Upgrade Steering and Suspensions Parts
 

All the parts that i've ordered came in.....i'm goin' to install 'em this weekend.



Here's the parts list:
ARP exhaust manifold stud kit
AC Delco exhaust manifold gasket
Exhaust manifold donut
Torsion bar bracket support bushings
Cognito steering support kit
Cognito front stabilizer link kit
Cognito upper control arm kit
AC Delco rear stabilizer links
Moog inner and outer tie-rods
Bilstein front and rear shocks
Bilstein steering stabilizer

I have to deal with the broken exhaust manifold bolts on rear passenger side. Hopefully it'll come out without a fight .

Next mods will be to re-gear the front and rear diffirential with yukon gears 4.88 and also install front eaton e-lockers .

Re: Upgrade Steering and Suspensions Parts
 

wow... thats going to be a fun weekend for you..

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yeah, hopefully it's goin' to be a smooth install.....the only things that worries me is that pesky broken manifold bolts :mad:.

Did you ever replaced your torsion key support bracket bushings...mine's are welded to the frame and i have to drill new holes for the replacement parts. When i replaced my TB keys, i've noticed the bushings so loose and caused clunking when suspension flexes.

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Wow..That's a beautiful sight. haha. But hard work!

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LOL....btw, how do you like your rancho steering stabilizer? i'm tempting to get that but go with the bilstein instead, hopefully i made a good choice.

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You will want to add the cognito limiting straps to go with those control arms and shocks as this setup will cause front arms to hang on upper ball joint rather than the shock as the limiter, which casues premature ball joint failure. straps will cure it

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Thanks tomp, this is a great info...i'll install it next time :D .

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Nice parts list and ya... Fun weekend ahead of you.

Start with something you know will be easy to conquer and get your momentum going for those busted mani bolts.

Not sure if you read my header post but I had a stud remover. Took two turns on the stud and it snapped a second time.

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Thanks for the heads-up bro, i have all the tools that needed as i'm an auto technician by trade (master tech at honda). Yes, i saw your post on broken manifold bolts....hopefully mine wouldn't give me a hard fight.

One thing though, can you check your torsion bar support bracket bushings if it's welded to the frame....mine is and it's loose....it's kinda stupid move from gm though.....now, i have to drill holes to install the replacement parts.

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I'll check.... ASAP. What wasn't a stupid move by GM?

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Thanks...LOL!

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Those Moog Tie Rods don't look any beefier than OEM TR's.



If you do any amount of serious off-roading you might want to upgrade to something like <THESE>.

Tom, good to see you over here! Thanks for the reminder on the straps, I really need to get a pair of those. I've been lucky so far, been wheeling with the Cognito UCA's for quite a while now, but the ball joints don't seem to have suffered any.

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Good advice on the TRs Summit! Moog makes good stuff but those TRs look weak like OEM.

Even highway miles will wear those ball joints early without the straps. Of course mines a daily driver so I see the early failures more than most and Im running their uniballs.

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Summit, i went with the Moog tie-rods because of one thing....these will act as a fusible links on the steering. If i install a stronger tie-rods, something will give down the line. It's easier to replace the tie-rods especially on the trails. Recently, i busted my RF inner half-shaft....luckily a friend of mine had a spare and i replaced it on the trail....imagine if the half-shaft didn't give, the next in-line is the diffirential. I replaced it with Cardone Select and i never had any problem yet.

Thanks for the suggestions though :D .

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If Summit adhered the the Fusable Link principal, he wouldnt last 5 minutes on the trails he wheels on. The H2 tie rods are severely under sized compared to the strength of the rest of the steering components. In fact, you can buy the strongest tie rods you can find an they will still be the first thing to give out. As far as the front diff goes, all of diffs I have heard of breaking had OEM shafts and I have yet to hear of an H2 front diff give out on the trail. Maybe some have & I haven't heard of it. All of the ones I have heard about have been on the street. The later model H2 front diffs 04+ have proven to Hold up very well. So well that I plan to install the Unbreakable RCV shafts. The reason the OEM and Cardone shafts break easily is because the outer metal housing is softer than the hardened ball bearings. This causes the bearing to peen the housing with small indentions over time. You never know what will cause them to break, might be something rediculous when they let go.

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Well, got a 45min. spare time and installed rear shocks and stab links...only thing that bother me are the grease fitting on the links....hopefully rocks wont shear them.

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tomp, thanks for the great info as always, for now, i'll see if this TR would hold for the type of trails we do here....i actually almost bought the DMAX rods.

We have one H2 front diff grenade on the trail and his oem half-shaft we're perfectly OK. Don't know how what happened though.

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I peeked under the truck and yes, my bushings are welded also.

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Thanks bro...... while in there, did you checked if the bushings are loose? you might be surprise what you find.

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No, but I will. I was just taking a quick peek for ya.

How do you tell if they're loose?

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All good stuff. I did most of that last year.

Cognito steering support kit
Cognito upper control arm kit
Rare Parts Tie Rods
Bilstein front and rear shocks
Rancho steering stabilizer
Moog Pitman and Idler

But I also added Crown Stainless Steel brake lines. No failures with those puppies.

Good luck with the install.

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get a pry bar and pry it side to side....if the rubber bushings are separated from the housing then, you have a bad one. i've noticed that they we're bad when i replaced my tb keys. mine's 08 and they're needed to be replace :rant: .

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Thanks, how do you like the overall ride of the Bilstein? i can't tell yet the ride quality of mine 'coz i only installed the rear.

Crown brake lines are definitely on my to do list :)

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Talking about tie rods...Here is something i'm working on-





My chromoly centerlink, idler and pitman should be showing up soon. Machine shop didn't follow my directions on the splines, had to redo it. :twak:

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As Tomp said, you can buy the strongest tie rods you can find and they still will be the first thing to give out, as there really is "nothing down the line" that will give way before even the strongest TR does. Sure it's easy to replace the TR's on the trail, but it's still no fun and you will be doing that more often than you like!

Here a video of our friend Alec losing a tie rod on a very easy trail here in Colorado, shows how easy it is to break an OEM style TR:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxrdwXXat14

.
Oh yeah, I've been there, done that. Last time was in Moab, and guess what? The half shaft I grenaded was a Cardone Select! Nothing is bullet proof, and IMO the Cardones are no stronger than OEM's.

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Summit, i always thought about the weakest link in the system, easier and cheaper when it need replacements. You and tomp really changing how i viewed this especially with our trucks. I only install the Cardone Select because it's cheaper than oem and i read somewhere that it was a good choice for cranked tb keys to prevent vibrations above 70mph.

On the other hand, did you ever fix or are you still having issues on the cognito steering support bracket, i found your thread on the other forum. I hope that i won't have any rubbing issues after i've install mine.

I'm all open to suggestions especially from you guys that knows H2 more than me and more experienced off-roaders. I think this is we're a good forum shines. Hat's off to you both.

Keep 'em comin' :D

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That was likely me that reported cardones have less vibration with cranked TBs above 70mph. It was very clear they are smoother when cranked.

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Maybe that's why i never have vibrations at highway speeds.

Did you ever have problems or replaced your torsion key support bracket bushings?

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To be honest I'm really not noticing a great difference over stock. I don't think you'll be disappointed in the Bilstein at all, they make great shocks. I think the only way you could really tell a difference either way is if you got dual stabilizers.

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Thanks for the update :)

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Never had an issue with that bushing

Bilstein stabilizer will be fine. However, upgrading to an aftermarket one is still questionable on an H2 as most folks upgrade before ever experiencing a need to - over the stock stabilizer. Once you lose your steering while offroading, you will wonder if upgrading the stabilizer to a stiffer unit made matters worse.

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Is it only me that having bad tb key support bracket bushings :mad:

I don't have any problems with the stock steering stabilizer. When i saw my stock steering stabilizer that rusted (not leaking yet), i thought, i'm upgrading the steering anyway, so it's time to replace it at the same time and have a spare for the trails :D.

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Citiboy, I assume the thread your referring to was on the H-u-m-m-e-r-X forum? <LINK>

I started the Same Thread here on Elcova as well (and I see the photos that I linked from the H-u-m-m-e-r-X site don't show anymore. Elcova has since instigated a policy of not allowing links to other Hummer sites, total BS if you ask me, but as you see from the link above there are ways around this!). The problem your referring to was not seen by everyone, and we finally concluded that the reason for it was that there were differences in the actual castings of the steering knuckles (and perhaps LCA's) due to different production runs from different subs who provided the parts to GM. This also explained why some had rubbing issues with 37" tires and some did not.

At any rate at that time I solved the problem (for myself at least) with the modification of adjustable turn limit bump stops. But this is all moot for me at this point as I have replaced all the OEM steering components with a custom Hydro-Assist steering upgrade.

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...of which we are still awaiting pics:dancingbanana:

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OK, asked and answered! :D

As shown in This Post from This Thread from way back in 2004. Can't take credit for the design, I purchased this from Hummie2 about a year ago when he sold his H2. Best upgrade ever for my Deuce! :perfect10s:

OEM steering components shown at bottom of photo, replaced by Hydro-Assist components shown at the top:

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Wow, that's some serious steering upgrades...man, if i know these upgrades before i bought my steering parts...i'm gonna get this instead. Well, this goin' to be on my many upgrades to do list. Can you tell me some of your experience on this set-up.

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i had looked into creating or buyign TR's like that, but being in a a state with harsh winters (Minnesota) it is advisable to not go with something like that as the winter grime will chew through the poly bushings on destroy those TRs pretty quick.

instead i went with the Kyrptonight TRs, and havent looked back.
Hell, they sent me some upgraded ends before i deployed and i havent gotten them on yet. guess there was a recall on the ends awhile back.

i cant really comment on the Bilstien shocks. I have them installed for awhile now.
They are great, but i have my T bars cranked, so my ride is pretty stiff.
i do notice i dont get alot of bouncing when i hit potholes or bumps.
I think if i was to buy new ones, i would go with adjustable ones though without a doubt.


I liek that setup, and i remember the pics of that when it was floating around here. would love to throw that in my duece, but it (looks) is a total overhaul, relocation of the steering components.

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Michigan here....more salt on the roads than snow. But I already thought of what you said. I have rubber boots to keep all the **** out and seal them full of grease. Problem solved.

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I just finished installing the Cognito steering support bracket and i when i tested it....they we're both touching the cross member at full lock....can anybody tell me if this is normal:mad:.

Cognito pitman arm bracket touching the cross member when full lock.


Here's the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcC9p...2&feature=plcp

Cognito idler arm bracket touching the cross member when full lock.


Here's the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qjob...ppNQMJNrdM6sUQ

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Mine does the exact same thing, although it's hard to tell if it's to that extent.

One thing I did read from a guy who sells these kits on another forum, and it's hard to tell from your pics/video, is that the nut closest to the eyelet should be cinched up tight against the eyelet. At that point the last thing to tighten up would be the bolt on the other side of the bracket.

When I tightened this last nut it actually pulled the bracket in toward the eyelet.

If I remember, it was contradicting to the instructions but made sense when done.

The other part of importance was to make sure the eyelet was nice and centered on the ball, which it appears from your pics, you've done.