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Ultimate Adventure 2017

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Day 7 was at AOAA in Coal Township, PA. This day was full of rocks! Back to what I was used to!

We had some people available for help along the trail and it was funny as they thought the hummer couldn't fit anywhere but sure enough I fit it just about everywhere :)This day went great, it had some challenges but I felt very comfortable being back in my element.

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I didn't get many pics (I will work on that) but the hummer did very well. The last obstacle had a few lines and a TJ was wedged between two trees and couldn't get over the rock to complete the obstacle. The trail leader was insistent was I don't take the line but I tried it and really had the hummer wedged. The tires were barely fitting between trees but I was able to clear the obstacle with some tree damage hitting the door and the fenders. The fenders I call pillows as they pop in and out as you hit them preventing real body damage. Sure enough UA was over and the hummer made it through 2 UA's!

We headed back to the staging area after a full day of trails and literally no pics to show for it...

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At the staging area we got to participate in a dirt every day extra with fred and dirt head dave which was cool!

We headed back to the hotel, went out to the celebratory post UA dinner and afterword's took off to Fred's. Most were going to leave the hotel tomorrow but I had a flight to catch at 5am. We drove back got the hummer loaded by midnight, and picked up a rental car for myself. My buddy took off to Pittsburg to pick up his GF at 8am the next day to start driving back to so cal.

I went to philly for a 5am flight. I stopped in a rest area and took a 15 min nap halfway through the drive, dropped off the rental car and barely made the flight with the ridiculous lines!!!

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Got to Mexico with a few hours to spare for a friend's wedding.

To be continued with post-thoughts, damage, future upgrades, drive from so cal to nor cal, and things I learned.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
post thoughts, damage, future upgrades, drive home and things I learned

So....Would I do UA again and again and again? Absolutely! Since I have gone 2 times I cant go back but that doesn't mean that I can't do long trips like this again with friends. These trips are a blast and have taught me so much about vehicle versatility and the how you can make so many different setups work whether its big or small. Wheeling on the east coast taught me a lot about a different type of wheeling.

I got so many questions and comments. "What terrain is tougher?" "welcome to the coast with no traction" "It's tougher out here because you cant crawl" I guess the answer is nothing is tougher or easier. Its a stupid comparison. My thoughts are they both have their challenges and honestly they are just different. Yes there is traction out west compared to the east but throw some water and muck on some hammer trails and you wont successfully run them....but guess what! It almost never rains! Out east if it was dry it would have been easier, but guess what! It always ****ing rains! lol so the rocks out west are BIG and the east is WET! I have been on both ends of the rope on both coasts. They require different styles of driving.

With that different type of wheeling I believe I can further make my vehicle more versatile in all types of terrain...so with that I will mention damage and upgrades.

Upgrade #1: T case...I pulled the t case apart, the chain was stretched and with that I chipped a tooth on the front output gear.

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This damn t case is a trooper! I have nothing but respect for the amount of abuse it has taken over the years and the fact that it happened early in the week, we had a spare chain but decided to keep running it....with that said I have toyed with the idea of a 2wd conversion and a few other upgrades to make the t case my forever case and since being in the case I understand some upgrades that I could do and maybe one day I will do them for other H3 people but what I am doing is taking the planetary which is a 4:1 gear set and pure beef, putting that into a billet box and stuffing that in front of an NP 205. overall length will be equivalent to a factory H3 case.

The planetary is already shipped off and I have a 60 day lead time for it. I will have 1:1, 2:1 (205 in low) 4:1 (h3 planetary in low) and 8:1 (both in low) I can do front digs which will allow this big ole rig to pivot and turn tighter then ever before and it should be all beef! I will also get 2wd so I can unlock the hubs and have a true 2wd. I have some tricks up my sleeve for shifting that I will share later.

Upgrade #2: rear suspension...my rear suspension is probably more factory then most. Factory leafs, factory shackles...spring over vs under and some cheapo bilsteins but I could throw the factory shocks on if I had to! Out west I definitely bumped up obstacles but I think out east I must have been running at obstacles harder because I bent my spring perches which means I probably had some bad axle wrap.

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So I will be adding an anti wrap bar...hopefully that will get traction to the ground quicker vs. deflecting and help with steep climbs and ledges no matter the coast.

The shackles are bent...and they have been floppy and moving all over for years but I think its time to just put some real shackles on since I will be doing some rear upgrades anyways...since I am doing that I will just add a truss, bumpstops and new shocks for the hell of it.

sTroK7vl.jpg


So the rear end will get...
-New perches
-new shocks
-bumpstops
-truss
-anti wrap bar

Now before I get into upgrade #3 I will go into the drive home home PA. It went great! My buddy's GF flew in and they drove back taking the southern route to CA. I flew to so cal after Mexico, grabbed the hummer and took off. 320 miles in to my 350 mile drive home I lost all gears. Literally ALL GEARS! I wouldn't move, just dead in the water. Hopped on a tow truck for the first time in a very long time and got home. I decided to cut the rubber trans line going to my cooler, turned on the hummer and had no fluid pumping. The pump died in the trans. I will go into that upgrade but I am grateful for a multiple year run with no tow trucks and that this happened 30 miles home from a 2400 mile adventure.

So upgrade #3: I gotta figure something out with the trans. I think its the builder...but I can't be sure. I loved the 4l60e, my factory original trans was GREAT! 130k miles on the clock and I overheated that ****er every day in the summer 240-250. I would have to limp it home, cool it off, change the fluid and it would be happy. I did that for a couple years, I one time lost a trans line and ran the damn transmission DRY! It was slipping and barely made it in a parking lot. I filled it back up and it was happy as a clam. When I did the V8 swap I figured the trans is out lets just rebuild it because we had to mix and match parts from the donor vehicle 4l60e and my factory original one. Russ Trans built it and it felt fine. Had about 10-15k on it and I lost fluid in the trans from a broken line. Torched it 150 miles later. I only had 1st and 3rd IIRC. I had him rebuild it again and it never felt right. He swore it was...I swore it wasn't. A couple years go by and sure enough this happened. So I went through 2 transmissions that were "built" with upgrades in about 30k miles then I did in 130k with way more abuse and that one still worked great! WTF!!!! I literally have zero faith in that son of a bitch now.

I don't think I need a 4l80e or a 6l80e swap, I need a factory trans since my last factory one was awesome! Problem is without a vin I get a crappy warranty. my vin will give me an older version with an Inline 5 bellhousing and no input speed sensor. I would like a factory one with the 3 year warranty. I have seen reman's with 3 year warranty's but I do not know how good they are? I know Jasper reman is GARBAGE! I have seen so many jasper engine issues its not even funny. At this point I don't want to dump a boat load of money to some trans guy with a 1 year warranty. I don't believe I need all these upgrades to handle the power. I just think the previous jackass used cheap parts.

I am not sure if I just need a pump rebuild or the entire thing. I am also considering a manual swap because I am tired of this bull**** and I fear the reliability when I am far from home.

So any advice is appreciated there.

Last thing before it gets back on the trail is maintenance...I gotta rebuild some johnny joints, bushings, etc.

I'll end on a good note that I successfully made it through 2 UA's and that I would have never dreamed to even get to go on 1, yet alone 2 and do them both without major issues throughout the week.
 
Last edited:

JPaul

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,400
Location
Way up north, UT
I got my rebuilt trans through Street Smart: https://www.streetsmarttransmission.com

It was $1400 shipped and with the core shipped back. 3yr unlimited mileage warranty, it covers labor if you have the transmission installed at a shop, otherwise you're on your own to do or pay for the work if you install it yourself. They do some mild upgrades to it as well, nothing major but good enough I think. I looked into them before I bought and never really saw a lot of complaints about them.
 

Mr_Rich

Well-Known Member
Messages
636
Location
High Desert & Santa Maria
Did you ever consider BTO (Bowtie Overdrives) in Hesperia, Ca? I went to them after I had the same/ similar issues you've had with other re-builders. My original 700R4 (in my '89 Chev K1500) went 225K and failed in ~200 miles with a re-builder a friend referred me to. When they were done with the trans I saw a lot of sloppy work on the outside of the trans that should've flagged me to what I had on the inside of the trans. After that I bit the bullet and bought a BTO 700R4 and it's held up well for me the last five-plus years and 65K miles.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
I got my rebuilt trans through Street Smart: https://www.streetsmarttransmission.com

It was $1400 shipped and with the core shipped back. 3yr unlimited mileage warranty, it covers labor if you have the transmission installed at a shop, otherwise you're on your own to do or pay for the work if you install it yourself. They do some mild upgrades to it as well, nothing major but good enough I think. I looked into them before I bought and never really saw a lot of complaints about them.

I was looking at them! I like the warranty but I would need an alpha VIN to get what I need...So I gotta track down an alpha owner and ask to borrow their VIN lol How many miles do you have on yours so far?

Did you ever consider BTO (Bowtie Overdrives) in Hesperia, Ca? I went to them after I had the same/ similar issues you've had with other re-builders. My original 700R4 (in my '89 Chev K1500) went 225K and failed in ~200 miles with a re-builder a friend referred me to. When they were done with the trans I saw a lot of sloppy work on the outside of the trans that should've flagged me to what I had on the inside of the trans. After that I bit the bullet and bought a BTO 700R4 and it's held up well for me the last five-plus years and 65K miles.

I haven't heard of them! Do they do rebuilds or are they like a monster trans where they have pre built units and you give them the core?
 

Mr_Rich

Well-Known Member
Messages
636
Location
High Desert & Santa Maria
I was looking at them! I like the warranty but I would need an alpha VIN to get what I need...So I gotta track down an alpha owner and ask to borrow their VIN lol How many miles do you have on yours so far?



I haven't heard of them! Do they do rebuilds or are they like a monster trans where they have pre built units and you give them the core?

I'm surprised that you haven't heard of them. They're kind of in your neck-of-the-woods; 14 to 138... They have prebuilt units. They have some kind of process where they clean the cases. They don't paint them and they look pretty nice on the outside. When I sent my 700R4 to the rebuilder I mentioned previously it came back looking like a pre-schooler painted it with silver paint. Not so with BTO. I'd suggest you pull up their website and give them a call.
 

JPaul

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,400
Location
Way up north, UT
I was looking at them! I like the warranty but I would need an alpha VIN to get what I need...So I gotta track down an alpha owner and ask to borrow their VIN lol How many miles do you have on yours so far?

I only have about 3000 miles on mine so far, it was just this summer I put it in while I was rebuilding my engine, but no issues so far. I think they use the VIN for warranty though, so I'm not sure how that would work. I'd give them a call and see what they say, You might be able to get them to use your VIN but send you one for an Alpha instead. I don't see why they wouldn't be OK with it, as long as you get someone that understands what you're doing. They seem pretty good at communicating though, they called me after I placed my order to let me know it was going to take about a week before one would be ready to ship out.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
I’ll take a look into both! Thanks guys...

I like the warranty from street smart but I like the upgrades from bow tie.

As for VIN that was the few bad reviews I saw on them. They don’t like to work with people that have any drivetrain modification. The second I say an 08 alpha drivetrain in my 06 they probably will run for the hills from a warranty standpoint. I’d like the 3 year warranty but usually guys like bow tie would work with you since they deal with car people.
 

Mr_Rich

Well-Known Member
Messages
636
Location
High Desert & Santa Maria
I’ll take a look into both! Thanks guys...

I like the warranty from street smart but I like the upgrades from bow tie.

As for VIN that was the few bad reviews I saw on them. They don’t like to work with people that have any drivetrain modification. The second I say an 08 alpha drivetrain in my 06 they probably will run for the hills from a warranty standpoint. I’d like the 3 year warranty but usually guys like bow tie would work with you since they deal with car people.

I bet BTO would like your setup. A lot of their business is non-stock OD trans installs going in to 50-70's classics for instance.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
That new transfer case sounds like it is going to be a beast. Who is building it for you?

I will be building everything minus the actual box it goes inside. Behemoth Fab will be doing the billet box. After that I will be installing the planetary in the box, doing the rebuild of the 205. Mating the 205 and doubler box together, twin sticks on the 205 and the shifters on the 205
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Do you think there would be room to drill a second hole to get a factory length shackle.

I don’t need the additional lift.
 

Acer4LO

Well-Known Member
Messages
750
Location
Illinois
You could probably see if Schwartzy can ask his manufacturing company to make a custom order. I am not speaking for him, but just an idea!
 
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