springs and valve seals for the new cam. The LS6 springs are budget friendly.

One more thing, that cam you are looking at is a 3-bolt design so you will have to switch over from our 1-bolt cam. I recommend the BTR kit that includes a new tensioner, new cam gear and arp bolts. Grab a new timing chain while you're at it.

I want to change things on the heads, but i'm going to wait a bit before I do upgrade the heads. I haven't gotten to serious about re gearing yet. Although, my next project, before fall is to put a TrueTrack in the front differential.
 

Schwarttzy

Sponsor
Messages
1,390
Location
Rockford IL

Gpcalero

Well-Known Member
Messages
254
Location
SW Florida
I want to change things on the heads, but i'm going to wait a bit before I do upgrade the heads. I haven't gotten to serious about re gearing yet. Although, my next project, before fall is to put a TrueTrack in the front differential.

Got the ARP Bolts, camshaft thrust plate, and Cam gear NAL-12586481 already. I didn't get a new tensioner, from all the videos and what not I have seen any replacing them.


Yes that would be great! I'm waiting for Outfitter Design to finish up their Dana 50 front swap kits completed. One day, I'm sure they'll be available lol (I know they are quite busy). And hopefully works with a Rancho.


Awesome, yeah you don't NEED the new tensioner, I just got the kit from BTR that had everything. Their tensioner, surprisingly, is much simpler and not sure how it's better than our stock units lol. Good luck with the cam swap buddy
 

Gpcalero

Well-Known Member
Messages
254
Location
SW Florida
Mounted the LS3 engine and built trans w/ the JBA shorty headers.

attachment.php
 

Guerrero

Well-Known Member
Messages
124
Location
Spain
Well good luck! I hope it works for you. What is wrong with your existing valve body?

Also, I have just started to work on the headers myself. I'm not too happy with the flanges like you. Apparently they call it a "raised port design" to promote sealing. Blahhh. Looks like garbage to me to be honest. I got new OEM gaskets and using copper rtv to make sure it gets sealed.

Keep looking for the roof marker lights. You may be able to buy them from a parts/wreck-yard off of a totaled H3/H3T.

Hey man!

About the valve body nothing is wrong yet, I can feel the shift not being smoth and when that happens I refurbish everything hidraucally, the Hummer has 136000 miles on stock tranny, so I want to replace everything in the valve body area with new parts...I made that to my previous H3 2006 when tranny started acting strange shifting and after that refurbish the tranny was like new, super strong and runs another 30000 miles of abuse before selling the truck one month ago, so I will go the same route with this on the alpha (sad that the speed sensor do not allow me to replace the boost valve in the pump from the pan, I need to remove the oil pump to change it with sonnax 4l60e-lb2 booster valve (awesome difference)

About headers yes, the design is completely garbage, I TIG welded the primaries from outside and machining the flange right now to assure a flatten surface to seal with stock gasket, more money to put on these because of design, but well I am a difficult person too :giggle: if something is not the way I like in my truck I am never happy jaja

Yes! keep looking at roof marker lights but see prices completely crazy! 1000 dollars for a set sold in facebook yesterday....
 

cgalpha08

"Like Nothing Else"
Messages
3,710
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Installed a switch pros 9100 switch panel. Well I did all the wiring and hooked it up. I haven't hard mounted the switch panel itself in the cab yet, but it all works!
c1b8d1acb79bde5220df160ab0b9eac4.jpg
f025b0de62bcf4969cd01a65db625910.jpg


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08H3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,367
Location
United States
Road trip from Indiana to Florida that I started calling "Cornfield to Coast '21". Thanks to Covid, we really didn't go on any long trips last year. Guess we are making up for it. Won't be a low mileage one owner for much longer at this rate!
PXL_20210725_160628410.jpg
GH010329_1626574136571_exported_33.jpg
 
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08H3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,367
Location
United States
Did some trail maintenance. While a pickup is far more useful for this overall, it's hard to beat the roof rack as a portable platform for overhead trimming.
GX010435_1628357941543_exported_118268.jpg
 

08H3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,367
Location
United States
Annual camping trip with my parents, sister, and her family. Being with family was nice, but the more camping trips I go on to public campgrounds, the more I'd rather just camp at home. That's not the fault of the parks though. I think Indiana's state parks are among the best around. We went to Prophetstown, which was quite different from what is typical of most Indiana state parks. Most are heavily wooded. Prophetstown is mostly prairie. That's fine, but with temperatures in the 90s with excessive heat warnings, hiking across an open field did not sound particularly appealing.
PXL_20210727_011142053.jpg
 

Alpha X

Well-Known Member
Messages
451
Location
The Motor City
That's a pretty cool setup for camping. I like the RTT and trailer.

Annual camping trip with my parents, sister, and her family. Being with family was nice, but the more camping trips I go on to public campgrounds, the more I'd rather just camp at home. That's not the fault of the parks though. I think Indiana's state parks are among the best around. We went to Prophetstown, which was quite different from what is typical of most Indiana state parks. Most are heavily wooded. Prophetstown is mostly prairie. That's fine, but with temperatures in the 90s with excessive heat warnings, hiking across an open field did not sound particularly appealing.
View attachment 27678
 

EndeavoredH3

Well-Known Member
Messages
469
Location
Arizona
Thor bumpers prep. Thanks to cj for recommending the spare tire license plate mount.

39abb7ba8fed2cf5049d4b4a6efa11e0.jpg

Part number J132759 from extreme terrain off-road outfitters


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Sennin

Well-Known Member
Messages
453
Location
South Africa
Thor bumpers prep. Thanks to cj for recommending the spare tire license plate mount.

39abb7ba8fed2cf5049d4b4a6efa11e0.jpg

Part number J132759 from extreme terrain off-road outfitters


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


nice, at this point my licence plate is cable tied in place on the rear wheel. which option did you take? as I see you have to choose between the wrangler generations when selecting the plate
 

EndeavoredH3

Well-Known Member
Messages
469
Location
Arizona
nice, at this point my licence plate is cable tied in place on the rear wheel. which option did you take? as I see you have to choose between the wrangler generations when selecting the plate


I bought the plate mount for the 07-18 Wrangler JK. Lines up nicely.
 

Schwarttzy

Sponsor
Messages
1,390
Location
Rockford IL
Schwarttzy-H3-Hummer-Off-Road-Summit-Racing-SUM-141556-Summit-Racing-Pro-LS-Upgraded-Rocker-Arms-850x478.jpg


Installed the Summit Racing SUM-141556 - Summit Racing® Pro LS Upgraded Rocker Arms in my H3 Alpha. What a huge difference those rocker arms made towards smoothing out the engine. Wish I had done when my engine was at 180k.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-141556
 

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Guerrero

Well-Known Member
Messages
124
Location
Spain
Schwarttzy-H3-Hummer-Off-Road-Summit-Racing-SUM-141556-Summit-Racing-Pro-LS-Upgraded-Rocker-Arms-850x478.jpg


Installed the Summit Racing SUM-141556 - Summit Racing® Pro LS Upgraded Rocker Arms in my H3 Alpha. What a huge difference those rocker arms made towards smoothing out the engine. Wish I had done when my engine was at 180k.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-141556


Amazing! I will go the same route than you, the set is still going well in your engine?
Any better feeling except smoother engine? (better response, horsepower, etc)

Why do you reuse the existing bolts? The bolts that came with the set are not good? (just to know)

Thanks for sharing Schwarttzy!!
 

Schwarttzy

Sponsor
Messages
1,390
Location
Rockford IL
Amazing! I will go the same route than you, the set is still going well in your engine?
Any better feeling except smoother engine? (better response, horsepower, etc)

Why do you reuse the existing bolts? The bolts that came with the set are not good? (just to know)

Thanks for sharing Schwarttzy!!

The rocker arms are still going strong, but it's only be couple of weeks.

The engine sounds a lot smoother now.

The new bolts felt cheap. I don't like hex head bolts. I'd rather have regular socket head bolts.
 

Guerrero

Well-Known Member
Messages
124
Location
Spain
The rocker arms are still going strong, but it's only be couple of weeks.

The engine sounds a lot smoother now.

The new bolts felt cheap. I don't like hex head bolts. I'd rather have regular socket head bolts.

Its ok! Thanks!

Do you just reuse your existing regular socket head bolts?

Planning to do this mod after the current replacement of injectors due to Spark knock problem in cylinder 5 at high rpm (killing all the power)
 

Schwarttzy

Sponsor
Messages
1,390
Location
Rockford IL
Its ok! Thanks!

Do you just reuse your existing regular socket head bolts?

Planning to do this mod after the current replacement of injectors due to Spark knock problem in cylinder 5 at high rpm (killing all the power)


Yep. I looked at the quality between the two different bolts and decided that the factory ones are better. This is why I reinstalled the factory rocker arm bolts.
 
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Bowser-II

Well-Known Member
Messages
270
Location
Hagerstown, Maryland
So far this month

CV / axle bearing and seal
Drivers side CV
Drivers side hub
Oil change
New bump stops / jounce front and rear



Still to do

Locate grinding during slow right turns
Xfer case fluid change
Tensioner and belt (again, every 50k I guess)
Transmission fluid change
Brakes and
brake line flush (1st one…)
Struts (still can’t decide between bilsteins and OE’s)
Head light swap to LEDs (maybe)


In progress

Homemade low profile roof rack
Trunk shelf


And keep my Jalopy 2004 Audi running just enough for a runabout


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