Leveling the H3

[TANDREW]

Just wondering if $450 is a good price for having a shop level the H3? Includes new shocks and alignment.

[tomp]

Does that include extended shocks or what?

[whaaaaT]

no. They'll probly just crank your T bars and give you new shocks and an alignment. Thats no big deal. I seriously doubt they are giving you 300 dollar shocks. Do it yourself. Get under your truck and turn the bars. Almost everyone here has done it. And I dont think anyone has had a single problem. The ride will actually feel smoother depending on how low your truck is sitting right now. If your shocks ever blow buy new ones then. But i dont think they will cause mine havent had a problem 13000 miles later. After your done turning the torsion bars (this will take you 15 mins if your slow i actually did it in about 10 seconds with the truck still on the ground) go get an alignment. And wow!. You just lifted the front end and only spent 80 bucks. If you have a coupon and go to firestone you get a lifetime alignment for that too! So feel free to run stuff over and just go back for free!

[Sewie]

Ripoff. :twak: Hell, my dealer didn't even charge me that much.

[whaaaaT]

hope he didnt go and get it done before reading these.

[stagger_lee]

Ripoff. :twak: Hell, my dealer didn't even charge me that much.

Sewie - Your dealer cranked down the t-bars for you? I thought that had adverse effects on ball joints? did that effect warranty at all?

[Sewie]

Sewie - Your dealer cranked down the t-bars for you? I thought that had adverse effects on ball joints? did that effect warranty at all?

That's why I had the dealer do it, so it would be covered under warranty. I also had them mount my 35's at the same time. Cost me more but if they ever give me crap about wear caused by either then I just remind them they're the ones that did it.

[TANDREW]

Haven't done anything yet. Yes it does include extended shocks and torsion links. They say it doesn't effect the ride it should keep that OEM RIDE and feel..

[stagger_lee]

That's why I had the dealer do it, so it would be covered under warranty. I also had them mount my 35's at the same time. Cost me more but if they ever give me crap about wear caused by either then I just remind them they're the ones that did it.

Sounds like a good plan to me. I'll look into that myself. I was just going to wait till my warranty was out until I f-ed with anything, but if dealer will do it, Im on it. :beerchug:

[H3.007]

Crank the T-bars. $50 dollar job at a professional alignment shop; 4,000 miles later - no problems. And I love the ride :dancingbanana:

[Sewie]

Haven't done anything yet. Yes it does include extended shocks and torsion links.

I'm assuming you mean re-indexed keys. Which means they're selling you a leveling kit and not just cranking the t-bars. More labor, plus parts, so the price may be okay. I've never really looked into so can't say. But just cranking the t-bars is still cheaper.

[Jeff G]

Haven't done anything yet. Yes it does include extended shocks and torsion links. They say it doesn't effect the ride it should keep that OEM RIDE and feel..

If they're including extended shocks and including re-indexed keys and aligning, it's a pretty good deal.:beerchug:

[HummBebe]

If they're including extended shocks and including re-indexed keys and aligning, it's a pretty good deal.:beerchug:

Tell me about the extended shocks.....who makes them and where can I buy a set???

[marin8703]

no. They'll probly just crank your T bars and give you new shocks and an alignment. Thats no big deal. I seriously doubt they are giving you 300 dollar shocks. Do it yourself. Get under your truck and turn the bars. Almost everyone here has done it. And I dont think anyone has had a single problem. The ride will actually feel smoother depending on how low your truck is sitting right now. If your shocks ever blow buy new ones then. But i dont think they will cause mine havent had a problem 13000 miles later. After your done turning the torsion bars (this will take you 15 mins if your slow i actually did it in about 10 seconds with the truck still on the ground) go get an alignment. And wow!. You just lifted the front end and only spent 80 bucks. If you have a coupon and go to firestone you get a lifetime alignment for that too! So feel free to run stuff over and just go back for free!

sorry to go off topic but i have to ask. How can i get free alignments for life, that would be awsome if possible? Thanks!

[Jeff G]

Tell me about the extended shocks.....who makes them and where can I buy a set???

When I installed the Truxxx kit on my truck, I asked a friend of mine if the original shocks and shock extenders could be replaced with longer shocks. He told me that whenever I wanted to order new front shocks that he could replace them with Rancho or any other aftermarket shocks, with a size to fill the original shock + extender. His company, Trailblazers is based here in Lexington, but has a huge online presence through truckaddons.com. :beerchug:

[K9sH3]

sorry to go off topic but i have to ask. How can i get free alignments for life, that would be awsome if possible? Thanks!


Firestone, Goodyear and most of the reast have those deals. Wait for the adds.

[HummBebe]

When I installed the Truxxx kit on my truck, I asked a friend of mine if the original shocks and shock extenders could be replaced with longer shocks. He told me that whenever I wanted to order new front shocks that he could replace them with Rancho or any other aftermarket shocks, with a size to fill the original shock + extender. His company, Trailblazers is based here in Lexington, but has a huge online presence through truckaddons.com. :beerchug:

I think he's assuming he can do that. I spent almost 2 hours at the local Central 4Wheel Drive store. We went through every catalog from every manufacturer.

Rancho politely told me to go pound sand. The biggest issue is that the front shocks are very unique. They have a clevis mount (similar to a strut) on the bottom and a pin on the top.

No one else makes them. No one. Rancho makes them in 2 sizes 0" ride height and 4". And told me they are absolutely not interested in making a 2 " version. "See ya later lady and good luck."

[whaaaaT]

sorry to go off topic but i have to ask. How can i get free alignments for life, that would be awsome if possible? Thanks!

Firestone does it for around 100 bucks. You'll see a cupon pop up in the papers every so often. Its free as long as you own the car.

[tomp]

Before wasting time running around looking for longer shocks, you should realize they will not gain you anything. The stock shocks are made my Rancho for Hummer and so on. Rancho & Monroe are also same company.

Keep in mind all 3 of the above shocks have built in internal and external bump stops.

Rancho makes their after market shocks to same specs as the OEM shocks with improvements over the OEM ones they provide to Hummer.

Whenever you crank the torsion bars, you are limiting your travel. The reason for this is not because the shocks are too short, but because you have placed them out of their travel-range.


By adding the shock extenders, you get back the lost travel. How? Well, by design the stock design does not allow the lower control arm to fall all the way down because it hangs from the shock before ever hitting the built-in bump stop on the control arms.

The shock extenders allow the control arm to fall down where they should and hit the control arm bump stop before hangin up on the shock.

The shock extenders fixes the problem and allow you to run stock shocks. Why would you want to limit your shock selection by going with a longer shock that will not gain you anything?

[HummBebe]

Before wasting time running around looking for longer shocks, you should realize they will not gain you anything. The stock shocks are made my Rancho for Hummer and so on. Rancho & Monroe are also same company.

Keep in mind all 3 of the above shocks have built in internal and external bump stops.

Rancho makes their after market shocks to same specs as the OEM shocks with improvements over the OEM ones they provide to Hummer.

Whenever you crank the torsion bars, you are limiting your travel. The reason for this is not because the shocks are too short, but because you have placed them out of their travel-range.


By adding the shock extenders, you get back the lost travel. How? Well, by design the stock design does not allow the lower control arm to fall all the way down because it hangs from the shock before ever hitting the built-in bump stop on the control arms.

The shock extenders allow the control arm to fall down where they should and hit the control arm bump stop before hangin up on the shock.

The shock extenders fixes the problem and allow you to run stock shocks. Why would you want to limit your shock selection by going with a longer shock that will not gain you anything?

I should have stated longer travel, not longer shock.

Reference here: http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24995

[Jeff G]

Before wasting time running around looking for longer shocks, you should realize they will not gain you anything. The stock shocks are made my Rancho for Hummer and so on. Rancho & Monroe are also same company.

Keep in mind all 3 of the above shocks have built in internal and external bump stops.

Rancho makes their after market shocks to same specs as the OEM shocks with improvements over the OEM ones they provide to Hummer.

Whenever you crank the torsion bars, you are limiting your travel. The reason for this is not because the shocks are too short, but because you have placed them out of their travel-range.


By adding the shock extenders, you get back the lost travel. How? Well, by design the stock design does not allow the lower control arm to fall all the way down because it hangs from the shock before ever hitting the built-in bump stop on the control arms.

The shock extenders allow the control arm to fall down where they should and hit the control arm bump stop before hangin up on the shock.

The shock extenders fixes the problem and allow you to run stock shocks. Why would you want to limit your shock selection by going with a longer shock that will not gain you anything?

I actually meant longer travel as well. I guess it just has something to do with stability. I know the extenders probably will work fine, I would just feel better with a complete shock in there.:beerchug: