Should You Crank The T-Bars On A Rancho Lifted H3?

[Acer4LO]

Alright this may be a silly question but Should You Crank The T-Bars On A Rancho Lifted H3? Trying to get thiese 38s to fit before trimming. I can't seem to find any information on this with the rancho lift kit specifically. Also torision keys aren't needed right? I have read my times that they don't do anything.

And yes I know I am puts lots and lots of stress on the CVS. This is not going to be a permenat setup, just temporary until I do a sas.

 

[jphh20]

I am currently running the rancho, 1” body lift and longer rear shackles on 35s. You can certainly adjust the torsion keys to adjust the ride height. I am running the rancho adjusted slightly in the front to eliminate noise dive and offset the 2” shackles in the rear. Keep an eye on the steering rack angle. This will be your highest angle to be concerned about when compared to the cv axles. My cv’s have a slight angle to it and appears to be less when compared to a stock H3 with a torsion crank at 23.5 fender lip to axle center. I hope this helps and let me know if you want me to take any pics or measurements for you.


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[Alpha X]

I don't have a Rancho 4" lift installed, but I'm familiar with how it's installed. I don't see why you couldn't/shouldn't crank the torsion bars. The relationship from one end of the cv joint to the other end of cv joint doesn't change (as far as I know), it just moves downward 4 inches with new crossmember and knuckles (or rather the rest of the truck moves up 4"). I think you'd just need to add 4" to the ideal dimension for not over cranking the torsion bars.

 

[amrg]

You can crank but keep in mind the cv angles. Too much and they will start popping in and out.
Just dont endup with cvs looking this this / \ or a front end higher than the rear.

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[Traxx]

Getting them to fit is the easy part. Have you tried backing up and turning in reverse yet? Your gonna need more room than you think.

 

[Acer4LO]

Getting them to fit is the easy part. Have you tried backing up and turning in reverse yet? Your gonna need more room than you think.

Thanks for the suggestion! I have done this a number of times when I had to pull my truck out of the garage since it was in the way (with the 38s). I am also doing a number of other tests to make sure these things don't rub. Like for example I tested to see how much one of the front tires would articulate up into the wheel well while picking up the opposite rear wheel with my forklift. Turns out the tires are pushed 2.25 inches further up into the wheel well. This isn't a problem when the tires are straight, but I have a feeling they will definitely rub if I were to turn the steering wheel.

 

[4speedfunk]

The Rancho does not effect the angle of the CVs on the half shafts. It uses drop brackets so everything is essentially running at the same angles. Just like a stock H3...if you over crank the torsion bars you’ll have the same result.

It DOES however effect the CV angle on the end of the front driveshaft. This is where the extra lift is accounted for. My experience with numerous Rancho-lifted H3s is that the stock CV joint can handle the increased angle but the protective rubber boot is sometimes too tight and rips easily. This causes the CV to fail prematurely. The instructions tell you to slide the boot clamp closer to the CV to combat this problem but, it doesn’t always work.

Another issue may have to do with the the amount of “plunge” built into the stock CV. The extra lift requires a slightly longer driveshaft. It’s only got about an inch of plunge...so another thing that could be happening on the Rancho rigs, is that the CV is being “pulled-on” far more than normal. This could generate extra heat and wear on it. (It might also be pulling on the t-case flange as well).

 

[Traxx]

If you crank the front and lift the rear even further in addition to a front driveshaft, wouldn't you want to reshim the rear leaf packs too? I don't think it's the height so much as the width and backspace of those 38's causing your issues. Seems like alot of extra money and effort for one inch when 37's would fit just fine.

 

[Acer4LO]

If you crank the front and lift the rear even further in addition to a front driveshaft, wouldn't you want to reshim the rear leaf packs too? I don't think it's the height so much as the width and backspace of those 38's causing your issues. Seems like alot of extra money and effort for one inch when 37's would fit just fine.

Yeah that might be adding to the problem. Again I didn't pick out the specs of these wheels and tires. I do agree with you that a 37x12.5x18 instead of 38x13.5x18 would be a lot better fitment but there is no way I could even afford to buy this setup new. Only reason I bought these was because the guy was basically giving them away.

 

[4speedfunk]

I think the biggest drawback of tires that big, isn’t the extra stress on the suspension, or even the rubbing. It’s the gearing and drivability issues. You essentially convert to 3.73 gears. It causes lots of downshifting and hunting at highway speeds, especially on slight grades. Too bad the front diff cannot be re-geared to compensate.

 

[amrg]

An I5 with 3.73 gearing is great! Just forget over drive and keep it in 3rd!!!
But his rig is a an alpha I believe. He can still make the small jump from 4.10 to 4.56

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[Acer4LO]

I think the biggest drawback of tires that big, isn’t the extra stress on the suspension, or even the rubbing. It’s the gearing and drivability issues. You essentially convert to 3.73 gears. It causes lots of downshifting and hunting at highway speeds, especially on slight grades. Too bad the front diff cannot be re-geared to compensate.

Yep I think you are right spot on. Amrg is right, I do have an Alpha, so 4.10 gears. I could go up to 4.56 but not sure that would be worth the expense for the time being. I only plan to keep this setup for a year or two until I have done enough research and set enough money side for a SAS. Then I am thinking I will go with 5.13s or 4.88s. To be hoenst I don't drive the Alpha very far. 12 Miles @45mph round trip to work when the H3 isn't isn't torn apart in my garage and occasionally 90 Miles @45 to 75mph roundtrip when I go wheeling.

 

[Acer4LO]

You can crank but keep in mind the cv angles. Too much and they will start popping in and out.
Just dont endup with cvs looking this this / \ or a front end higher than the rear.

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As of now the front sits higher than the rear, so I have some room to lift it up.

 

[amrg]

Not sure if this guy is still around but he said he did nothing other than pucks, bolts and modified shroud to get a 2" body lift. Since no one else did this, there is no way to be sure.

http://www.hummer4x4offroad.com/forum/showthread.php?p=132356

Now why didnt daystar do a 2" body lift? Maybe the gaps will be a bigz issue. On the colorado you get a front bumper relocation bracket to raise it and there is an optional rear bumper relocation bracket too. For the H3 its not that straight forward. If you raise the plastic bumper to hide the body to bumper gap you end up with another gap between the plastic bumper and the metal one. The rear is a different mess, you need to cut and weld the bumper mounts in order to raise it and at 2" you need to do something about it.

The daystar truck originally came with the front plastic bumper raised, but those bumper relocaters didnt make it to the kit.

Ive added the H3 on 40s, you can see he raided the plastic bumper 2" and hid the lower gap with a winch plate.
Also the other is the daystar and you can clearly see they raised the bumper 1" but did nothing about the plastic to metal bumper gap.

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[rascole]

Sounds like a ton of headaches. Why not just drop back down to 37" or 35" tires? Quick solution until you SAS then put the 38" back on.

 

[Acer4LO]

Sounds like a ton of headaches. Why not just drop back down to 37" or 35" tires? Quick solution until you SAS then put the 38" back on.

It is a lot more more work tbh. I don't really mind it though. I have all the tools I need to do it right. Also I really don't want to buy a new set of 35s or 37s because that's money that I could be putting towards the SAS. The reason why I am making these modifications right now is that I will need to do them anyway down the line. The SAS and SOA will in fact give me more lift, putting the tires farther away from the body; however, I will still have the same rubbing issues when they articulate. Also way wayyy down the line I plan to go bigger with 40s or 42s and do a simular suspension setup as Chris. I think the end goal for this build is to have an enclosed, exo'ed, highway driveable rock crawler, that isn't a trailer rig.