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Search and Rescue H3 Alpha build

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
this has to be the most boring build ever. Do updates, wheel the snot out of it, drive it daily. I am at 150,000 miles and it's time to do some repairs.
1) the aluminum radiator is already leaking
2) brakes need doing
3) might change spark plugs - 70,000 miles since last time
4) hub may be bad... I don't have a picture of it, but it seems to have rubbed, slightly on the top of the passenger, front brake caliper. Not only that but the spring broke (anti-rattle spring).... so it's time to repair.

I love this thing. Seriously, reliable, not-a-toyota, excellent off road... love it.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
numbers 2 and 4 happpened. 2 was good time, 4 was a waste of time.

pads were pretty worn

I think I found one of the noises

rears even more worn

the right front had a shiny spot on the caliper... my guess as to what caused it is this - the brakes wore enough that the caliper was just touching the wheel... because it wasn't a hub, bushing or any other issue...
and it's impossible to see but on the inside top of this caliper

the wear on the wheel

also the floating pins on the top in the back were not floating anymore.... took a bit of doing but got it apart and lubed appropriately

going back together

racing slots ;)

yeah, I know they make a clever tool to do this... this works as long as you remember you can pop those pistons out by pushing down (if unrestrained) on any of the other 3

together again

I replaced the hub but I don't think that was what was wrong



I think I'll have my friend put the radiator in.... I've other things to get accomplished
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
lol... I still have the headers I thought might work on the wall of my shop... though it is exceedingly likely that the 2nd cats will suddenly fall off the car.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
it's mostly back together. I replaced spark plugs and destroyed one plug wire.... so no start until tomorrow... pictures would happen tonight except photobucket is aiming to get themselves sued ... you'd think that after tossing 50% of their customers that they could make their software work... nope.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
whoa - kapersky to the rescue



upper is the new Magnaflow high-flow cat, below is the stock cat
literally I removed the old cat and welded in the new one

like this

and then this nut happened (my cuss of yesterday)

but I over came and added a section to remove the post-cat

that said, these plugs look pretty good for 155,000 mile rig


and they have been running a touch lean - I haven't decided whether I'll contact the tuner about retuning or simply do it myself. There also was a bit of predetonation .... if you can't read plugs, you should learn - it will tell you everything you need to know about a motor....
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
oh what a nightmare, I guess in the end I learned something.... even brand new spark plugs can have cracks.... but it's running right, again and without the second cats, it is faster and louder (both good things)
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
can only laugh - I have no idea why today the post-o2 sensor decided to fail but fail it did.... hopefully that is the last of the gremlins. Some other news - so I had an aftermarket tune in the vehicle, it runs tons better with the stock GM tune and this entire thing actually gained me at least (by my calibrated butt dyno) 50 hp. Makes total sense because the restriction on the exhaust with those cats and post cats had to be tremendous. Other bonus is it now sounds like a V8....
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
the light hasn't come back on however, the front end is making ominous sounds. Like a pin in the locker is catching - that doesn't seem possible, but until I pull the cover off and look...
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
might as well laugh... all of this started because I needed to pass smog.
then this

and that's weird

there is an occasional thunk that turned into a not-occasional-thunk.
my first guess was something wrong with the front diff

but it's perfect

then I started playing with the CV... there's one problem

that isn't, however, why I have a leak in the middle of the vehicle

nothing looks amiss
that's weird


so then I changed the fluid in the t-case

it's bleeding
found the thunk and noise.... I wonder if I'll have enough parts between this one and the other t-case I blew up to make one good one?

to recap - when you replace cats to pass smog, everything else blows up....
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
most of my time this evening was spent making this hole


the news is I may have enough parts between my 2 transfer cases to make one good one... I'll know tomorrow.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
Heard from transmission guy today - $400 parts and labor to make the 2 transfer cases one. I'm so proud - he said the inside of the transfer case that I just pulled out of the vehicle is utterly trashed.... if you're gonna go, go big :)
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
broken bits....


the transfer case guy thinks this was the issue. this was the chain idler


it's usually bolted to those two studs


the theory is both cases failed in the same way - the idler got loose and knocked links off the chain....

but I have the rebuilt case, problem is it is missing a seal so no install tonight


hopefully tomorrow
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
I got the seal, for some reason the 'right' seal wasn't available locally, but one that is 1 **** hair narrower but it is the right dimensions.... for posterity - that is 50x65x8 mm and it's apparently a commonish size for motorcycle fork shocks... anyway, it runs again. Hopefully I've chased all the issues and I can smog it tomorrow.
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,212
Location
Tardville
Snubber failure. Totally normal. Leave it out or enlarge the fasteners to 1/4-20 studs with nylon locknuts. The original screws are way too small to keep it in place.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
that's exactly what my transmission grouchy-old-man did. Did I mention he's a grouch? funny grouch, but a grouch.

a bit of a backstory probably would enlighten and entertain. Kelly is good people, but most people think he's a prick because he lost his filter before I ever met him. Which is fine, I deal with all types, but sometimes you just have to brace yourself for the commentary you're going to get when something didn't go the way he thought it should go. This was one of those times - he got the wrong chain - so he was 3 days 'late' (self-imposed, mind you). Of course, that means when I show up it's sunny and he's already sharpened the verbal ax. So I get out of my car and he grouses that he simply doesn't make enough money to deal with this.... so here is where most go wrong with him, I did too, but eventually I learned. My response was "so, once you get out of that skirt, any chance you can help me load the t-case." He just stares. "you deaf too?" then the words start coming out - a few were actually not cuss words and that's where I heard about the snubber failure. Then I won - he finally retorts that I was better when I was a silent, punk-adze-kid... 50 years old and I'm a kid. It's okay grandpa, we make better dirt with technology.... and so it goes.
 
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SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
It passed, finally. To recap. Just after my last smog (every 2 years) my CEL came on. I tested and the driver's side forward cat wasn't working (the outlet temp should be higher then the inlet). As I had just passed I did what was right, I shut off the post-cat O2 sensors. Roll forward 2 years. I spend the entire summer building a deck (that still isn't done), and I must fix the Hummer by Sept. 18. Yes, I know, it's October 27 now. But I jumped forward. I ordered new cats when the lights came on - but universal, Magna flow cats because at that time replacement cats weren't available. Now they are.... $450/side. You need 2. Not just that but you would have to pull the entire exhaust and likely the t-case to get it in. So I cut. and put it back together however, I had a problem - one of the bolts didn't come out of the exhaust manifold. I had to pull the manifold. I put new studs in place and the flange didn't seal.... long story short, the studs that I got from NAPA have a shoulder that kept the flange from sealing. Then the O2 sensors went out (the 2nd ones). Then the threads (which were, admittedly, marginal) on the passenger-side primary O2 sensor let loose. I fixed it with a hose clamp. it works. Judge if you will but by now I'd have to pull the exhaust to re-weld a new bung in place - which means trying to not get another leak.

Surrounding all of this is each time I had to disconnect the battery, it would take a solid week before the sensors would all come back online. When the 02 blew out, it was ready, finally, to test again.

I did change the spark plugs, and that caused its own issue with defective plugs and a cracked (only on one side) ceramic housing - and those blew several coils before I phoned a friend and got help.

Then the transfer case went. For about 6 months I'd get a weird, impossible-to-repeat, noise from either the front right or rear right. I pulled the differential cover to see what's what.... no joy. Then the chain went through the side of the case.... found it! A warning, if that noise is happening - I didn't know and this is my second case, and likely the second time it's happened to me.. I thought I blew the first because of something else - the idler can loosen in the transfer case. Then it starts catching the chain. My idler in this case is wadded up - it should be flat. Fortunately between the 2 cases I had, I was one new chain away from a solution....

In all of this I also replaced the radiator - the CVS all-aluminum radiator didn't last 2 years before it started leaking

Did I mention the starter also is starting to not engage? I've not changed it yet, but will very soon, but yes, in all of this that started happening.

But I have my Hummer back and I am happy. Cars break, schmidt happens, usually all at once.... but it's fixed. I know it seems cursed, but sometimes things go that way - yes, I cussed, a lot, perhaps even yelled at God for a bit... I even drove a couple diesel Colorado pickups .... but it's fixed. Probably will sell it in the next year or two, or maybe the FJ40 will go instead and I'll take this to the Duramax concept I had before (well, maybe mini-duramax from the Colorado - those are cool and drive really well)

It also has more power and about 10% better fuel economy, more like 20-30% on the highway.... when I did the cats, I eliminated the rear cats - they aren't tested so they aren't necessary. What I will do next is remove the resonator and put a regular muffler in place of the magnaflow that is on there now.... I think it's a bit buzzy as it is now.

I think that's all.... for now.

*edits*

yes, I did save what was left of the case, I have a forward half of a case, and the planetaries. When the case went the first time, you couldn't get a new chain - GM had stopped producing them, and the aftermarket wasn't yet producing them. I also needed a gear - praise because this time didn't take out the gear that I needed (and is still impossible to get).... point is, if anyone needs bits, I still have some.... I may do a parts post in the near future because I'm getting buried in parts I'll never use.
 
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