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HUNNER EXtreme Steering Rack Sleeves

M

MUTAINT

Guest
YEP, I'm a H3/H3T spare parts "Whorde". The attic over the garage is getting pretty full, looking at a barn with a loft for the back 40!:shifty: (I like the "shifty" guy also)
 

M22KLARS

Unsafe At Any Speed
Messages
2,315
Location
Minnesota
I'm glad somebody is watching my back. I invite all questions and constructive suggestions.
I just know it works for me and has for many miles.
You all are sharing in the ongoing preservation of the species Hummer sub species H3/H3T!
I hope a source for racks can be found since SOME people are hoarding:shifty: I really like this guy.

Roof Racks? :shifty:
 

Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
After saying that and implicating myself, it's finally cool here at night and I have a huge exhaust fan in the shop that when I pull down the steps to the shop attic it makes a nice breeze up there. I was up there rearranging, a never ending story. I found all kinds of neat Hummer parts I need to inventory. Good thing I built it with a laminated beam!
I'm having 24 inch duct work run to the shop for AC and heat. Got two tv's and my laptop hooked up out there when I first built it, woot woot man cave!

No, steering racks!! If I can't steer I don't need no stinkin roof rack:shifty:
 
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3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
My shop is air conditioned also. Makes a huge difference in Texas. I have a huge stockpile of parts for H1s but not much for the H3.
 

Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
Swank3T, I gotcha covered. I'm working down the list of that additional 10 now. I will announce when I have them and send invoices in the order I received them. That way 30 people will not have to send replies. If I receive payment I will know they still wanted them! If I run out again I will have to reorder a small batch depending on how many want them.
 

Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
I'm in this for the long run. I like my H3 better than any vehicle out there for my purposes of exploring and shooting photographs. So all along I have tried to make mine dependable and improve reliability where I can. I carry back up parts to the most failed items that would hopefully get me back to where I could get help if needed.
I hope you all find this rack fix will be the end of that problem for years to come. It has worked for me over a lot of varied terrain.

I'm trying to find the first date I posted I did this on my 06. I remember at that time several people said they could not see that being needed or that it was designed to move. Huh? wiggle around and clunk and apply pressure to the other end of the rack and possibly cause it to break and fail as well as sloppy steering feed back? I guess now many miles later and accumulation of offroad use it finally is showing up more on some vehicles. That shows how much wheeling I must have been doing when I was hitting Superlift most weekends and guiding. I wish I had thought of this before I broke my rack. In my case it was repetitive hard rock crawling, lifted too much at 24.5 and the day it actually broke I was guiding up a wash I had done many times before. However my locker after three trips to the dealer was not working and I admit spinning the wheels more than I normally do and whack, it broke. I was running my BP tie rods at the time which were designed to help prevent rack stress, but the damage had already been done because of the bushing. After the rack broke steering was really sloppy as I topped a rise and was running along a narrow trail with a steep drop off down a ravine. I stopped in time but slid over to the edge in loose rock. I had both front and rear winches with me that day and used the two to winch sideways back on to the trail. Once I figured out how to anticipate the slack in the steering, I was able to finish the trail and drive back to the parking lot where I had my trailer. The BP tie rods were still in place and allowed me to steer. In the cases I have heard of when the rack broke first or after, then OEM tie rods would both break. They were 14mm at that time.
Those of you that do a lot of wheeling and have not had a problem with this, yet, must be very careful drivers and have very little lift with the torsions. I know of at least one I am thinking of that must fit both categories.
mt4403.jpg

DSC_3121.jpg

It's ok, it buffed out.
Superliftpinetree-1.jpg
 

3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
I don't wheel the H3 all that much but it has been on some very difficult trails. It is only a matter of time and that is why I am on the order list. Unlike my kids I don't have to make every mistake myself to learn the lesson.:)
 

Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
Why can't we seem not to be able to pass on that knowledge and method of avoiding reinventing the wheel the hard way to our children, or son in laws???:shifty:
 

Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
I got Nacho covered.
Now I have 5 left. I will double check that tonight.
 
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MidnightH3

Member
Messages
5
Location
Arizona
Are there any of these left? I'm in the process of replacing my steering rack due to this failure so I'd love to make the new one stronger in the process. Also, does anyone know of a thread somewhere that gives some instruction on how to replace the rack and what is needed to do it? Thanks!
 

Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
Are there any of these left? I'm in the process of replacing my steering rack due to this failure so I'd love to make the new one stronger in the process. Also, does anyone know of a thread somewhere that gives some instruction on how to replace the rack and what is needed to do it? Thanks!

I got two left. I put you down for one. I will notify you when I get them.
Thanks
why are we up this early??:shifty:

Did your rack break?
I can help a little.
FIRST!! tie off the steering wheel so it cannot turn. F5 says there is a hole in the steering column that I have not looked for yet that you can pin it. I intend to look for that today for future reference. If you disconnect the steering shaft from the rack the wheel will spin freely and screw up where it was centered. Then stabiltrak looses it's mind. There is a way to correct it that I had the dealer do after mine spun.
The bolt at the connection to the rack is threaded, twice. When you back it out make sure you don't take a BFH to it, just pull it out some and unthread it on the second side. Oh, and it is a tiny little thing that is your life line to steering. I have to check that but it was like 11 mm, I think.
The rack comes with the tie rods already attached in a big ole long box.
_DSC7485.jpg

The inner connection is "staked" or de-tented to prevent it turning.
6487.jpg

If you remove them you cannot do that again. The piece of metal breaks off. You can however use thread locker and if you get the right combination of a crows foot you might can get in there and torque it. GM makes a special fitting that slips over that, but I don't have one. I found that when you get it goodntite the detent lines up and that is as far as it will go.
I have not tried to install the rack with them attached. If you have some help holding things I guess that can be done.
It is very difficult trial and error to try to set toe in on the H3 by jacking it up and adjusting and lowering and checking. When you jack it up to adust it the camber will change only while it is up not really move any fasteners but the wheels toe in also. It would take a long time doing that and driving it to come back to alignment. If you have a couple of those dollies like at Harbor Freight for both front wheels, you can emulate the rotating plates on an alignment rack. Then using a calibrated stick or tape measure set your toe in fairly close. Then a trip to have an alignment done would be best.
 
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Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
Hunner. You should sell a kit for your double bracket setup.
I thought about it. Basically it's just a stock bracket and a spacer piece of channel. However, as I usually say, it really needs to be custom ground to match the frame cross member in case there is some variation on different vehicles. I would hate to have someone use one and it put some pressure on the rack. I ground on mine until it just slipped in there and was touching the rack and cross member. There is an overlap where it appears there are two halves to that cross member and a weld to go over. Then you have to drill a gnarly hole and line it up square when it comes out the other side of that. The pass side sleeve/bushing fix probably is enough, but for people that really work the H3/H3T they may want to consider that.
It was strange when I ordered a bracket for that it was a mirror image of the normal one? Maybe for a right hand drive? Parts guy was puzzled as well.
7920.jpg

_DSC8158_resize.jpg

You can see how concerned I was about fixing this after a failure. I even double nutted it and of course Loctite and torqued it. I did use an OEM rubber bushing there for some wiggle room as I was also concerned about stressing the rack at mid point. This was on my 06, I have not done this on my Alpha, yet.
centeraddedbracket.jpg
 
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f5moab

Mr. Beretta
Messages
1,986
Location
Hiding in a potato patch in Idaho
Did I say blue?
Here's the location...
GM has a special tool for this
AND, make sure before you start this to DISABLE THE AIR BAG SYSTEM. Don't want a really loud pop to ruin your day. Nine out of 10 times you can remove a steering wheel air bag and have no problem. One out of 10 will cost about $700 bucks to fix, make you dead for a few minutes, and cover your face with corn starch.:)
 

Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
Thanks for adding that. Are you saying stickin something other than that tool up in there could blow the bag? or even that tool?
Maybe I will just stick to the sailing line and some knots?

I have always thought fuse 27 would do it, I believe?
Blue? I missed something or did you mean Blew as in airbag.
I broke the rack and did not blow the bag.
I installed the rack and removed it a couple of times mounting my BP tie rods and this bushing.
I thought I had read there were no physical sensors that the pooter sensed it.
Keep us straight on this and thanks for your help F5.
I will check that DVD.
 

f5moab

Mr. Beretta
Messages
1,986
Location
Hiding in a potato patch in Idaho
Ok, I had a brain fart; not enough coffee. For some reason I was thinking of removing the steering wheel and column, and that is not necessary with a gear change. So, forget the information about the air bag system. Just locking the column in place affects nothing. It's Sunday...
:emb:
 

TrailBreaker

Well-Known Member
Messages
111
Location
Asheville, NC
If there are any left, please put my name on one. I just put my truck on the rack at work yesterday and saw the busing worn out (2nd rack in 52K miles), so I will be ordering a new one and putting this on. also noticed diff fluid leaking form the passenger side CV axle. Good times!

Thanks!

jason
TrailBreaker
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
If there are any left, please put my name on one. I just put my truck on the rack at work yesterday and saw the busing worn out (2nd rack in 52K miles), so I will be ordering a new one and putting this on. also noticed diff fluid leaking form the passenger side CV axle. Good times!

Thanks!

jason
TrailBreaker
My diff is leaking too from the driver side...I need to change out the axle seal, I have them but havent gotten to it yet. My leak isnt too bad though. Your lucky that you have your own personal team of mechanics at the dealership. :)
 

TrailBreaker

Well-Known Member
Messages
111
Location
Asheville, NC
My diff is leaking too from the driver side...I need to change out the axle seal, I have them but havent gotten to it yet. My leak isnt too bad though. Your lucky that you have your own personal team of mechanics at the dealership. :)

I am sure mine is leaking form the repair done a few weeks ago after my collosal trail failure (drivers tie rod, BOTH CV axles, a set of spider gears, and the ELocker pins, and now it seems the steering rack as well) it was a rough day on the trails that it looks like I am still paying for. As far as a "personal team of mechanics" the guys are good about giving me a hand when I need it, but honestly I like doing the work myself. It is nice having full dealership facilities to do work in.
 

MidnightH3

Member
Messages
5
Location
Arizona
I got two left. I put you down for one. I will notify you when I get them.
Thanks
why are we up this early??:shifty:

Did your rack break?
I can help a little.
FIRST!! tie off the steering wheel so it cannot turn. F5 says there is a hole in the steering column that I have not looked for yet that you can pin it. I intend to look for that today for future reference. If you disconnect the steering shaft from the rack the wheel will spin freely and screw up where it was centered. Then stabiltrak looses it's mind. There is a way to correct it that I had the dealer do after mine spun.
The bolt at the connection to the rack is threaded, twice. When you back it out make sure you don't take a BFH to it, just pull it out some and unthread it on the second side. Oh, and it is a tiny little thing that is your life line to steering. I have to check that but it was like 11 mm, I think.
The rack comes with the tie rods already attached in a big ole long box.
_DSC7485.jpg

The inner connection is "staked" or de-tented to prevent it turning.
6487.jpg

If you remove them you cannot do that again. The piece of metal breaks off. You can however use thread locker and if you get the right combination of a crows foot you might can get in there and torque it. GM makes a special fitting that slips over that, but I don't have one. I found that when you get it goodntite the detent lines up and that is as far as it will go.
I have not tried to install the rack with them attached. If you have some help holding things I guess that can be done.
It is very difficult trial and error to try to set toe in on the H3 by jacking it up and adjusting and lowering and checking. When you jack it up to adust it the camber will change only while it is up not really move any fasteners but the wheels toe in also. It would take a long time doing that and driving it to come back to alignment. If you have a couple of those dollies like at Harbor Freight for both front wheels, you can emulate the rotating plates on an alignment rack. Then using a calibrated stick or tape measure set your toe in fairly close. Then a trip to have an alignment done would be best.
Thank you for putting me down for one! My steering is leaking and the rubber bushing has basically torn itself apart so I'll have to see what else needs to be replaced along with the rack. At first I thought it was the lines from the pump but when I saw the bushing torn up and read all the posts of people having the same issue, I knew it was the rack. Thanks for the info on the steps you took, I've always wrenched on my vehicles but never had to change a rack before so the more info I have the better.
 
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