Gpcalero's "The Duke" H3T Alpha Build

[Gpcalero]

It's time.

Diode came in and repaired efans. Tested the AC system and found a leak, picked up some new seals and that did the trick. Charged the AC.

Started the body lift on the bed, and found Daystar's instructions rather disappointing. As I skimmed over the instructions, they mention to replace the 4 factory clear isolators and install the 4 bed body lift spacers. Except... the H3T has 6 bed/body mounts, not 4. They include enough lift spacers/pucks but short you two bolts and washers.

So just an FYI to T owners. You'll need to source your own bed bolts and washers. You'll need two of each. Their instructions call for M14x90 bolts, but they are actually M12x60 ​bolts. Not a huge deal but you would think that they would have their crap together on a kit that has been out for over 10 years. I tried to be nice and called Daystar and talked to tech support to point out the issue, they haven't revised the instructions since 2013. Plus, they don't know crap about these kits, the guy wanted to read the instructions over with me on the phone. "Well, the kit only calls for 4 bed bolts, so that's what it must be", even though I physically had the 6 bolts in my hand. They didn't care to revise the few typos, incorrect bed bolt sizes, and number of bolts I mentioned because they, "Don't sell enough of these". Kind of lame if you ask me.




​Anyways, finished up the bed and installed the BORA 1.25" wheel spacers. Hub centric/wheel centric design from billet aluminum. Pretty nice pieces. And I like the fact that you could press out the stud and press in ARP studs if I wanted to.




Wrapped up the front end and started her up!

Can't tell you how happy I was to hear that glorious Texas Speed cam lol. All that work, effort, & hurdles we've gone though was worth it!


[video=youtube;iovebdZvVx8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iovebdZvVx8[/video]


Next major item on the list is to get it tuned.

 

[Gpcalero]

Made the first trip after the major overhaul!

Definitely needs to be tuned, the ECM still thinks it has the 5.3 in it lol, not the cleanest driving. The tranny shifted into 1-3 very nicely, even without having anything changed as of yet. Was only a 12 min trip to a buddies shop & went slow to not mess anything up.

Warm idle after trip. Was only a 12 min trip but the trans cooler is working big time, trans temp only got up to 140. We will see how she does after tuning, during normal driving.


[video=youtube_share;GWC0xvQdGZ0]https://youtu.be/GWC0xvQdGZ0[/video]



Loading up the T. Is getting hauled to my tuner's shop 35 min away to get calibrated on the street for drivability and then on the dyno for WOT and power pulls next week.







Until then, I have my evenings back. Happy weekend guys :cheers:

 

[amrg]

If you for some reason in the future get slightly high trans temps due to the higher stall, dont do anything about it if you are going to regear to 4.56
I had this issue after I swapped to 37s, my trans wouldnt stay locked at 100 mph and being unlocked the engine rpms would hover around 4K with my 3200K stall converter. After 20 miles with 120* ambient the trans would reach 250* at which id park the truck and let it idle for 10 mins. Regearing to 4.56 eliminated the unlocking completly and the trans temps are back in range.

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[Gpcalero]

If you for some reason in the future get slightly high trans temps due to the higher stall, dont do anything about it if you are going to regear to 4.56
I had this issue after I swapped to 37s, my trans wouldnt stay locked at 100 mph and being unlocked the engine rpms would hover around 4K with my 3200K stall converter. After 20 miles with 120* ambient the trans would reach 250* at which id park the truck and let it idle for 10 mins. Regearing to 4.56 eliminated the unlocking completly and the trans temps are back in range.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

Good to know! I am definitely going to re-gear to 4.56 at some point in the future. Probably not anytime soon, as this was a big job so I'm gonna cool off on any more changes for a while lol.

 

[Gpcalero]

More Progress!

More updates on the built LS3 swap:

Turns out, a smaller issue we ran into was that the oil was running a little hotter than the old Alpha 5.3L engine was. Nothing too crazy but we definitely wanted to adjust it before it became a bigger issue. Our Alphas have no oil cooling done to them as I could see and for the old engine, it was fine and only really ran 200-220 degrees F. The new 6.2L, was ran pretty much the same way -- no oil cooling and it ran 220-240 degrees F. Not bad but I don't like oil temps close to or over 250 degrees F.

​So to cure this, we tuned the truck as it sat for drivability and idle. Nothing on the dyno yet for full range or mid-throttle and up. Then I ordered a few items. One, was this Improved Racing billet adaptor. This connects to a spot on our LS engines right above the oil filter, where there is just a rectangular cap. This allows me to run engine oil from the block directly, to a oil cooler AND has it's own thermostat of 212 degrees F in the billet adaptor. Pretty cool.




Second item was a 10-row black oil cooler from Mishimoto. I removed the biga$$ 40k transmission cooler from the front of the truck, and replaced it with the new oil cooler with some nice AN PTFE lines. Engine oil on the truck, completed. Now it'll stay around 212 F no problem.





Next item on the list was a fan controller and fans for the 40k Tru-Cool transmission cooler. Even with the larger stall, the cooler up front was keeping the transmission temps a little lower than I thought it would. Kept the trans 130-140 degrees F which is nice but still wanted it a little warmer and since it's so big, was better to remove and push to the back of the truck so I could run the engine oil cooler up front.

The 40k Tru-Cool was ran just behind the cab, under the bed. I used a Derale dual fan controller with an adjustable in-line thermostat to control them. When trans temps get too hot, BOOM -- fans turn on and cool things down more than the cooler sitting there. So far, we have the controller set to 175 degrees F. Turns on once it hits 175, and runs fans, temps get down to 160 degrees and turns off. So it sees 160-185 degrees so far from what I am seeing.





Also got two of these caps from German over at LasedDesigns. When I bought this T, I was missing the plastic bumper step caps from the screws.




And finally, how she sits now. Was able to put 500 miles on her and break the engine in. Removed the break-in oil and changed to it's for-life synthetic blend oil. Now that everything is done, we can move on to the final tuning.

 

[Gpcalero]

LS3 6.2L Idle with TSP Cam

Caught the H3T Alpha idling during Thanksgiving!! SnugTop looking great on there and I absolutely love the cam so I had to share lol.

[video=youtube_share;G1jZW_wo89I]https://youtu.be/G1jZW_wo89I[/video]

 

[Korby7]

:thumbs: Sounds sick! Thanks for sharing. 6L or 6.2L is on my list.

 

[amrg]

Nice! What mufflers did you endup using again?

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[Gpcalero]

Nice! What mufflers did you endup using again?

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Currently it has a FlowMaster 40 Series on there with both the primary and secondary cats deleted, the shorty headers, and no resonator pipe.

When I re-do it. I'll look at doing true dual pipes, crossover x/h pipe, each their own mufflers (no idea which ones as of yet), and dual outlets. Someday in the future lol. Plenty of other stuff to do until then haha :lol:

 

[H3Hummer]

:holymoly that's a BEAST. They would fire me out of the technical spec center here if I would go in like your T :giggle:

Man what a sound, love it :metal::metal::metal:

 

[Gpcalero]

Shhhhh Be Quiet

Making some changes to the transmission fan controller setting. Initially we set it with the vehicle turned on as opposed to driving. But as I drove it, the temps were just slightly off of what I wanted it to be.

Additionally, seeing how the back of the truck cab was just plain metal then plastic trim/seats, I decided to add some Dynamat for more sound protection.




Rear seats removed and some alcohol wipe-down for Dynamat adhesion promotion. Paint back there looks like it's still new, still perfect! Also adjusted my controller for the trans fans, which I located back here.





This is the Dynamat kit I used, above.


And below... the bottom portion (harder section) completed.





Not too difficult to do, just takes some time to measure everything out and cut the stuff up lol.






Top portion completed. Avoided the seat support bar, as the plastic trim attaches to it with push pins and sits on it, as well as the very top extruded section where the trim sits in place and slides into the metal sleeves. Don't mind the leg of the bottom seats sticking up in the way lol.





Plastic trim and rear seats re-installed and back into place.





And while we were at it, went ahead and put the T on the lift to make sure everything from the built engine/trans/cab off install was looking good.





Most everything looked great. Noticed just a tiny bit of trans fluid on the oil pan. Check the pan bolts and a few weren't the tightest. Adjusted all of them, brake cleaned all the fluid and ran the truck in gear on the lift to check for any leaks. Satisfied nothing else was leaking, I pulled off the front skid plate and removed the un-used stock transmission lines to the radiator.





Thankfully I was able to loosen the clamps and pull it out all in one piece. I didn't want to try to cut it out. But turns out, they aren't that expensive for anybody needing them. $15 new each and still available. So these into trash unless somebody needs them lol.

 

[jimmy p]

How is the ecp radiator working out? I was about to order one up but came across your post where you said you needed to space your ac condenser out and wouldn't have room for a mechanical fan. I am trying to keep my engine driven fan and can't push my ac condenser out because I will run into my winch. Did you ever check a factory alpha clutch fan or was it close to your car acc drive setup? Wondering if it is worth my giving it a try or if it is an absolute no go?

 

[Gpcalero]

How is the ecp radiator working out? I was about to order one up but came across your post where you said you needed to space your ac condenser out and wouldn't have room for a mechanical fan. I am trying to keep my engine driven fan and can't push my ac condenser out because I will run into my winch. Did you ever check a factory alpha clutch fan or was it close to your car acc drive setup? Wondering if it is worth my giving it a try or if it is an absolute no go?

Jimmy, so far, the ECP radiator has been working out wonderfully. As far as I know, I am still the only person to run this radiator on an H3 so far. 2 years, no issues... and it even cools the larger 6.2L LS3 just fine!

But yes, I did have to space out the condenser forward about a 1/4th of an inch. Did not need to make any changes to the lines to/from it. It all sat fine.


I have a few friends that are planning to do an ECP radiator that have emailed them. As far as the email went & on their website, they indicate that it will clear the stock mechanical fan. I have NOT tried this, as I went with e-fans. The e-fans were sitting in my garage until the new radiator came in, did them both at once. My speculation on the stock fan was purely based off how how it looked. It may fit, it may not. I'm not sure. All I can say with full proof, is that the ECP will fit the truck, and that it is working on mine with e-fans.

 

[jimmy p]

Jimmy, so far, the ECP radiator has been working out wonderfully. As far as I know, I am still the only person to run this radiator on an H3 so far. 2 years, no issues... and it even cools the larger 6.2L LS3 just fine!

But yes, I did have to space out the condenser forward about a 1/4th of an inch. Did not need to make any changes to the lines to/from it. It all sat fine.


I have a few friends that are planning to do an ECP radiator that have emailed them. As far as the email went & on their website, they indicate that it will clear the stock mechanical fan. I have NOT tried this, as I went with e-fans. The e-fans were sitting in my garage until the new radiator came in, did them both at once. My speculation on the stock fan was purely based off how how it looked. It may fit, it may not. I'm not sure. All I can say with full proof, is that the ECP will fit the truck, and that it is working on mine with e-fans.

Thanks for the confirmation and further detail. So far I had only found one other person that ran one in a colorado. I will probably order one up and give it a try when I redo my cooling setup for next summer. Worst case if it doesn't fit I end up going to efans as well.

 

[Gpcalero]

Thanks for the confirmation and further detail. So far I had only found one other person that ran one in a colorado. I will probably order one up and give it a try when I redo my cooling setup for next summer. Worst case if it doesn't fit I end up going to efans as well.

No problem!! Post it up when you get it, would love to know how it goes! :thumbs:

 

[Gpcalero]

RIP Chrome Grill

Took the factory chrome grill off the truck and sent it on a voyage...







And it was gone during the Christmas holiday. Probably got a few odd looks during the few times I drove it :giggle: . Parent's H2 came to visit during the break!





And it's back! My buddy owns a body shop and did a fantastic job color matching the grill. Didn't mind the chrome grill at all (even though I'm not a big chrome guy), but..... No more chrome!













And another shot after she got all cleaned up.





Love how it turned out.

 

[jimmy p]

Those headlights looks awesome behind the white grill

 

[Gpcalero]

Those headlights looks awesome behind the white grill

Thank you sir. One of my buddies CGAlpha08 has it on his (looks incredible) and I've been itching to do the same for quite a while lol. Didn't disappoint!

 

[H3Hummer]

looks verry nice, :thumbs:but........ now.....what about the outside mirrors :huh:

 

[Gpcalero]

looks verry nice, :thumbs:but........ now.....what about the outside mirrors :huh:

Haha, I'm not too sure what I would change those to if I were to change them...

 

[H3Hummer]

Haha, I'm not too sure what I would change those to if I were to change them...

They are easy to take off and easy to spray to , did mine with Raptor, the front and rear bumper and the bull bar. Will do the plastic on the windshield and backdoor this spring. Honestly, i would love to put Raptor on the entire truck .....

 

[H3Hummer]

My chassis and body was done 2 times with black Hammerit ( like Rustoleum ) , put 2,5 Liters on it few year ago with aloso the rear + front axle , lower and upper arms.
Never had issues or a sign of rust since then.

 

[Gpcalero]

Moar Mods!

Bought a new Aires brush guard for the H3T a few months ago and finally decided to install it. Really wanted an OEM brush guard but couldn't find a new one. This Aires looks almost exactly the same so it was perfect.


[FONT=&amp]

[/FONT]Since I have a 1-inch body lift in addition to the Rancho, there was a bit of an extra step to take in order for it to fit correctly. First step was to remove the guard from the box and punch mark the location for the new mounting hole, 1" below the standard hole. Then we drilled into the mounting plates on both sides and made our new mount locations. Painted the new holes to avoid any rusting. Looks a bit dirty but is just metal dust/shavings and tire marks lol.



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[/FONT] Tried to make the new holes just as nice as the standard ones.



[FONT=&amp]

[/FONT]And here was the preliminary turnout. Needed some fine tuning


[FONT=&amp]

[/FONT]After drilling the holes and test fitting the brush guard, you can tell our new mounting holes were just a little bit off. The driver's side looked just about right and the passenger side was low a hair. So back to the shop to shave the holes a bit more for perfect fitment.



[FONT=&amp]

[/FONT]Minor shaving of the mount holes for better fitment.



[FONT=&amp]

[/FONT]And some exploration a few days after final installation of the brush guard. Love how it looks and how it compliments the new body painted grill.

 

[H3Hummer]

Did i mentioned that your T looks bad ass, no, well....it looks BAD BAD ASS man. Usually i don't like white trucks but your's ..hmmm well.... it's bad ass :cheers:

 

[H3Hummer]

Ohh but one more step missed .... dude black out those out side mirrors :shifty: