Back to the OP...
This truck has been put thru the ringer. It has a long history of offroad abuse, and among the many updates of the SAS/SOA project...comes some other maintenance items. Here are a couple of them that many H3 owners might find useful.
FIRST is the the rear locker. You will often find rounded-off pins and wollered-out slots in the locker side gear. This happens when you "crash-lock" an Eaton E-locker. Its almost un-avoidable, even if you drive very conservatively. The Eaton actually dis-engages when you change directions, and care must be taken when wheeling. Many drivers simply lock everything as soon as they go offroad. This is not only un-necessary but, it also ads considerable run-time and wear to the locking mechanism. I only use my lockers when all else fails, and I also try to allow at least 10-15 feet of distance between pushing the button and hitting the obstacle I'm trying to traverse. Obviously, this cannot always be done but, I try my best to follow these two rules. All the same...the Eaton does wear out, and this is what they look like...
The E-locker's spring loaded pins will engage into these slots, and if there is any throttle being applied during the engagement transition period...the result is this...
The same applies to the pins. This is shot of them inside the diff...
Once removed, the wear is even more obvious...
Eaton makes several rebuild kits for the GM 8.6 E-locker. They are broken down into several sub-kits with whatever parts you are looking to replace. This kit
#29296-00S is for the side-gear and pins, includes (2) side gears, (2) spider gears, (6) locker pins, (1) retainer, and also a fresh cross pin and retaining bolt. This kit is around $150 and its available from Jegs or Summit. Eaton also offers another kit for the locker engagement ramp assembly, (which is also prone to breakage). And a third kit that includes the electro-magnetic coil that operates the locker. A word of caution...these kits are very difficult to find outside of the Eaton website, so I recommend getting the specific part number from Eaton and then use that number at Jegs or Summit. To compound the problem...Jegs and Summit both use generic photos (or none at all) to describe the parts inside each kit. They are completely incorrect descriptions, so you must search by the actual part number.
You will need to remove the carrier bearing on one side of the E-locker case to access the snap ring that holds all this together. So plan on replacing the bearing as they are usually destroyed when pressing them off.
SECOND is the shackle bushings on the rear leaf springs. If you offroad your H3, chances are these bushings are shot. They are pressed into the frame rails at the factory, and they can be next to impossible to remove. So I made a specific tool to un-install the old rusty ones, and re-install brand new ones. I grabbed some scrap tubing and turned them down to fit the barrel of the bushing, and then used a piece of 1/2" hardened rod and some nuts to complete the tool. This thing worked like a charm, and if you plan to replace your shackle bushings...its worth your time to make something similar...
