H3T Hans3T's Tuff Country Build

[06 H3]

I truly believe that the front end of the lift kit and the rear end hardware are golden...If I was to do this again I would order Box 1 and Box 2 of the lift kit and leave box 3 and 4 (both leaf springs) out and go my own route via a spring shop custom arching springs, or getting custom springs made from deaver or doing a spring over with the stock springs.

Both of us have gotten lucky though, your guy that you bought it from was cool and is helping out and Tim is helping out a bunch for me. We both got lucky. Hopefully this solves your problem so you can go wheel the piss outta barney now!

 

[Hunner]

So true. :wink:

I hear you on the whole add-a-leaf debacle. It's silly, but looks like we gotta finish what we started with this lift!

That was not directed at you I should have made it clear that I was thinking the company that made it should step up and sell it as a complete functioning kit, or what's the point?
In otherwords, "what were they thinking" or were they. Same deal with the Rancho. They both seem to have addressed the front cross member and having knuckles cast or forged however you do that. That seemed to me to be the engineering challenge.
The easy part should be springs. Around here it's a no brainer to have a shop re-arch or make spring packs for the desired use on everything from pickups to Bob trucks or at least to all the farmers I have known for the last 50 years.
Hope the manufacturer helps you fix this issue.
Like I mentioned I had the front and rear spring re-arched on my old Toyota FJ55 wagon for a lift. Took two days.
Once again the staggering number of views of this and the Rancho thread should stress the mind of the marketing people, if they have any, of those companies.

 

[H3slate]

40s? Why stop there!? :hans:

Thanks for the info, bud. I appreciate it. I'm sort of paranoid now because I want my Barney to be the biggest, baddest dino he can be!

that is a good plan, just don't let him sing and dance.

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[4speedfunk]

Hans!...whats goin on with that lift? I saw the before & after pics on your blog....something ain't right. You should be WAY higher than that. I think the problem must be in the spring pack itself. You should take a serious look at doing a spring-over in the rear, and crankin your front suspension up where it should be. The spring-over might get you the stance you're after.

I'de stay away from the add-a-leafs. I had an S-10 with add-a-leafs and it rode like a go-cart...really stiff. Stacking two sets of add-a-leafs is just crazy...you're gonna hate it.

BTW...can you guess what I'm doing?...
View attachment 3473

 

[06 H3]

that must of been so damn scary cutting that off. Once its off Im sure theres no going back...

 

[08SolarFlareH3]

BTW...can you guess what I'm doing?...

I can :wink:

What are you doing with the Rancho? Are you keeping the Rancho leaves for the SOA? Any intrest in selling the front of the Rancho lift

 

[cgalpha08]

SAS SAS SAS SAS SAS SAS!!!!!!

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[08SolarFlareH3]

SAC! :wink:

 

[06 H3]

if you wanna be technical...

 

[Hans3T]

Hans!...whats goin on with that lift? I saw the before & after pics on your blog....something ain't right. You should be WAY higher than that. I think the problem must be in the spring pack itself. You should take a serious look at doing a spring-over in the rear, and crankin your front suspension up where it should be. The spring-over might get you the stance you're after.

I'de stay away from the add-a-leafs. I had an S-10 with add-a-leafs and it rode like a go-cart...really stiff. Stacking two sets of add-a-leafs is just crazy...you're gonna hate it.

BTW...can you guess what I'm doing?...

I would not have any idea where to begin doing something like a spring-over axle conversion. The front end adjustments will be as easy as adjusting the t-bars...the rear is the problem. I believe the cause is either a) poor engineering or b) the weight of the T. Honestly, could be a combo of the two. I have an appointment on the 20th to get the front adjusted and the rear springs worked on.

Good luck with the solid axle! I remember you talking about it, so I'm excited to see your build!

Hope all is well! :cheers:

 

[Hans3T]

Both of us have gotten lucky though, your guy that you bought it from was cool and is helping out and Tim is helping out a bunch for me. We both got lucky. Hopefully this solves your problem so you can go wheel the piss outta barney now!

Couldn't agree more. Having somebody who cares about the customer is KEY.

And yes, I'm itching for a run come spring! Until then, I'll be happy to get my 4" of lift!

 

[Hans3T]

that is a good plan, just don't let him sing and dance.

No promises... :wink:

 

[Hans3T]

That was not directed at you I should have made it clear that I was thinking the company that made it should step up and sell it as a complete functioning kit, or what's the point?
In otherwords, "what were they thinking" or were they. Same deal with the Rancho. They both seem to have addressed the front cross member and having knuckles cast or forged however you do that. That seemed to me to be the engineering challenge.

Understood. A rear leaf spring is something that should be over-engineered to prevent cases like Chris and I have had.

The easy part should be springs. Around here it's a no brainer to have a shop re-arch or make spring packs for the desired use on everything from pickups to Bob trucks or at least to all the farmers I have known for the last 50 years.
Hope the manufacturer helps you fix this issue.
Like I mentioned I had the front and rear spring re-arched on my old Toyota FJ55 wagon for a lift. Took two days.

I'd never really known such a thing is possible. Forgive my ignorance, but wouldn't re-arching the OEM springs sort of deminish their structural integrity? Also, is re-arching cost effective? (I ask these questions as much for those pondering a lift as for myself.)

Once again the staggering number of views of this and the Rancho thread should stress the mind of the marketing people, if they have any, of those companies.

Dealing with Tuff Country directly was not an easy task. It took me about a week of back-and-forth between a "technician" and a "warranty specialist" to even get an answer of "Yes, we believe your springs could be defective, although it is uncommon." Todd, who I bought the kit from, upon hearing from me what TC said, just shipped me a replacement springs the next day without hesitation. Score 1 for the little guy.

 

[backwoods]

Todd shipped mine out thursday crossing my fingers everything works out the first time i drive my hummer 60 miles a day 4 days a week so it either works right or i baha it .... Plus side im a technician so the only charge ill have is takin to another shop for the realignment

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[4speedfunk]

that must of been so damn scary cutting that off. Once its off Im sure theres no going back...

You nailed it! I was damn-near shakin at first but, after the first bracket was off...I got really fired up and just went for it. I've been planning the SAS and working on the axle itself for a very long time. But, like anything...you can only go so far within really jumping in with both feet. I'm a long-time hot-rodder and I've done quite a bit of bolt-on motor swapping and such over the years. But this is first time I've ever built a suspension from scratch. Now that all the bracketry is gone and the frame rails are clean...I can begin the real work. Its very exciting and terrifying at the same time. There's a lot more room under there without all that IFS stuff. Its basically two frame rails and an oil pan...dare I say much like a (gulp)...Jeep...

View attachment 3478 View attachment 3479

On the rear I'm doing a gear-swap and spring-over. The SOA is really not a huge deal, and anyone attempting it should not feel too intimidated. The key is to not get in a hurry. Shaving the stock brackets off the tubes is pretty easy. Then all you really need is two new perches. I bought a "kit" with new U-bolts and top plates but, I like the stock U-bolts better. Right now I have it test-assembled with the stock front hangers, and stock leafs. If it ends up being too high...I will chop off the front hangers and replace em with some aftermarket ones (shown sitting on the spring in the third photo). Its a full 6-1/2" of lift just with the SOA only...so the front hangers would definately be needed for anyone keeping an IFS. Bebe's SOA is probably better suited to IFS guys...it uses tahoe-based main leaf. But, since Hans's rear springs seem to be so flat already...he might be able to use stock springs. This might put his rear up to the same height as the TC front, or maybe a tad higher, (see the "Moab Edition" H3). Not only that...he'll get rid of all that "nasty stuff" hangin down from the rear axle...

View attachment 3480 View attachment 3481 View attachment 3482

Hans...I bet you could approach your local high-school auto shop teacher about this mod. You could donate your truck, and supervise the mod...might be a good way to get a free SOA and also educate some of the students on 4WD stuff. Most high schools have nice service bays, (with heat and light), welders, tools, and all the enthusiasm of a classroom full of 15-year-olds. What kid wouldn't love to work on an Hummer? I urge anybody looking to do some mods, to look into this...I remember working on a guy's Chevelle back when I was a student.

 

[06 H3]

I give you much props! Now that I do fab (on a much smaller scale) I see how much work goes into it and how critical every little thing is. I hope one day I wont be scared to do an extreme thing like this...what scares me is the geometry of everything and the strength of my welds...looking forward to the end result!

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[08SolarFlareH3]

This might put his rear up to the same height as the TC front, or maybe a tad higher, (see the "Moab Edition" H3). Not only that...he'll get rid of all that "nasty stuff" hangin down from the rear axle.

MOAB Concept

Can't remember the guys name but he works for GM (lives in MI) and has the white H3 with the Rancho front and SOA rear.

Retains stock shock mount plates and stock length shocks. One thing I would do different is reverse the u bolts.

 

[4speedfunk]

Yeah thats sort of the "quick & cheap" way to do it...it prolly works okay. I cut my brackets off because I'm making a pretty drastic change in pinion angle, and needed to re-weld them anyway. I think the SOA is how GM should have done it to begin with.

 

[cgalpha08]

Since were on the subject, does anyone know what happened to the actual moab concept? Did gm sell it or is it stashed away somewhere?

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[Hans3T]

Since were on the subject, does anyone know what happened to the actual moab concept? Did gm sell it or is it stashed away somewhere?

I believe it was sold back when GM sold off much of their collection.

 

[Hans3T]

Yeah thats sort of the "quick & cheap" way to do it...it prolly works okay. I cut my brackets off because I'm making a pretty drastic change in pinion angle, and needed to re-weld them anyway. I think the SOA is how GM should have done it to begin with.

After looking at those photos above, I have a better mental idea of how this is done. Is the SOA conversion basically done by dropping the rear axle, putting the leaves back on, the re-bolting the axle up?

 

[4speedfunk]

You got it. Some other related issues are:

Longer brake lines.
Possibly different length shocks, depending on where you weld the new mount.
Possible driveshaft rework, depending on the final angle.
Minor sway bar work (or remove it completely).
Check bump stops and make sure they bottom out before the shocks do.

 

[06 H3]

4speed, is the toughest part is setting a pinion angle and getting a driveshaft to work with that angle while getting no weird driveline vibrations?

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[Hunner]

I think those last shots were the GM unit that showed in Moab and Sewie and Speedy shot some of those as did apparently some other people. I have a bunch of those saved. Still have the shocks exposed so would have to make some modded Hunner skids anyway!:shifty:
I always wondered what kept them from reversing the ubolts. Might be something.
Hope we didn't mess up your thread Hans, but since you sounded interested here are what the front mounts looked like from a different angle.It seems they wanted to use as much OEM stuff as possible. I lightened them and sharpened.

Stock, well without the skid

 

[Hans3T]

Hope we didn't mess up your thread Hans, but since you sounded interested here are what the front mounts looked like from a different angle.It seems they wanted to use as much OEM stuff as possible. I lightened them and sharpened.

No sir, it's all good. This SOA / SAS talk definitely deserves a thread of its own though so that folks who are interested in the topic don't have to dredge through the TC stuff to find it.

Wow, that MOAB H3 looks much higher than a 4" lift to me! :whaa: