06 H3's Squeakin H3 Build

[06 H3]

Depending on the sensors you may or may not be able to fit them. JK sensors are flat. They can fit anywhere! If a 99 burb sensor is like an H3 you will have to probably go outboard on your rotor setup...if that's the case grab some H3 calipers, 2002 rotors off a Chevy 2500 and you will have better brakes then the factory stuff from 1978.

For me, I just mocked up my front 8 lug rotors to the rear, back to the DIY lathe -____- gotta trim them down...so The rotors for a 14 bolt/eaton disc kit are 12.5 diameter just like the H3 so now I gotta cut/move them out as well since my new ones are 12.9...Other issue, rear disc kit calipers are floating and the rotors are 32.4mm thick. The ones for the front are 29mm thick. Will this matter? Will the piston be pushed out all the way with more clamping force needed?? I don't know.

Now I know why CJ took months on doing his SAS for the first time, one problem, come up with a solution, modify, implement the idea. Past that, hit the next issue, repeat. This is why it's easy to build some trailer queen off road beast. Want quality brakes? Want to keep your dash from lighting up? Want to keep it streetable? Well it's tougher...but I know what's the plan for next weekend!

Btw CJ WMS is 65 rear 69 front. Was gonna throw 2in spacers and be even. Ran spacers for 75k miles never an issue. Had lots of other ones but never an issue with spacers.

Also before I forget I'm heading up to Northern California tomorrow morning for work. On the way home I'm picking up a new school 14 bolt for my brothers JK, 2002 14 bolt, modern brakes, full float, parking brake, 68 WMS. I will be giving it the same treatment. ABS compatible, Overkill beast. Then he's grabbing an 05 super duty front 60. Car part has them for 285 right now. Can't touch an old 60 for less then a grand and these are better but people view them worse since they have unit bearings and ball joints, but they are massive!!! And they are 35 spline inner and outer stock. Make that ABS compatible as well. Then my buddy is gonna take my brothers JK High pinion 44 front that's trussed, sleeved, gusseted, locked geared and put it under his TJ. Lots of axle tech going on, all while I gotta get panzers axle welded up too and SOA with my old rear axle.

 

[06 H3]

I have been brainstorming ideas, talking to CJ about them as well as seeing what pirate has to say.

Slip on rotor or see if a JK sensor would work if I spliced the harness end of an H3 sensor and axle end of a JK. Both are 2 wire but concerns are the differing signals they give off.

AM4x4, on pirate, the guy who has designed the mayhem metal works steering rack clamp has done a SAS for a Nissan Armada and dealt with similar issues, here's what he said.

I have run into this with trying to put Chevy sensors in a Nissan...it did not work. Not sure about comparability between Chevy and Jeep or even different era chevys. I know that the voltage and resistance readings I got off the two sensors was significantly different.

Thank you for the info! What I plan on doing is using a rear 02 Chevy 2500 rotor, it has a much bigger rotor hat, run that over the hub vs. behind it and use weld on caliper brackets. I spoke to lugnut4x4, he sells a slip on rotor for the 90s 14 bolt with that rotor. It will work with the typical 14 bolt disc swap calipers I have.

Only issue is that the eaton hub is ever so slightly too big. I'm going to shave a few thousandths off of it and the rotor will slip over, and give it more room to mount the sensor.

My response is there as well. So plan is to use slip on rotors.

 

[RamRod]

I have nothing to add but to say keep it up!

I am going to finally get around to my SOA (been saying it for two yes now) due to your thread haha

 

[06 H3]

Lol thanks, you will get it done! I know you will...

I'm posting this stuff here because it may be very irrelevant to 99.9% of the people on here but if/when anyone wants to upgrade their axle out back this will all make sense and help save someone else some time

 

[06 H3]

Still going on the project, I have been traveling a lot lately so I have limited time to work on it, if it was back in the good ole days this would have been done a long time ago. I have slip on rotors in the mail as well as bigger brackets for the bigger rotor. on to the front, I got it done, Ill get pics later but with the slightly bigger rotor I had to push out the caliper, 16s WILL NOT work with this setup. Im kinda screwed now. I still have plenty of life left on these 37x12.5r16 Trxus MTs but I need 17s now...Im going to try and pick up some H2s wheels. What sucks worse is that I am getting a new set of tires to test in the summer and they are 17s so I need something to hold me over till summer. More on the test set later....plenty of other bull**** to deal with now.

Again, one set forward two steps back. On the bright side the front is done. I am trying to get all this info squared away, going into the unknown will cause these problems. Trial and error, CJ did this for us on the DIY SAS. Hopefully when I am done I can have an entire list of do's and dont's of 1 ton rear axle swaps and 8 lug swapping your front.

 

[06 H3]

Bam! ABS works on a 1955 axle! It drives, with my little 32in roller tires a grizzly automatic locker acts like a spool. I was reading that small tires on a big axle with a big locker the springs don't have enough force from little tires to unlock. Once I throw 37s on it should be much more streetable

 

[06 H3]

to give more detail, part #s, etc.

Front: Going to an 8 lug front end while retaining the D44 is easy. Swapping from 5 to 6 or to even 8 lug is no biggie. Its done via hubs and spindles...
So after going for 8 lug hubs I got D44 big bearing spindles as well. These are easy to do and parts can be grabbed quickly in a store. Example for a vehicle is a 1978 Chevy K20 4WD for bearings/seals.

The D44 brakes from the 70s suck in comparision to the dual piston brakes H3s come with. Retaining them was something I did with THORparts brackets when I was 6 lug. Going to 8 lug I had to find a rotor that would be similar is diameter to an H3 rotor, since the 8 lug hubs push out the width a tad I needing something with about an inch of deeper hat depth. 2002 Chevy 2500 rear rotors fit the bill. I then had to turn down the OD of the hubs, which could be done by CJ when he puts on the tone rings. Modifying the caliper brackets out and over a tad then welding them back together. After that the front is done! Studs I used were from a 2008 Chevy 2500 front.

REAR
This all applies to Eaton Housings, 14 bolts, and probably similar to older D60s, D70s.
The typical 14 bolt disc kit runs the rotor BEHIND the hub, with that I cant fit the sensor in between the hub and rotor. So I spoke to lugnut4x4.com he told me to use 2002 chevy rear rotors like the front and they will slip over. I then used the typical 14 bolt disc brake calipers (I ordered mine with ebrake levers but you dont have to.) now to get the rotors to fit over the hub you need to turn the OD down like I did on the front. You can use a machine shop or you can mount the hub and turn the hub in 4lo and use a grinder, its a DIY lathe basically. The sensors need to be mounted .020 to .026in away from the tone ring that was pressed on the hub. I used a deck of cards and measured until I had a stack (2 or 3) that measured to .020-.026. welded on the mounts. Now the biggest question here is will the sensor read? The OEM sensor was mounted on the axle shaft and a much smaller OD. H3s use 55 tooth rings but the OEM ring had the teeth so close together because it was only roughly 2in OD while my new one was 5in OD. Either way I luckily found out the computer doesnt care! As long as it has 55 teeth its happy. one other note I have it that the rear sensors are a tad different for mounting so I used front sensor mounts but had to redrill the hole. As for studs I am running Dorman 610-333, these metric studs match the front.
Wheel bearings/seals for the Eaton I used a 1971 Chevy C30.

Other then that its done! I used stainless brake lines from lugnut4x4 as well, driveshaft needs to be lengthened a tad. The grizzly locker is damn near a spool with 32s right now but 37s will have enough force to loosen it up a bit on road.

 

[4speedfunk]

Great job as usual, Chris. You can only go so far with mods until you get way out there in "Fabricator's No-Man's land". It can be a very un-comfortable place for lots of mechanics but, if you learn to embrace it and trust your own abilities...you can do anything you set your mind too. I'm glad you have found a home there. Comments:

FRONT AXLE MODS...
Everything you say is spot-on and that's why the Dana 44 remains such a great candidate for swaps. The flexibility and parts availability are second to none. You can pretty much build one to any bolt-pattern, any width, and any arrangement you desire. The ABS mod is technically nothing more than "faking out" the H3's computer so it thinks you are still running stock front hubs. This seems to be a better approach, than trying to re-invent or re-program software to account for the axle swap. I wish other aspects of the H3 were as easy to "fake out" (motors, trannies, etc.). Eight-lug hubs certainly open up some wheel options. My only concern is the extra 2" they add in track width, and whether the tires will be sticking out too far. However, since you need to update the wheels (due to the bolt-pattern)...perhaps you can account for the additional track width with the rim selection. H1 beadlocks would be sick but, you'll be forced to run some 16.5" tires which seem to be the real downfall to this wheel. Regardless...your work here has proved that the ABS system can be adjusted and modified to work with other bolt-patterns.

REAR AXLE MODS...
I still question running such a dinosaur axle but, it goes back to the point I made at the start of this post...dream it up & make it happen! I have a slightly more modern take on the rear axle choice but, regardless of the axle...the mods required would still be the same. Any axle you choose, will need a signal from each corner to the computer to keep the H3 from becoming a Jeep. Not only does it keep the dash-lights off but, it also keeps all the great traction systems intact and fully-functioning. I've said it before and I'll say it again..."If you think the H3 is a beast with a stock 4.56 IFS and 4" of travel, then you should drive one with 5.13's, SAS, and 10" of travel."

Let me know how the Yukon Grizzly works out. Several of my Jeep buddies run them, and have nothing bad to say (but they also don't have fully-functioning, 4-corner traction systems, either). Let us know if the "spool feeling" is strictly mechanical, or if the computer is somehow fighting the lack of slip. Now that your rear E-locker is gone...do you get any dash-lights from it being un-plugged?

 

[06 H3]

Great job as usual, Chris. You can only go so far with mods until you get way out there in "Fabricator's No-Man's land". It can be a very un-comfortable place for lots of mechanics but, if you learn to embrace it and trust your own abilities...you can do anything you set your mind too. I'm glad you have found a home there. Comments:

FRONT AXLE MODS...
Everything you say is spot-on and that's why the Dana 44 remains such a great candidate for swaps. The flexibility and parts availability are second to none. You can pretty much build one to any bolt-pattern, any width, and any arrangement you desire. The ABS mod is technically nothing more than "faking out" the H3's computer so it thinks you are still running stock front hubs. This seems to be a better approach, than trying to re-invent or re-program software to account for the axle swap. I wish other aspects of the H3 were as easy to "fake out" (motors, trannies, etc.). Eight-lug hubs certainly open up some wheel options. My only concern is the extra 2" they add in track width, and whether the tires will be sticking out too far. However, since you need to update the wheels (due to the bolt-pattern)...perhaps you can account for the additional track width with the rim selection. H1 beadlocks would be sick but, you'll be forced to run some 16.5" tires which seem to be the real downfall to this wheel. Regardless...your work here has proved that the ABS system can be adjusted and modified to work with other bolt-patterns

Width should be the same according to my calculations. I was running 1.75in spacers with 67.5in width now no spacers and more backspacing so it should be a wash. I agree, faking out the system is easier then trying to reinvent everything else. I think a 5.3/6.0/6.2 is definitely doable in terms of keeping the systems happy. I am not sure on how to keep a system happy when it comes to older motors. We may have opposite wants here, I wanted an old school axle but to me an old school chevy 350 is something I would never want so I don't know if its something thats doable in terms of electronics since I never looked into it. Trans it seems as if you can run any manual if you use a manual PCM and Adventur made a 6L80E work with all systems happy. For the t case there is one thing that needs to be done, the VSS. A chevy colorado guy ran an NP 241 since the VSS works the same. I then took that a step further and saw that 90's chevy trucks running the NP241 wanting an old school NP205/203 doublers have VSS mods they can do. To boot buggies run LS style drivetrains like its going out of style so every big dollar t case they have Chevy VSS added to most t cases. Then I would leave the encoder motor plugged in, all that thing does is "clock" the shifter. Leaving that in will keep the computer happy. Lastly, I would always use a cable shifter if possible, and in most cases, someone makes a cable shifter kit. Cables are easier to run, easier to manage and run into the cab and will take less space. I think the t case can be done but I have no plans to change out the current factory case for now.

REAR AXLE MODS...
I still question running such a dinosaur axle but, it goes back to the point I made at the start of this post...dream it up & make it happen! I have a slightly more modern take on the rear axle choice but, regardless of the axle...the mods required would still be the same. Any axle you choose, will need a signal from each corner to the computer to keep the H3 from becoming a Jeep. Not only does it keep the dash-lights off but, it also keeps all the great traction systems intact and fully-functioning. I've said it before and I'll say it again..."If you think the H3 is a beast with a stock 4.56 IFS and 4" of travel, then you should drive one with 5.13's, SAS, and 10" of travel."
No doubt the axle choice was interesting, I wanted something different, cheap and stupidly strong. The eaton was free, the 3rd members were free so I got a 5.14 geared more clearance then a 14 bolt axle for nothing then I had money in the locker, brakes and ABS. The new school 14 bolt is a ticket to an e brake setup like an H3, same width as a factory H3 rear end. They cost $400-500 bucks usually, I am putting one under my brother's Jeep JK as we speak and I need to pull the rotors off to make sure there is enough room for H3 sensors and rings. These suckers are HEAVY! I have yet to run into an axle that 2 people could not lift, my brother and I can not lift this axle off the ground. Its got to be atleast 600 lbs and probably double the weight of the eaton. This axle is modern and you want it from a 2001-2008 chevy 2500, not the 3500. Its also under 2500 suburbans. Do not take one from a 2500 van, they have a weird diff offset. Anyways, one downfall is the pumpkin is HUGE. you can cut an inch off the bottom lip for free. Thats what I will do for my brother. If you are not running 40in tires I would recommend the full shave which is 2in of clearance gain, requires a shaved ring gear. cutting and welding of the cast housing. its a bitch...
Let me know how the Yukon Grizzly works out. Several of my Jeep buddies run them, and have nothing bad to say (but they also don't have fully-functioning, 4-corner traction systems, either). Let us know if the "spool feeling" is strictly mechanical, or if the computer is somehow fighting the lack of slip. Now that your rear E-locker is gone...do you get any dash-lights from it being un-plugged?
So far I would say its 100% mechanical, I have put about 6 miles on the axle and no weird traction control engaging or anything. The reason I have not driven it more is that I have a new driveshaft on order. Last trip out I dented my driveshaft so bad it vibrates over 40 mph and I have little 32in tires on it. I ordered some 8 lug 16in rims that should fit over the rotor/caliper. Once I get my driveshaft and tires back on I can truly drive it, on road, off road, high speed, low speed. My buddy has a detroit locker and 35s on his TJ which has a ford 8.8 rear end. You cant feel this detroit on road unless he mashes the gas while making a u turn. off road it locks. Its the best! his springs in the locker are moderate in size, moderate tire size and unlocks. The eaton has big ass springs and with baby tires there isnt enough force to unlock them so I will get a better feel for it when I get my other tires on.

see red posts above

 

[4speedfunk]

I run an Eaton posi in my 69 Impala. Its the old-school "coil spring and clutch plate" style LSD mechanism, except it has modern kevlar clutches and heavy springs. It works great and seems to shut-off on corners and on the highway which is nice. The biggest issue with these units (from a drag-race perspective) is that the clutches and springs wear over time. A high-mileage posi unit will sometimes slip under hard launches, allowing one wheel to spin independently from the other. I have a 200K mile GM gov-lok in my Suburban...it has the opposite problem. It sometimes doesn't want to disconnect after long highway trips...and it shudders the first time I do a tight turn. This is common on high-mileage LSD's and you can add some special fluid to help keep it from sticking.

When talking about "Detroit Lockers" nowadays...its important to clarify what type. Back in the eighties, there was only one...the original "Detroit". When these first appeared in the 60s...they were a Ford 9" only item. Then in the eighties, Moroso and Auburn started offering versions for GM and Mopar axles. They used a dog-tooth engagement which ratchetted when the vehicle turned...not smooth at all. But the trade-off was a diff that acted like a spool most of the time...only shutting off (sort of) around corners. I've had several of them over the years, and none were what I call truly street-able. The Yukon Grizzly is basically this same design, although revised to operate more smoothly. It still uses springs and dog-teeth much like the original Detroit but, it doen't have the annoying "ratchett" system. Here's how they work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpSKsRNvXVs

Fast forward 25 years, and suddenly the term "Detroit Locker" means something entirely different. I think Eaton somehow got the trademark rights for the term "Detroit Locker" and they offer a diff called the "Detroit True Track". This is a totally new type of locker that uses worm-drive engagement and it is a VAST improvement over the original dog-ring Detroit, AND it doesn't wear-out like traditional LSD posi units. I got a chance to check this unit out in person at the Eaton tent last year...very awesome piece. Pretty much anybody building a muscle car axle nowadays is using the Eaton True Track. It's engagement is smooth as butta, and I have ridden in several cars that had them installed...including a 70 Camaro that nearly made me $hit my pants. Here's how they work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZmsY2YvVsc

The difference between these two? Well the Yukon Grizzly is locked all the time (even when a wheel is in the air), and only shuts off when the turning resistance overcomes the spring on the dog-teeth. The Eaton DTT on the other hand, is un-locked all the time and it relies on power being applied to it...to thread the worm gears into their locked position. It needs some resistance to do this. In situations of little or zero resistance (such as wheel in the air)...the Eaton DTT won't lock. This is why the muscle car guys prefer the DTT, and why the off-roaders prefer the Yukon Grizzly. Both are great diffs but, you need to keep their operation in mind when choosing one for your vehicle.

All of my experience with posi/LDS/auto-locker/spools comes from drag-race & muscle car use. On an off-road vehicle, I'm sort of a die-hard selectable guy because I like to have control over when I want to 100% lock, or when I want to be able to turn! -LOL. Not sure how any of these compare in terms of failures. Yukon Grizzlys seem have a good reputation with off-roaders. I have one installed in my Burb front axle but, it also has lock-out hubs and a 2WD t-case...so any opinion I might have, would not really apply to a full-timer like the H3.

 

[06 H3]

I would never put an auto locker in the front of an H3, full time 4wd and an auto locker screams death!

I agree 100% on selectables and to be honest I would rather have one. Having ultimate control of your vehicle 100% of the time is what I want. Reason I tried this was since I had so many rear locker problems. I have never seen an issue with these. I'm a stickler for on road ability so it sucks I'll pull it. I would never spend a ton of money on these lockers and usually they are priced near a selectable but 14 bolt grizzly and detroits are the opposite they are cheap! This was 1/3 of the price of a selectable. If it sucks I can pull this sell it for 100 bucks less then I bought it for quick on pirate and throw in an ARB. That's the downside with 14 bolts/eatons they have few locker options in the selectable department. Your choice is only ARB. For such a popular axle there are no options! so I will see how it works, if it sucks I'll ditch it but I figured I would try it since I've never seen a failure in person, it was cheap and easy to sell if I didn't like it and in my buddy's Tj I can't feel it on road surprisingly

 

[06 H3]

Forgot to mention on the rear e locker I never had an oem e locker I added mine so I didn't have an issue with the factory button

 

[Panzer07]

I run an Eaton posi in my 69 Impala. Its the old-school "coil spring and clutch plate" style LSD mechanism, except it has modern kevlar clutches and heavy springs. It works great and seems to shut-off on corners and on the highway which is nice. The biggest issue with these units (from a drag-race perspective) is that the clutches and springs wear over time. A high-mileage posi unit will sometimes slip under hard launches, allowing one wheel to spin independently from the other. I have a 200K mile GM gov-lok in my Suburban...it has the opposite problem. It sometimes doesn't want to disconnect after long highway trips...and it shudders the first time I do a tight turn. This is common on high-mileage LSD's and you can add some special fluid to help keep it from sticking.

When talking about "Detroit Lockers" nowadays...its important to clarify what type. Back in the eighties, there was only one...the original "Detroit". When these first appeared in the 60s...they were a Ford 9" only item. Then in the eighties, Moroso and Auburn started offering versions for GM and Mopar axles. They used a dog-tooth engagement which ratchetted when the vehicle turned...not smooth at all. But the trade-off was a diff that acted like a spool most of the time...only shutting off (sort of) around corners. I've had several of them over the years, and none were what I call truly street-able. The Yukon Grizzly is basically this same design, although revised to operate more smoothly. It still uses springs and dog-teeth much like the original Detroit but, it doen't have the annoying "ratchett" system. Here's how they work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpSKsRNvXVs

Fast forward 25 years, and suddenly the term "Detroit Locker" means something entirely different. I think Eaton somehow got the trademark rights for the term "Detroit Locker" and they offer a diff called the "Detroit True Track". This is a totally new type of locker that uses worm-drive engagement and it is a VAST improvement over the original dog-ring Detroit, AND it doesn't wear-out like traditional LSD posi units. I got a chance to check this unit out in person at the Eaton tent last year...very awesome piece. Pretty much anybody building a muscle car axle nowadays is using the Eaton True Track. It's engagement is smooth as butta, and I have ridden in several cars that had them installed...including a 70 Camaro that nearly made me $hit my pants. Here's how they work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZmsY2YvVsc

The difference between these two? Well the Yukon Grizzly is locked all the time (even when a wheel is in the air), and only shuts off when the turning resistance overcomes the spring on the dog-teeth. The Eaton DTT on the other hand, is un-locked all the time and it relies on power being applied to it...to thread the worm gears into their locked position. It needs some resistance to do this. In situations of little or zero resistance (such as wheel in the air)...the Eaton DTT won't lock. This is why the muscle car guys prefer the DTT, and why the off-roaders prefer the Yukon Grizzly. Both are great diffs but, you need to keep their operation in mind when choosing one for your vehicle.

All of my experience with posi/LDS/auto-locker/spools comes from drag-race & muscle car use. On an off-road vehicle, I'm sort of a die-hard selectable guy because I like to have control over when I want to 100% lock, or when I want to be able to turn! -LOL. Not sure how any of these compare in terms of failures. Yukon Grizzlys seem have a good reputation with off-roaders. I have one installed in my Burb front axle but, it also has lock-out hubs and a 2WD t-case...so any opinion I might have, would not really apply to a full-timer like the H3.

You sir are just a fountain of knowledge. [emoji1303][emoji482][emoji817]

 

[cbetts]

You sir are just a fountain of knowledge. [emoji1303][emoji482][emoji817]

I think he is more of a firehose than a fountain.

Now I know how my wife feels when I talk about computers. I am enjoying watch Chris grow in this thread though.

 

[4speedfunk]

So true...

Glad you got-er-fixed.

 

[speedy]

Now that your rear E-locker is gone...do you get any dash-lights from it being un-plugged?

[/QUOTE]

I'll ad the answer here since the question was asked here.
We had the service 4wd light with the factory locker removed
This is what the engineers at ARB had us do when we installed the rear arb in Bebe's H3
Soldered in to the left over plug. Running for a year with no problems

 

[4speedfunk]

Speedy...so do you think this same resistor could be applied to other devices? Such as an encoder motor?...or a CAD (center axle disconnect) switch?

I'm thinking I may swap the t-case in the H3 to an NP241, in which case I would probably use levers to control it. I was planning to simply leave the factory encoder plugged into the harness, and zip-tie it up out of the way somewhere. This was to prevent the dash light chaos that would no doubt ensue by removing it. I have a similar situation on my 99 Burb, with the stock IFS front axle. I plan to do a SAS on it, and I had the same idea for the CAD switch...rather than un-plug it I was going to simply leave it there and wire it to a crossmember or something. I hate doing redneck mods like this and I would much rather install resistors at the plugs. Do you see this as a "universal" fix for missing electronic devices?

 

[CaseyS]

Probably but not quite that simple.

In the case of the rear locker, only two wires and I assume the pcm is simply looking for the resistance of the coil to determine if there is a fault.

I'll have to review the xfer case schematic, but I recall two power conductors that run the encoder motor forwards or backwards depending on the polarity, and then a couple of wires for the encoder feedback. Keep in mind that the transfercase controls all GI through the xfer case control module behind the glove box somewhere. I was worried about how this would work in my swap and the transfer case works just fine standalone as long as everything is plugged into it. Keep in mind, the speedo and transmission shift points change when when in 4 lo. There is a single line that I think is set high (12v) when in 4 lo that goes to the pcm to tell it to shift differently and the gear ratio is different. I have not been able to get this to work with my us shift standalone. My workaround is manual shifting in 4lo. Speedo don't really care when crawling around. If you had a cable setup, you might be better leaving the encoder hooked up and matching the cable mode to the encoder to keep things happy.

 

[06 H3]

Thanks scoreh3 so far I like it!

Update, wheeled the hummer at drinkwater and Gorman. Logged about 100 miles on it so far and all is well!!! No abs lights or issues. The locker I still have some adjusting to do, it states in the directions to take out the spider gear thrust washers, didn't mention the side gear washers. Having these in puts too much preload on the springs and doesn't allow it to fully unlock so I gotta take it apart.

 

[06 H3]

Also weighed it!

 

[cbetts]

Also weighed it!

I did not expect the balance to be that even between the front and rear.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Interesting, mine with all my SAR gear, tools, recovery stuff and me is almost exactly 6000 lbs (weighed on a State DOT scale).

 

[06 H3]

I did not expect the balance to be that even between the front and rear.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

I was shocked to see it balanced so well. I wish I got it weighed before the SAS. I need to reweigh all the gear out back but last time I had about 300 lbs worth of tools, spares, gear, etc. I will admit I am excessive with tools, on longer trips I carry a ball joint press which works for u joints, ball joints, and even improvised it when someone broke an axle shaft, the ears twisted and wouldn't come out of the knuckle. I was able to compress it back enough to allow it for removal.

 

[06 H3]

An update, I was having troubles with my detroit locker on the Eaton HO72, a common mod is to put a 14 bolt detroit locker in the HO72 carrier. Problem was that it was not unlocking. Most HO72 users dont care since most trailer their rig. I tried numerous things to get it to unlock but finally I brought it to a shop, luckily I can pull the 3rd member install my open diff 3rd and drive the H3 while they are working on the other 3rd.

I brought it down to the local rear end shop, I went to them because they have been around forever and they are the few who know the HO72. Actually, the younger guy of the family owned business didn't know what it was but the older guy knew and loved these axles! He went on to tell me how a guy with a drag car came in every few months because he could not keep an axle together. Swapping axle after axle no matter what they put in it would break. They then put in an HO72 and 20 years later he still has not had a single problem!

Anyways, the 14bolt detroit was a tad too wide for the carrier and it wouldnt unlock. He said if machined the carrier 50 thousandths on each side it would work but he had an old OEM detroit designed for the HO72. It works perfect! It feels like an open diff on road and its locked off road. Now I can start putting some miles on her.

To me a bigger test is road miles, I put a 300 mile round trip road trip to Hammers. No tow trucks! It worked great on road and great off road. We drove there went to chocolate thunder while waiting for another buddy to show up to run some trails. Chocolate thunder is about 1/4 mile long but at the top my buddy broke his D30 inner shaft. After 7 years of flat out abuse it finally broke! The shaft broke in between the seal and carrier so we couldnt get it out with a magnet. We were out there till midnight and to get out of chocolate there is a big sand hill and he couldnt get up with a broken shaft, I even struggled but the V8 bouncing off the rev limiter got me up we then used 2 20 foot straps and a 30 ft strap with 2 winches got everyone off the hill.

Next day we drove home. No problems for me, what a nice change!

I have RCV's for my D44 in the mail, a box sitting around full of ram assist stuff that needs to be installed and hopefully some a test set of new tires coming in soon. Im glad the rear axle is finally finished, locker works great on and off road, ABS is still retained, brakes work great, just gotta hook up the E brake cables

Ill get pics up soon!

 

[4speedfunk]

RCVs??? What are you doing for lockouts? RCVs are all 30-spline I think.