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06 H3's Squeakin H3 Build

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
I finally added beadlocks! I got a great deal on a pre order group buy. I needed them after losing a total of 6 beads since I installed the H2 rims. The H3 rims are narrow, I have read narrow rims are a poor mans beadlock and sure enough I never lost a bead at 10 lbs on the H3 rims...10 lbs on the H2 rims they were always losing a bead.

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I also strengthened the sliders with 1.5x3 .25 wall legs and have 7 of them vs the 3 1x1 .188 wall slider legs.

Then I went wheeling at hammers! Choclate thunder to wrecking ball, down claw up boulderdash, down upper and lower Johnson then resolution. My buddy broke a shaft and I had to tug him up resolution that was a challenge but redlining the V8 kicking up tons of dust and 50-150 lb rocks got the job done!

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06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Bump: I have put over 30k miles on the SAS now and about 20k on the V8 swap...All is well with squeaky. After a year of nothing but abuse its time for some love. It wont happen right away as I will get her ready for KOH then once I move I will do a tear down.

-Need to figure out why my cruise still isnt working! I was trying to track down a short but nothing so far.
-My damn key recently got stuck in the ignition. Not sure what thats about.
-I want to redo my slider legs so they are stronger. I may cut some of the bottom pinch seam out so I can get legs to angle down at the sliders for more resistant to hits.
-finish the cage
-finish the sway bar
-install my shocks that I still have laying around

but anyways she's still ticking just needing a little love.
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,212
Location
Tardville
Are your H2 rims for sale? I’m looking (for the Burb).
Also, you may want to check the brake light switch near the pedals. My H3 went all goofy and lost cruise control when I first bought it. The dealer traced it to a faulty brake light switch and replaced it under warranty. I think there are two switches down there. This might also explain the sticking ignition key (low voltage from the brake lights being stuck on).
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
So I never got to do a KOH 2018 recap. Drove the hummer out Wednesday night. Thursday we volunteered, as some saw I got the chance to winch cars on the race course during the EMC race!!! That was awesome! The guy who had his ZJ down there had steel cable on his winch. One of the drivers was pist as it’s a safety hazard, I don’t blame him for feeling that way.


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It was interesting at first. Before my rig was down there I was up at the top letting them know when cars came down resolution. When they had the first rollover it took a while. 10 people trying to tell each other what to do, under pressure and the rig winching wasn’t in the ideal position to roll back over. We definitely got faster as time went on but it was a blast!


That night we ran turkey claw and got to see a JL on 37s with less than 1k miles on it HAMMER down hard! Hard enough it shut off lol I believe it was hazzard fabworx’s JL. We then ran chocolate and got to help a SxS out as he ripped his spindle off the a arm.


Friday we enjoyed the race and Friday night we went to clawhammer, not my favorite as it’s easier and we have done it a million times but we had a few guys with us on their first hammer trip so we went to claw. About halfway up my buddy broke his Detroit locker. So I went down with him. Once he was off the trail I headed back up. A YJ broke a driveshaft, towed him down, then went back up to recover a SAS Tacoma with a broken u joint. After towing 3 rigs back to the trail head I decided to head back to camp since it was 3am. My buddy’s finished the trail as the group went from 9 to about 5.


Saturday is our big wheeling day! We decided to run outer limits. We get out there and 500 ft in my buddy’s trunion bearing failed on his Toyota and was dead in the water. So me and another rig bombed back to camp.. Robbed the parts off a friends toyota that wasn’t as built and went passenger for outer limits. So spent some time at camp tearing down the front end. Then threw the parts in the trunk of my rig, drove back, put the new parts on, got him back to camp and on a trailer then pulled the parts back off and onto the Toyota it came off of. It was a long day! So outer limits is for next time.


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Aired up the tires, packed up and drove home on Sunday! The hummer did great as a recovery/chase rig all week! Now it’s time to drive it to mammoth just in time for a gnarly snowstorm! Glad I have factory leather heated seats :grinpimp:
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Time for an update.


Last season we got a ton of hammer trips in but unfortunately this season has been a bit slower since a couple of my buddy's were down for a few months due to carnage. So I have been doing quite a bit of recoveries...When it rains down in so cal all the idiots come out.


The first victim was a truck stuck on top of a main gas line :shaking: then he called up a friend to save him and he got stuck, then another friend who got really stuck, then the only one there knowing what to do broke an axle shaft in his factory locked FJ80.


So we got down there the next morning and there was a whole crew. the owners of the 4 stuck rigs and so cal gas company since a heavy truck was sitting on the main gas line feeding the town.


We started with the bronco.


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Got him out


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then went for the FJ80 and tacoma after they were out the chevy was left.


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So cal gas company was bringing down a CAT to pull him out, the reasoning was that he was on their property and now its their issue. Other issues arised as the gas company had to go down some dirt roads to get there and the owner of that road was flipping out due to a heavy CAT ruining his road. So Cal asked myself and my buddy to get him out.


So we had 2 winches side pulling him off the big gas line and sure enough we did it with no damage! The gas company was relieved and luckily no one was charged even though that truck should have been taught a lesson.


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All muddied up and as we were leaving so cal gas asked for our phone numbers if they need assistance in the future. That was cool!


Fast forward to the next storm.


Ranger is stuck, a ford f150 tries to help him and he gets stuck. 5 miles away a bronco was stuck and a dodge ram :shaking:


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Someone gets the dodge but couldnt get the bronco. We got the F150 and ranger out at the other location.


Then the F150 got stuck again and a 2005ish Dodge 2500 with the cummins shows up and owner immediately tries to show that hes got big dick. Starts yacking off at my buddy how a jeep can't pull him out, he needs weight and a cummins! He doesnt have the torque. "Go ahead!" Well trying to flex his dick results in breaking a front driveshaft...


Stock tires, open diffs, and full tire pressure isnt gonna cut it:no:


So his buddy in a bigger lifted truck shows up with the same story...Go ahead!!! no luck


While I am not mud truck using sense, I am aired down to 8 lbs, have lockers, 40s and a kinetic rope. I pull the stuck F150 out, then the dodge with the broken driveshaft and then another chevy.


The next day we go back to get the bronco at the other location.


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its funny what these idiots do in this mud...
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
After that I got the Hummer cleaned up and made the 350 mile trek north to the Hummer's new home. She now can be wrenched on in a garage!!


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Just barely fits with the garage door open.


After a year since the changes of the new D70 front, cage, etc. Its been through a lot with very little maintenance. So its time for some changes and maintenance.


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I cut off the sliders, took the plastic off behind it and realized I could gain 3-3.5in of clearance by cutting that crap out. I am not sure if I will do that but either way I still havent been happy with the sliders. original legs bent then went with 1.5x3 .25wall tubing directly to the frame, its bowed a little bit.


I am fearful that I will rip the sliders off at the frame since .25wall is so much thicker then the framerails and its not welded to a frame plate to spread the load. So I am starting all over.


4x4 plates 3/16 plates welded to frame to spread the load and the plates will be welded to the the 1.5x3 .25wall slider legs. I need to get some type of triangle support in there to really make it stout as hell. If I can cut out that rocker, bring it up 3in I can then weld uprights to it to really make it built to take hits and support the cage in a roll.


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Leg would be moved up on the frame rail and green part of pic is newly added leg renforcement. Almost like a mini boatside.


So who has had experience with cutting out pinch seams and avoiding the rust and other issues
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
I forgot to add the pics of my trip to the snow for some snowboarding up in mammoth...


I sometimes ask my self if I should go crazy and buggy it out but then times like these remind me why I still should keep the factory heated seats and an enclosed cab, especially because my other vehicle isn't a 4x4.


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and had to play some too...


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RamRod

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,914
Location
AB, Canada
Hey Chris! Is this still your daily?

What is the biggest difference you feel when comparing the Rancho to SAS when driving on the street?

I have been contemplating a SAS but it has to remain street able for my wife to drive, I am not convinced that she'd like driving it after the swap... Any in put would help, thanks!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Hey RamRod,

This isn’t my daily anymore. The only reason it isn’t is because I have a company car for work with a gas card.

With that said it was my daily for years after the SAS and I have about 30k on the SAS now so I have plenty of seat time. I drove 750 miles in a day in my h3 with the SAS and 40s so it’s still very streetable.

The one thing that’s probably most different is the steering, the turning radius isn’t as great as stock. I’m not sure if you can find a box that is...but it’s still light years ahead of the JK turning radius which is horrendous.

From a ride quality standpoint it rides great. I think the tunability is infinite. You want a stiff ride? Throw F250 coils on it, you want a super soft ride? Throw TJ coils on it...you can really dial in the ride quality you want.
 

Acer4LO

Well-Known Member
Messages
750
Location
Illinois
Bump. Any chance you could post some pics of your half doors? Thinking about doing it soon if I can find a good deal on doors. Also what year are your half doors? Early 06 or updated 2007 model? I think the 07+ model doors would look alot better since you woun't have to cut the into the inner door grab handle like you would with the 06 model.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
I ditched the inner door panels. They have a factory cable that you pull the open the doors. The pockets and holes in the door are so useful for storage. I want to do rear doors soon. I’ll find some pics.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
bump for another update. The existing sliders needed work, they hung low, they were prone to bending and I couldn't fully weld them allowing moisture to get in between the frame and slider which would cause rust issues long term. I wanted to do something to get me more clearance and hopefully to stop bending them. So I took the leap to start cutting, I was kind of clueless since I haven't seen another H3 cut out the entire pinch seam so I took my time.

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06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Down by the pinch seam it was triple or quad walled depending on the location which is truly amazing! Once I cut it all out I was left with a big mess and the potential for distortion of the metal since now its all independent of each other compared to before.

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So I took 18 gauge sheetmetal and connected the body back together.

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This pic is before it was finished but I spot welded all along the body from each wall to create a flat smooth bottom below the body. Then I used that expandable foam stuff to fill the holes and sound deaden along with sealant to seal the gap between the bottom and new sheetmetal to prevent water from intruding. You could feel the additional rigidity in the body after adding that sheetmetal. Before I did I was concerned about distortion. I shortly contemplated making the body and slider one, its popular in the XJ world, but I wanted to keep them isolated and not risk the cracking that could occur from the slider taking hits and forwarding that abuse to the body.

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Used 2x4 .25 wall rectangular tubing

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I used a total of 7 legs. 4 are 1.5x3 .25 wall that then has triangulation with additional .25wall pieces (shown later) then 3 legs are 1.75 .120 wall DOM that tie the B pillar and A pillar of the cage to the frame.

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Here's a pic of the triangulation

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Ideally I would have liked more triangulation and to have it coming from the top but that would have netted less clearance gains, I felt it wasn't worth it and figured this was worth a shot.

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Here's the slider almost done, just missing the 1.75in tube for the a pillar at this point.

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Welded to the frame...with 4x4 3/16 plates to help spread the load...

I've never seen so much visible frame rail before cutting the pinch seam up 3in!

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The B pillar isn't done yet on the slider mount. I still need to box it and run angle pieces to help transition the rocks going from flat slider to the stub that's out holding the B pillar. You can also see the B pillar is removable. Not ideal for strength but the end goal is to have an internal B pillar. We purposefully had the B pillar sucked as tight as possible to the body and because of that the back door opens about 75%. Fine for the trails but when loading things from the store it can be a pain so being able to take it off for street use is nice and eventually it will get an internal B for additional cage strength.

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For reference these are the old sliders...They sat MUCH lower then before, the plastic crap covered up a lot of the low hanging pinch seam before.

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Now the slider sits much higher...

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So now its time to test it and see if my plan works and its stronger or if its a POS and fails...After the test drive on the road, not additional road noise or body slapping the slider was noticed which is great. Another thing to mention is that the A pillar was brought down lower so visibility is better then it ever has been with the cage. It was ok before but now its almost unnoticeable in terms of lost visibility compared to stock.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
These were a lot of little things I am happy to improve post UA 2017 since last year it was a mad dash to get finished.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
New neighbors have been nice and usually ask “what is that thing?!” They know it isn’t a Jeep but are unsure of what it is...no complaints from them yet [emoji16]

I’m not sure what the old neighbors think but I’m sure they are happy!
 

rascole

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,580
Location
Bellflower, CA
"Then I used that expandable foam stuff to fill the holes and sound deaden"
Be careful with the expanding foam, that stuff will catch fire easily if you are going to weld or plasma cut anywhere near it.
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,442
Location
Scottsdale
I think it's good you kept the sliders away from the body. There's so much movement between frame and body in our trucka that isn't present in unibody vehicles.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Bump...I’ll do a detailed update later but I never posted up a finished pic of the sliders.

After UA it was time for a BIG refresh. It’s hard to believe I have put 30k miles on the SAS already and I want to say 20k on the motor swap but I’ll have to go back and double check...Bushings, Johnny joints and heims have lived a good life but we’re in need of some replacing, rebuilding and some love.

I tore down squeaky to where the entire drivetrain is out. Did some adjustments and things. Motor is back in...trans and t case are still out.

Suspension upgrades with new shocks, more uptravel with no ride height increases, air bumps.

Rear end is almost ready to come out for suspension refresh/upgrades.

Waiting on t case parts...

Planning on doing a new crossmember that will achieve a flat belly and more ground clearance.

It’s been down for the longest it has ever been...Since mid July [emoji22] but the goal is more uptravel and more ground clearance without going up in ride height. I’m hoping it’s ready to rock by November....then I can give it another couple of years of constant thrashing before another complete tear down/rebuild is in order.
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,212
Location
Tardville
I’m glad you are posting this. When you mod/wheel at this level...your rig is never really “done”. Periodic tear downs are just part of ownership. A lot of people don’t understand that it takes a tremendous commitment to perfection, to get a custom build dialed-in so it can perform at the level that was intended. Lots of experimentation...some things work...some don’t. Lots of wasted time & money. But in the end...it’s not wasted at all. It’s just part of the process.

Nobody ever learned a damn thing from success. Failure is what you learn from. You make notes of all the little things that don’t work, and you keep trying different ideas...all to improve your build. Persistence!

So many rigs (SEMA) never get this attention. They build it once and call it done. As long as it draws a crowd, and sells a bunch of flashy parts, it’s a success. But in the real world, that just doesn’t get it. Abuse. Break. Improve. Repeat.

Great work.
 

Acer4LO

Well-Known Member
Messages
750
Location
Illinois
So many rigs (SEMA) never get this attention. They build it once and call it done. As long as it draws a crowd, and sells a bunch of flashy parts, it’s a success. But in the real world, that just doesn’t get it. Abuse. Break. Improve. Repeat.

Great work.

Yeah SEMA may be a great place to look at builds, but almost none of them are field tested. I know that some shops are working up till the last minute to get it done and some the vehicle won't even start. Lol I seen some funny stuff shared online. Missing driveshafts, parts being held up by zip ties, bad paint jobs w/overspray.
 
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