Outfitter Design Advice

Hey everyone

I am going to order myself a few presents from Outfitter Design.. I need to do it all in 1 go because I have a little bit of a complicated way to get it out here but it will save me a sh!tload of money which I can spend on other things for my car.

So, I need your opinions/advice on the below please, if you don't mind ...
Have you guys used them? What are your thoughts?

- Bushing kit
(How do I know which Gen Crossmember I have?.. I consulted Uncle Google but I can't seem to figure it out.. Does it go on the year of the car?)

- Body Lift Kit
(Probably the Bumper Spacer as well)

- Steering Rack Reinforcement Kit

I have their parts on my S10 Blazer and not 1 complaint. Customer service has been great too.

I have the front diff kit and steering rack bushing kit. Both have been on for 3 or 4 years now without any issues.


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I have the front dif kit and very happy with it. The easiest way to tell is just look at your cross member , they are noticeably different. You don’t need to drop the skid plate, you can see the difference.

I’ve had the steering rack and the differential bushing kits installed for about 6 months. Both are easy enough to install and I haven’t had any issues. If you go to the link below on their site, it has pictures of both the first and second gen cross members to help identify what you have.

https://www.outfitterdesign.com/do-it-yourself-front-differential-bushing-kit.html

Awesome! Thank you all!
I'll definitely order the Steering Rack and diff bush kits then.
What about the lift kit?

Feel free to reach out to us with any other questions. We are happy to help and I am one of the owners of Outfitter Design

atvspeed4 said:

Feel free to reach out to us with any other questions. We are happy to help and I am one of the owners of Outfitter Design

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Yeah you can have one of those front driveshafts fall off the truck in Denver. [emoji6]


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I've also got the OD front diff bushings and steering rack kit with no complaints. They've been installed for 1 year / 10k miles and have survived 2 Moab trips.

Can't comment on their body lift but if I bought another H3/H3T I'd buy the OD body lift...or a Dana 50 IFS front diff if this myth/unicorn ever comes to be

Have OD steering and diff bushings going on 4 years now, still look and perform as new.


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atvspeed4 said:

Feel free to reach out to us with any other questions. We are happy to help and I am one of the owners of Outfitter Design

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Thank you!

So it's in concrete that I will order your front diff bushings kit and the steering rack. (OMG I'm so excited!) Do you guys have any issue shipping it to an APO address?

Also, yesterday I was told that a Body Lift Kit is different to a Lift Kit ... ?
Is that right? If so, would you mind explaining the difference to me?
To me, they would be the same thing.. because essentially you're lifting the car.. or am I stupid? haha

Lauren said:

Also, yesterday I was told that a Body Lift Kit is different to a Lift Kit ... ?
Is that right? If so, would you mind explaining the difference to me?

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Definitely different, a suspension lift increases ground clearance (height between the ground and the bottom of the truck) so that you can climb over larger rocks/obstacles or sometimes just run larger tires. A body lift only increases the clearance between the top of your vehicle frame and bottom of the body. A body lift adds overall height and is sometimes needed to install larger tires but they typically will not help when taking off road or clearing larger rocks/obstacles.

You can also lift the front of your H3 by cranking your torsion bars, sometimes referred to as a torsion lift or "leveling" your rig. There is no need to buy any "leveling kits" for an H3 as the stock keys allow you to crank the torsion bars to the max (23.5" from center of wheel hub and bottom of fender), there are many videos or write-ups available on this topic such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJXq58NzJyE.

Here is a summary of how these lifts compare and rank in my opinion;

1) Suspension lift = Allows for maximum ground clearance, typically around 4" lift in front and 3" in back from stock which I then believe allows for 37" tires. This is the best but most expensive lift, especially for H3's as there are no longer "off the shelf/out-of-box" suspension lift kits available (i.e. Rancho, Tuff Country, etc.). So your odds of finding this type of lift is rare and if found will likely cost $2,500+ for a used set.

2) Torsion bar crank/lift = Adds additional front end ground clearance but only 2" lift from stock. The best part about this "lift" is that it's basically free, aside from an alignment, your labor/time, and possibly new extended shocks (i.e. Bilstein 5100's). This is often used to "level" an Independent Front Suspension vehicle to rid it of the factory forward rake but I don't believe it allows for larger than 35" tires, which can also be achieved with no lift/stock rigs.

3) Body lift = Lifts the body of your vehicle 1"-1.5" from the frame but does not provide any additional ground clearance. This type of lift is often used for cosmetic purposes or to allow for up to 37" tires but I believe requires trimming of your fenders. Body lifts may also leave an undesirable 1"+ gap between the bumper and grille.

SlcHummer said:

You can also lift the front of your H3 by cranking your torsion bars, sometimes referred to as a torsion lift or "leveling" your rig. There is no need to buy any "leveling kits" for an H3 as the stock keys allow you to crank the torsion bars to the max (23.5" from center of wheel hub and bottom of fender), there are many videos or write-ups available on this topic such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJXq58NzJyE.

Here is a summary of how these lifts compare and rank in my opinion;

1) Suspension lift = Allows for maximum ground clearance, typically around 4" lift in front and 3" in back from stock which I then believe allows for 37" tires. This is the best but most expensive lift, especially for H3's as there are no longer "off the shelf/out-of-box" suspension lift kits available (i.e. Rancho, Tuff Country, etc.). So your odds of finding this type of lift is rare and if found will likely cost $2,500+ for a used set.

2) Torsion bar crank/lift = Adds additional front end ground clearance but only 2" lift from stock. The best part about this "lift" is that it's basically free, aside from an alignment and your labor/time. This is often used to "level" an IFS vehicle to rid it of the factory forward rake but I don't believe it allows for larger than 35" tires, which can also be achieved with no lift/stock rigs.

3) Body lift = Lifts the body of your vehicle 1"-1.5" from the frame but does not provide any additional ground clearance. This type of lift is often used for cosmetic purposes or to allow for up to 37" tires but I believe requires trimming of your fenders. Body lifts may also leave an undesirable 1"+ gap between the bumper and grille.

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I see! Thank you so much, I appreciate it!

So I've already done the torsion bar crank then, I had no idea :emb:.. sometimes its hard here because some things get lost in translation
If you do the torsion bar crank then would it affect your shocks?

I ask because, when I originally lifted it, it was at the "highest point", then my front passenger shock died and so when the mechanics put in the Fox shocks for me, they lowered it. I asked why.. their explanation was that "I was lifted to the top of my shock and that's why it died. If I keep it that high it will destroy my new shocks."..... To be honest, I was skeptical but I just didn't want to risk it..

That is true , but the Fox 2.0 is a longer than stock shock. The part # for the Fox is for a Chevy 1500 and is list as a little longer than an H3 shock. If you are staying with OEM shocks you can use a small spacer between the top of the shock and the mounting hole.

We ship usps so no issue with P.O boxes

scoreh3 said:

That is true , but the Fox 2.0 is a longer than stock shock. The part # for the Fox is for a Chevy 1500 and is list as a little longer than an H3 shock. If you are staying with OEM shocks you can use a small spacer between the top of the shock and the mounting hole.

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^ x 2

I edited my original post to include extended shocks when cranking torsion bars. Good catch.

If the shock broke it could be due to being 10 years old and the seals dried up, or you are way over cranked the shock is now operating at its full extended range tiring it faster. Eitherway, cranking shouldnt exceed 23.5 hub center to fender lip for a good compromise. You can go 24 and some even reach 24.5 but if you stand 10 feet away and look at the front suspension everything will have severe angles making them operate in their uncomfortable range

amrg said:

the front suspension everything will have severe angles making them operate in their uncomfortable range

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And leading to premature failure of the CV axles, steering rack and possibly even diff internals. Don't over-crank the torsion bars.

atvspeed4 said:

We ship usps so no issue with P.O boxes

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Perfect!

I've just moved apartment so haven't figured out which crossmember I have yet, but I will over the weekend! Then I will order

amrg said:

If the shock broke it could be due to being 10 years old and the seals dried up, or you are way over cranked the shock is now operating at its full extended range tiring it faster. Eitherway, cranking shouldnt exceed 23.5 hub center to fender lip for a good compromise. You can go 24 and some even reach 24.5 but if you stand 10 feet away and look at the front suspension everything will have severe angles making them operate in their uncomfortable range

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Thats true. Probably a mixture of the shocks being old and being over cranked to be fair.
That's so good to know, thank you! I'm going to go and measure the centre of the hub to the fender after work!
It's so confusing here, like the guy lifted it then said "you're lifted to 9" ...I was like 9 what? and he just said 9 then walked off :giggle:

alrock said:

And leading to premature failure of the CV axles, steering rack and possibly even diff internals. Don't over-crank the torsion bars.

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I understand.. so that's probably why this happened, right? v v

That just looks like a loose band on the boot. May or may not be related to CV angles. It's "normal" for a CV boot to fail. I've had a few develop cracks or rips.

alrock said:

That just looks like a loose band on the boot. May or may not be related to CV angles. It's "normal" for a CV boot to fail. I've had a few develop cracks or rips.

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Oh its not as bad as I thought then haha! Thank you

Hey guys,

Hope everyone is well.

Thought I'd post in here as my question is kinda related to what has been spoken here and I don't wanna be that person that keeps opening new threads for similar subjects haha

So last Thursday, I finally replaced the starter motor, right manifold sensor and the fan belt... need to take it back though as something else is eating the damn fan belt.. literally this will be the third time :shame:

Anywhoooooo! I also cranked the torsion bars up slightly, turns out they needed to be cranked as my Fox shocks were not "being used to their full potential" as there wasn't enough "travel distance" so if I went over a bump or whatever, the shocks fully closed, (I'm guessing because the Fox shock is slightly longer than the stock shocks?) anyway, so now that it's been lifted slightly, it gives the shocks more room.. I gotta admit it does feel much nicer to drive!

BUT now that I've done the lift, when the gears shift (It's an automatic btw! We don't have manual H3's here ..) I get like a thud noise. not so much while shes driving but more when I shift between P R N D.. and sometimes when I turn the car on she will do it pretty loudly..
I've been told its normal because I've lifted it but I guess I just wanted some reassurance that it is alright and my transmission isn't going to fall off :giggle::sigh: