New Undercarriage Pro

[trailerpup]

Stayed home tonight and turned wrenches. Spider Diff. Guard, Hunner Skids, Fox Shocks, Hellwig Sway Bar... and up front GM Undercarriage Protection. Tomorrow I'll go try it all out. Good night.

[jmsspratlin]

Originally Posted by trailerpup

Stayed home tonight and turned wrenches. Spider Diff. Guard, Hunner Skids, Fox Shocks, Hellwig Sway Bar... and up front GM Undercarriage Protection. Tomorrow I'll go try it all out. Good night.

Very nice, I really like the Differential Guard. Never seen one before

[trailerpup]

Diff Guard is from http://purplecranium.com/wsm/i-385_h...er_spider.html

Best 80 dollars I have spent, so far.

Here is a better pic? From this morning.

[bjc]

When you installed the half-spider did you just pull the bottom bolts and install the spider or did you remove all bolts, cover, drain fluid, and then reinstall and refill.

My spider came in, but I don't have any fluid sitting around and I wasn't sure whether the bottom bolts could be removed without any leakage.

[fourfourto]

Looks cool and its functional

Nice protection. What's the deal with the beefy swaybar? (or maybe I should have paid more attention earlier)

[RuggedH2]

I dig my spider!

I've bounced that thing off more than a few big boulders. They are strong as hell. I've also read that they can help keep the the diff cover from flexing under heavy torque application.

Nice work under there, did you add disconnects for that bad ass sway bar?

[RuggedH2]

My kid took the picture so it's out of focus, but you can get the idea.

[trailerpup]

I only have 3000 miles on my H3. So, I just removed the bottom 5 bolts and put the spider on there... no runs, no drips, no errors. I think the pumpkin cover is RTV'd at the factory.

The beefy Hellwig sway bar is 1 1/4 inch (some sales sites are calling it 1 1/8 inch, but it is 1 1/4). It came with poly bushings for the front sway bar, too. It makes a huge difference in the body roll I was experiencing in rear with the stock set up.

The only drawback is that I haven't gotten the parts together to make my own quick disconnects, yet. I really wanted the "orange" Amstar Disconnects (not because of the color, but because they are made for the H3 and look beefy), but who knows if they are every going to sell them. So, I am still deciding on which disconnects to modify. I am looking for this Ipe extend travel thread to see what he used. Anybody have any suggestions.

Now all I need is the SAW T bars and Samco Shackles to arrive in the mail and I am done with the undercarriage/suspension.

Next up, finishing up the stereo/nav install. Got my JL Stealthbox the other day, and I am tracking the "monsoon" rear quarter panel through UPS. Should get here during next week. I'll post pix, of course!

Took the rig out today. Didn't really hit any "real" rock crawling spots, but did some "high speed" washboard passes. Wow, I feel like Rod Hall, all of the sudden! The Fox shocks were really eating up the bumps!! I ran some of our normal trails up here on the way to rock climbing this afternoon. Didn't even come close to hitting anything... when I got home my camera was sitting on the table, patiently waiting for my return. Dooh!

I didn't think I was going to like the Hunner shackle skids, but now that they are on there, I dig 'em.

[trailerpup]

By the way nice pic 03H3. I download a copy!! Also, I am looking for a cat-back, but don't want the increased sound... I know, I'm dreaming about keeping it quiet, but maybe the Borla? ...but I'm worried about having any blingy tips getting mashed up (and I'm kinda anti-bling anyway)... haven't quite figured out what I am going to do. Maybe just keep the stock muffler setup until it rusts out. Any suggestions?

Later.

[RuggedH2]

IPE put that on the web a few places.

Here's one of the best, great mod for an H3 and not gonna break the bank!

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=588443

[trailerpup]

Yeah, the spider is way-cool, huh? I have been running the same trails since I got my H3 a couple months ago with the stock sway bar attached. A couple weeks ago I disconnected it and tied it up out of the way. It makes a huge difference with it disconnected. The new sway bar has been sitting around waiting for me to make some disconnects before I put it on. I finally just threw it on there cause I was bored and wanted to turn some wrenches. I am planning on getting some disconnects next week and modifying them next weekend. This is my daily driver, and the first thing I noticed was how much body roll there was in the rear while driving around town. The new sway bar has eliminated the body roll. But, I still want more articulation for the trails. Hence, the HD sway bar and disconnects. Does this make sense?

[trailerpup]

Perfect. Thanks for the link 03H3. I found the article, but it didn't say what kind of disconnects he started with. This is the link I was looking for.

[DRTYFN]

Very very nice. I like it. You've done a nice job upgrading your rig.

[trailerpup]

Thanks DRTYFN. I was just over on youtube watching the Hummer Tribute video. Nice.

When I got my H3 I couldn't wait to pimp it out. So I started with the suspension and protection. I think the next pimpin' thing I get will be a nice winch and mount, and maybe one of those gobi racks. I think swapping out the front axle housing with the new cast piece would be pretty pimpin' too. I have been looking around the web at parts, and I am just not really into the rhinestone encrusted badges, or the 20 inch spinner rims I have seen. Although, on a certain level, I guess that stuff is supposed to be pimpin' too!

Thanks for all the encouragement, folks. Out the door now, headed back to the dirt. Later!

[6pack]

Nice upgrades, everything looks sweet. Was the sway bar a straight bolt on? Or did it require any modifications?

[trailerpup]

The swaybar is a direct bolt on. It took less than 15 minutes. You need the correct size allen wrench for the "link" bolts. The "tricky" part will be fabbing up the disconnects.

[Agriv8r]

great pics....odering a couple as we speak....

[Ipedog]

Originally Posted by trailerpup

Perfect. Thanks for the link 03H3. I found the article, but it didn't say what kind of disconnects he started with. This is the link I was looking for.

Yes I did, check the 5th paragraph.

If you don't want to go back and re-read the article, they are Rough Country front disconnects for the TJ/XJ - approx. $60.00 shipped.

OBTW - Nice mods on the truck.

[wpage]

Great Thread! Smart upgrades