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]

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:beerchug:

[trailerpup]

Diff Guard is from http://purplecranium.com/wsm/i-385_h3_hummer_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]

http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif Looks cool and its functional :beerchug:

[Steve - SanJose]

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?

41754

[RuggedH2]

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

41755

[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? :o

[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. :D

[DRTYFN]

Very very nice. I like it. You've done a nice job upgrading your rig.:perfect10s:

[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!

:dancingbanana: :dancingbanana: :dancingbanana:

[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]

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. :D
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. :cool:

[wpage]

Great Thread! Smart upgrades:)

[Pewterbird]

Great Thread! Smart upgrades:)

Changing Sway Bars is a dangerous modification, I just want to warn those who don't know.

Bigger isn't always better with sway bars.

Increasing the size of the front bar will stiffen the front of the vehicle increasing the understeer of the vehicle. It will increase the tendency for the front wheels to break loose in corners.

Increasing the size of the rear bar will stiffen the rear of the vehicle reducing the understeer of the vehicle. It will increase the tendency for the rear wheels to break loose in corners.

From personal experiance on a car with a low center of gravity (lowered Firebird), controlling a slide when tire break loose can be managed (and fun), when there is little potential for rollover.

Personally I wouldn't want to be in a situation where my H3 looses traction in a turn on the streets at 20-60 mph. Catching traction during a slide can flip the car.

Ideally sway bars shold be matched with springs and tire sizes in order to keep a balanced suspension.

[trailerpup]

:popcorn:

[Steve - SanJose]

Sway bar mods within reason are okay on vehicles equipped with stability control systems (VSC, PSM, etc.).

[trailerpup]

:popcorn:

[trailerpup]

http://www.aa1car.com/library/stability_control.htm

I guess I really screwed the pooch by putting on the sway bar. Maybe I can ebay it. :twak:

[Steve - SanJose]

http://www.aa1car.com/library/stability_control.htm

I guess I really screwed the pooch by putting on the sway bar. Maybe I can ebay it. :twak:

Nah, H3's have StabiliTrak (06-auto tranny only, 07-all)

[Pewterbird]

http://www.aa1car.com/library/stability_control.htm

I guess I really screwed the pooch by putting on the sway bar. Maybe I can ebay it. :twak:

Not really. Just be carefull, and understand how the mod affects the handeling of the vehicle. You should be ok.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Yeah, a stiffer swaybar isn't necessarily a bad idea. How does it corner now compared to before? How does it affect your articulation?

I never understood how swaybars affected handling, so I looked it up just now. Here's a couple of articles I found online.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sway_bar

http://www.teamscr.com/sway.htm

[Desert Dan]

The H3 is a truck not a sports car.
Nothing you do to it will make it handle like your Firebird

[Steve - SanJose]

They still make Firebirds with the flaming chicken on the hood?:rolleyes:

[Pewterbird]

The H3 is a truck not a sports car.
Nothing you do to it will make it handle like your Firebird

Your exactly correct! And the suspension is completly different and 4 wheel drive makes a huge impact.

But a sway bar is a sway bar. I just want people to be informed about this modification, because this mod is not intuitive where a bigger bar is a better bar.

It would be a shame if someone who didn't understand how sway bars can affect a vehicle and removed the front for more articulation offroad, jumped back on the highway with a beefed up rear bar. That would be massive amounts of oversteer.

They still make Firebirds with the flaming chicken on the hood?:rolleyes:

They stopped making the Firebird in '02 and the flamming chicken hood graphic sometime in the late 80's.

[trailerpup]

I kinda drive it the same way I drove my Tacoma for the past 7 years. I think it may have been "somewhat" like the H3. In so far as it had a high"er" center of gravity than most "cars" on the road. The H3 seems to drive, now, much the same as after I put the Deaver Leaf packs on the rear of my Tacoma. I was running Donahoe coil-overs up front. Before the Deavers, the front was much stiffer than the rear. After replacing the the leaf packs the truck seemed more balanced. At any rate, I think I got the hang of driving a rig with a "somewhat" higher center of gravity. That being said, I understand that the current stock springs are not the same rate as the Deavers, and the combination of the stock H3 leaf packs with the larger-diameter sway bar are going to react much differently, as the suspension is now relying more on the sway bar than the actual rate of the suspension springs, and after all, we are talking about two entirely different vehicles. I expect that if I drive the H3 in the same respectful manner that I drove the TRD there will be little problem. Time will tell... I am waiting on a set of custom-built Deaver 7-leaf progressive packs for the H3. I may end up with the stock sway bar back on there after the new packs are mounted. Also, I am waiting on some SAW HD torsion bars which are supposedly rated at 30% over the stock torsion bars. I think I should be able to come up with a nicely balance vehicle in the end. I have no intention of lifting the H3 as I have enough clearance and "wheel stuff" for the 35's as is. I don't drive like a mad man and would describe my driving style as more "defensive" than anything... I hope all of you are these days. I believe you are correct, in that, the H3 is not a sports car and should not be driven as such. With that said, I can say that there is noticeably less "body roll" with the new sway bar in "normal" driving conditions. I am not an idiot and I do not think that just by putting "cool parts" on my vehicle it will make me Robby Gordon, or Mario Andretti for that matter. I have a nice 30-plus thousand dollar truck and intend to keep it that way. If by chance I am faced with an emergency maneuver situation, I would think that my driving style and level of respect for my vehicle, current road and traffic conditions would place me in a state where I would be able to make a somewhat safer steering input than most. And, if not, hopefully the StabiliTrak and side curtain air bags will save my ass.

Picture of the ol' TuRD...

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

I kinda drive it the same way I drove my Tacoma for the past 7 years. I think it may have been "somewhat" like the H3. In so far as it had a high"er" center of gravity than most "cars" on the road. The H3 seems to drive, now, much the same as after I put the Deaver Leaf packs on the rear of my Tacoma. I was running Donahoe coil-overs up front. Before the Deavers, the front was much stiffer than the rear. After replacing the the leaf packs the truck seemed more balanced. At any rate, I think I got the hang of driving a rig with a "somewhat" higher center of gravity. That being said, I understand that the current stock springs are not the same rate as the Deavers, and the combination of the stock H3 leaf packs with the larger-diameter sway bar are going to react much differently, as the suspension is now relying more on the sway bar than the actual rate of the suspension springs, and after all, we are talking about two entirely different vehicles. I expect that if I drive the H3 in the same respectful manner that I drove the TRD there will be little problem. Time will tell... I am waiting on a set of custom-built Deaver 7-leaf progressive packs for the H3. I may end up with the stock sway bar back on there after the new packs are mounted. Also, I am waiting on some SAW HD torsion bars which are supposedly rated at 30% over the stock torsion bars. I think I should be able to come up with a nicely balance vehicle in the end. I have no intention of lifting the H3 as I have enough clearance and "wheel stuff" for the 35's as is. I don't drive like a mad man and would describe my driving style as more "defensive" than anything... I hope all of you are these days. I believe you are correct, in that, the H3 is not a sports car and should not be driven as such. With that said, I can say that there is noticeably less "body roll" with the new sway bar in "normal" driving conditions. I am not an idiot and I do not think that just by putting "cool parts" on my vehicle it will make me Robby Gordon, or Mario Andretti for that matter. I have a nice 30-plus thousand dollar truck and intend to keep it that way. If by chance I am faced with an emergency maneuver situation, I would think that my driving style and level of respect for my vehicle, current road and traffic conditions would place me in a state where I would be able to make a somewhat safer steering input than most. And, if not, hopefully the StabiliTrak and side curtain air bags will save my ass.

Picture of the ol' TuRD...

Is that your ROCKET SLED on top ??????

[Steve - SanJose]

Nice ol turd of a truck.

[trailerpup]

The ol' TuRD served me well. But I really love my H3. The Spock box was cool to throw up there for extended camping trips, etc. Thanks everybody for the feedback and tips. Much appreciated!!