What did you do with your H3 recently? NEW

[Traxx]

Wow, that really sucks. I considered pretty hard about buying that one, seems to be one thing after another with it.

Post # 2000!!!!!

Wooooo!

Oh, and I'm rebuilding my engine in the Alpha and replacing the transmission.

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[Alpha X]

Really digging the look of the S/T Maxx in person. Dropped off 4 stock wheels to have powder coated.

View attachment 23742

Yea, that's a pretty cool looking tire. You'll have to show us the tires on the rims after powder coating.

 

[JPaul]

Wow, that really sucks. I considered pretty hard about buying that one, seems to be one thing after another with it.

Well, it has 160K on it, so it's not surprising. I could maybe do some minor repair to the transmission to fix it up, but since I have it out I might as well throw a reman back in and not have to worry about it. As for the engine the lifter was ticking for a while it sounds like and finally chewed up the roller and lobe, the rest of it was fine aside from the typical oil pan leaks. So I'm rebuilding the whole thing which I was going to do in a year or two anyway. Going to upgrade the cam and some of the other internals while I'm in there.

The only part about all this that is really unfortunate is that I'm on a tight deadline to try and get it done before my trip to Colorado at the end of the month, which I probably will be able to accomplish. I just won't be able to spend as much time going over it with a fine tooth comb while I have everything torn apart. I fully plan on keeping this one for a good long while, if not indefinitely. Really once I button the engine back up and get the new transmission installed, there won't be anything major that needs to be worked on it. I'm confident enough in my engine skills to not worry about that part, and the transmission is coming from Street Smart transmissions as a fully reman'd transmission with enough upgrades to handle the power of the 5.3 as it will stand once I'm done and a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty, all for $1370 shipped including shipping the old transmission back to them as a core.

Transfer case was already rebuilt and the buffer plate issue fixed, front diff was rebuilt previously as well, rear diff is probably fine but not a big deal to me if it does go out, and everything else is pretty darn minor in comparison. I just better not have someone crash into me or I'll be pissed.

 

[Traxx]

With proper maintenance the 5.3 has no problem getting to 250k+, 160k is way early for a rebuild.

 

[Acer4LO]

With proper maintenance the 5.3 has no problem getting to 250k+, 160k is way early for a rebuild.

I can confirm lol. My alpha has 251K and no problems yet. Even it does develop problems down the line I will won't mind because I thinking of doing a 6.0 to power the 38s anyway.

 

[HumGee]

Designed a switch to control my led light bar in the grill, wanted a switch that would go in place of the stock dummy plugs for the off road lights.

Used a universal push button switch that comes with most light bars.

Designed and 3d printed a new button and housing.

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[HumGee]

Other button is planned for a door opener with a momentary switch. Waiting on the switch to arrive.

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[JPaul]

With proper maintenance the 5.3 has no problem getting to 250k+, 160k is way early for a rebuild.

So every single 5.3 out there should last at least 250K with no issues just by changing the oil and air filter? BS. It was one lifter that went bad. After 160K. Out of how many hundreds of thousands GM made, you can't imagine a single lifter or any other engine part having an issue before 250K even if properly maintained? GM's QC might be good, but it's not THAT good. Like I have said before, the rest of the engine was fine. I got the block, heads, crank, and rods back from the machinist and the most they did was a light hone to clean up the cylinders and lightly mill the heads to clean them up. Valves, rods, etc were all fine. When I pulled it apart the bearings were all fine, only the rear crank journal had one scratch in the bearing and the journal itself was perfectly fine. I can guarantee that you take one of those 250K+ motors and pull it apart and see just how good of shape it really is in. Just because it's still running doesn't mean it's doing anywhere close to its best or that it hasn't seen excessive wear.

I'm only going so far into this engine because it already has 160K on it (which despite what you seem to think is quite a lot of miles) and with needing to replace a lifter and cam I might as well tear the whole thing apart and build it up better than before. I plan on keeping this rig for a good long while, and even if I swap in a 6.2 later or something I'll still have a good 5.3 to use in a hot rod or sell to fund the swap.

I'm replacing the transmission as well with a reman even though I could probably be OK patching it back together as well or just run it until it leaves me stranded somewhere, but hey, peace of mind for me. These transmissions don't last forever behind the V8's on these heavy vehicles with oversize tires and full time 4wd.

You need to cut back on the sodium in your diet dude. All I've had to really fix so far previous to this engine was a torn CV boot which happens when you wheel it often, and the sunroof drains leaking which is a ridiculously common issue, and that's not "one thing after another". :roll:

 

[Traxx]

Yea i'm sure everyone buying a used car would love needing to have the engine and trans overhauled in the first month or two. Must have struck a nerve, sorry 'dude'.

So every single 5.3 out there should last at least 250K with no issues just by changing the oil and air filter? BS. It was one lifter that went bad. After 160K. Out of how many hundreds of thousands GM made, you can't imagine a single lifter or any other engine part having an issue before 250K even if properly maintained? GM's QC might be good, but it's not THAT good. Like I have said before, the rest of the engine was fine. I got the block, heads, crank, and rods back from the machinist and the most they did was a light hone to clean up the cylinders and lightly mill the heads to clean them up. Valves, rods, etc were all fine. When I pulled it apart the bearings were all fine, only the rear crank journal had one scratch in the bearing and the journal itself was perfectly fine. I can guarantee that you take one of those 250K+ motors and pull it apart and see just how good of shape it really is in. Just because it's still running doesn't mean it's doing anywhere close to its best or that it hasn't seen excessive wear.

I'm only going so far into this engine because it already has 160K on it (which despite what you seem to think is quite a lot of miles) and with needing to replace a lifter and cam I might as well tear the whole thing apart and build it up better than before. I plan on keeping this rig for a good long while, and even if I swap in a 6.2 later or something I'll still have a good 5.3 to use in a hot rod or sell to fund the swap.

I'm replacing the transmission as well with a reman even though I could probably be OK patching it back together as well or just run it until it leaves me stranded somewhere, but hey, peace of mind for me. These transmissions don't last forever behind the V8's on these heavy vehicles with oversize tires and full time 4wd.

You need to cut back on the sodium in your diet dude. All I've had to really fix so far previous to this engine was a torn CV boot which happens when you wheel it often, and the sunroof drains leaking which is a ridiculously common issue, and that's not "one thing after another". :roll:

 

[JPaul]

Yea i'm sure everyone buying a used car would love needing to have the engine and trans overhauled in the first month or two. Must have struck a nerve, sorry 'dude'.

I just don't understand why you're so "concerned" about me needing/choosing to rebuild a 160K motor, even if I did just buy the rig a few months ago. Heck, I had the 3.7 replaced within a year of buying my red H3 because of a trashed rod bearing with only 85K on the vehicle (that I fortunately had a bought a warranty on, and I was making sure to change the oil every 6k and with full Mobil 1 synthetic). How many times has that happened? You'd probably blame the previous owner, except for the fact that when they inspected it the rest of the bearings were fine, so it was a single part failure and not the result of abuse or they would have denied the warranty claim. Warranty companies don't treat a several thousand dollar claim lightly.

Soooo salty.... :giggle:

 

[Traxx]

I don't give a crap how you waste your money. It's your lemon not mine.

I just don't understand why you're so "concerned" about me needing/choosing to rebuild a 160K motor, even if I did just buy the rig a few months ago. Heck, I had the 3.7 replaced within a year of buying my red H3 because of a trashed rod bearing with only 85K on the vehicle (that I fortunately had a bought a warranty on, and I was making sure to change the oil every 6k and with full Mobil 1 synthetic). How many times has that happened? You'd probably blame the previous owner, except for the fact that when they inspected it the rest of the bearings were fine, so it was a single part failure and not the result of abuse or they would have denied the warranty claim. Warranty companies don't treat a several thousand dollar claim lightly.

Soooo salty.... :giggle:

 

[JPaul]

Ha! "Lemon." You're using a different dictionary than most folks. Stay salty dude.

 

[Traxx]

Sounds like you keep buying lemons, or have really poor pre purchase mechanical skills. I'm not going to waste time with someone who needs to remove the trans to diagnose a valvetrain issue that a simple 10.00 stethoscope and 5 minutes could have easily found. But hey keep replacing the engine in everything you buy, keeps the economy moving 'dude' :giggle:.

Ha! "Lemon." You're using a different dictionary than most folks. Stay salty dude.

 

[JPaul]

Nope, out of 14 or so vehicles I've owned, there were two that I acquired precisely because they needed their engines rebuilt, and one of those was an engine swap to a bigger engine, and the other two that needed engine replacement/rebuilds happen to be the H3's I currently own. The red H3 was over a year after buying it from a major reputable dealer, warranty took care of that one and was unforeseeable. The Alpha is unfortunate for sure with the timing but I was planning on doing a refresh on it later anyway along with upgrades, so I'm just happening to do it now instead of next year like I was planning originally. I was hoping to get my trailer sorted out more this year but that's taking a bit of a back seat. I do enjoy rebuilding engines so it really doesn't bother me, it's just not something I have the time to do all the time.

 

[RamRod]

So much drama, let’s move it along, if both of you keep trying to get the last word in we are never going to see the end of it


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[mdocod]

Ran Hackett Gulch this morning on new 315/75-16 STT Pro.

 

[Traxx]

Picked up the wheels from powdercoating and had the tires mounted. I left off having the 5th one coated since it's under the truck and gets chewed up anyway. Removing the lift next weekend, just waiting on the steering rack kit from Outfitter Design.

 

[Alpha X]

In the last few weeks I've replaced the radiator, hoses, thermostat and rad cap, along with installing a Magnaflow exhaust and Air Doc, and replaced the battery terminal ends with upgraded versions, with the help of a few friends. Following that I installed a hidden winch, new brush guard, Factor 55 ProLink, painted the lower front bumper and hooks, and cleaned up the headlights and fog lights with a lens restore product. In the process of installing 7" led lights on my brush guard, an ARB diff breather, and heavy duty rear diff cover.

 

[Alpha X]

Picked up the wheels from powdercoating and had the tires mounted.

View attachment 23750

I really like the look of the tires. I am thinking of pulling the trigger on a set of Duratracs, but these have me thinking. They look like a buzz saw blade. Kinda cool.

 

[humvee]

The ST Maxx get great reviews all round. They wear nicely, and weigh considerably less than the rest.
I used to be able to find them in 37s on 16" rims online, can't seem to find them now.
I really like the way the stock wheels look and don't want to settle for 90LB+ tires.

Also. very excited about this

 

[atvspeed4]

The ST Maxx get great reviews all round. They wear nicely, and weigh considerably less than the rest.
I used to be able to find them in 37s on 16" rims online, can't seem to find them now.
I really like the way the stock wheels look and don't want to settle for 90LB+ tires.

Also. very excited about this

If you find them again in a 37 for 16 rim please post a link I need to order 10 of them asap thanks!

 

[Traxx]

I think they will be a good compromise and remove 30lbs per corner in unsprung weight from running 35's on 20" wheels to 33's on oem wheels. The Rancho knuckles don't leave a lot of tire choices if you want to air down unless you want to run a ridiculous offset. As it is-12 offset sticks out too much, for me, even with a 11.5" width tire and only leaves a half inch between the sidewall and knuckle. I don't know why Rancho couldn't have turned the bolt on the upper knuckle 90 degrees.
I'm more of a function over form type, I like the current look of it but I know it handles better and is more surefooted sans lift and the required higher offset wheels.

 

[Alpha X]

I like the current look of it but I know it handles better and is more surefooted sans lift and the required higher offset wheels.

Can you elaborate on this? Does the Rancho lift make it feel top heavy because it raises the center of gravity?

 

[Traxx]

Well, between the wheels and tires your increasing the track width about 6 inches which affects the steering, and how the rig handles overall which I don't like. The heavier wheel and tire combo drastically decreases braking, the minimum required offset for wheels results in your tires slinging crap all over the side of the truck which would be fine if it didn't include the door handle.

Some people say it rides like a cadillac with the Rancho lift which is simply untrue. It rides like a lifted truck. I have a stock adv sitting in my driveway next to mine for the week, I know which one rides better. Most of my offroading is longer drives to and from fishing or hunting places so taking it down a notch to just leveled on 33's works for me.

Can you elaborate on this? Does the Rancho lift make it feel top heavy because it raises the center of gravity?

 

[Schwarttzy]

Sorry about the delay, my fault. Was able to get the shop and check out the redesign. Hope to potentially bolt the redesign on Friday.