06 H3
a.k.a. "The Jackal"
- Messages
- 9,350
- Location
- Meridian, ID
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.
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.
I am glad you acknowledged that CJ. I know you know that but mentioning it is a reminder to people thinking about taking the plunge. That's not to say that you cant do the SAS and leave it alone but I am trying to push an H3 on trails and obstacles H3's usually don't belong on and that's the hammer trails. If I kept doing the trails I once did this work wouldn't be necessary but I am trying to get it to the next level...More up travel, more ground clearance no more added lift.
I've been home about 2 1/2 months now and this is the longest its ever been down for. Unfortunately its been slow moving since I haven't been working on it every weekend or night like I wish I could!
With all the things I mentioned a couple posts back it was time to get to work.
Started off pretty easy....My hub seal was toasted after almost burning up a hub when I bent my axle shaft.
I was only going to change the seal but for good measure I did the bearings as well.
Then I rebuilt all the Johnny joints...
After that I finally tied my cage down to the frame from the internal C pillar. Used 3/16 plate for the frame to spread the load...pic before I grinded off all the rust...
After that it was time to reinforce the motor mounts....I was going to try and do that without pulling the motor but sure enough there was no room! Yay :gaah:
Got the mount straight again...
New bushings...
Old me would have probably boxed in the whole thing with 1/4in plate without any regard to weight...but now that I try to make an effort to reduce the amount of weight added I must think about it in any way possible....Used some 1.75 .120 wall on both sides of the mounts.
A goal was more uptravel with no added ride height. I went from 3.75-4in of uptravel to 5in of uptravel...I got new in the box fox shocks with the compression adjuster I picked up for a steal...installed as well as cycling the suspension, moving some things and some shock mounts I was able to gain about an inch or a tad more of uptravel.
Then I picked up some new in the box Light racing 1.5in air bumps for a good price....My old bumps were mounted inboard off the bottom of the frame. I wanted to get them more inline with the shock this time around. Packaging has been a challenge. They wont fit well behind the shock because they will come in contact at droop. I could go inside the coil bucket but I fear that it will put too much leverage on the coil bucket. Any thoughts?
Here's another view of them sitting below the frame, I don't want them inboard. They were in the spot of my old bumps in that pic...The tube in the middle of the coil bucket and is a retainer at full droop. I could mount them in there but like I said my concern was stated above. That has been put on hold as I think of something.
I also did some gas tank skid revisions...and I am sure I will edit in more and I know I've done more then I am listing...
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