Endeavored H3 Build

[Gpcalero]

Need to trim the forward skid plate and make a trans skid plate. Other than that this whole saga is over, time to enjoy. Last photo is final ride height after it settled on the test drive.

Rubicon 24’ here we come.

View attachment 33112View attachment 33113View attachment 33114View attachment 33115

Damn she’s a whole new beast now!! Love it

 

[H3Hummer]

wow, that's looking great man

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Getting an alignment this morning. Was told I was within rancho specs for an alignment, not bad for a tape measure and an analog degree gauge.

Getting both sides squared up now and a light shakedown run up in flagstaff this weekend. Next up is skid plates and pulling the rear end apart to replace some locker pins. Which takes care of all the big bits

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Shakedown run on Friday, went up to flagstaff to camp for a night. Monsoon downpoured right before I turned off to get to the campsite.

There was an older guy in a 2wd tundra trying to pull a trailer through a clay mud pit (don’t know it’s soft until you’re in it). Able to pull him out and back his trailer out onto the road.

Truck drove great, need a larger transmission cooler. But other than that it’s rubicon ready.

 

[H3Hummer]

looks like fun in mud

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Crunch time.

Fabricated a skid plate for the transmission pan. Rebuilt the rear locker, and installing a new wiring system.

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Checked for any binding or anything tight. No issues presented so it’s ready to go to the rubicon this weekend.

 

[H3Hummer]

Dude that's a BIIIIIIG FLEX for an IFS

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Late in posting this, figured id pop it and share some photos from the Rubicon back in August 24'

En route to tahoe, found a friend. Hugo's BBq and Mexican Food, had an excellent breakfast burrito. This 06' has been in a climate controlled garage since 05' and had 20k miles on it.

Installed the Gobi in a parking lot in tahoe

Found a wild squeaky h3

Camping in at loon before meeting with the rest

 

[H3Hummer]

Beauty full pics

 

[EndeavoredH3]

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Mile stone alert.

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Couple things getting ready for BSW in sandhallow. Flag came in and purchased some used 35’s as spares. Mounted on some spare h3 wheels.

@cgalpha08 ’s gobi is putting in work. Glad he spec’d it out with the spare tire mount!

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Shoe upgrade

View attachment IMG_8805.jpeg

 

[EndeavoredH3]

While it seems like the visions bolted right up, wished that was the case. If you want a set of -40 offset 3.5" BS 17x9 Vision Ojos beadlock wheels on an h3, you need:

Extended wheel studs: ARP 100-7708.
These wheels are thick, probably due to the 2900lb rating

Hub centric spacer: 106mm to 100mm

Not necessary, but what I installed and found cool. Cant run over your tire deflator (guilty)
- Apex designs quick deflate valve stem

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Some trimming necessary, I'll see how much more is necessary after this weekend.

View attachment IMG_9022(1).JPG


View attachment IMG_9032.JPG

 

[EndeavoredH3]

As of late and following other original builds, I have decided to rethink my cooling situation.

In the last year, addition of the gobi, 37's and rancho has worsened heat soak and temps coming off the highway/city driving and regular commute at 110-115+F ambient. The steering isn't happy with the heat and 37's and as an average I've seen transmission temps increase 10*F and coolant about 5*F while driving in 3rd at highway speed (4th is currently useless). Nothing I'm unhappy with, just comes with the territory above 35's. (Trans temps with external Super cooler Part No #70266 and coolant with manual trans radiator)

Plans:

It's not original, it's not groundbreaking. @cgalpha08 and @06 H3 have done their versions of removing the heat from the core support and spreading it across the chassis. I'll be copying them as it works great. One difference is I'll be running a 40K cooler with (3) 5.5" spal fans at the rear of the truck. One fan running on a thermostat and 2 fans on a switch. @cgalpha08 runs a cooler rated higher than 40k. Also, the early I5's only had a tube cooler for power steering, so ill be utilizing that and a heat sink to try and make the steering happy again. Engine oil is what it is, I run a 5w-40 Castrol with Lucus every 3-5k. So with that mileage I should be clear from the detrimental effects of abusing the oil. Waiting on Blackstone laboratories to tell me if I am correct on my assumptions. May tie in a oil pressure sender, but a v8 is coming so that point is moot.

Other than that, working on a half door, rock lights and other misc. repairs on a nearly 20-year-old rig. I am at a crossroads of whether I self fab an ultra 4 style the front IFS or succumb to the 1-ton devil on my left shoulder... #TrailsBowDownTo40s


Anyways, here's one of the more recent photos. Working on clearances, have most of it figured out. Huge thanks to @cgalpha08 for the 37's.

 

[rascole]

Definitely the right path. My first issue with the SAS was the PS. The 18" cooler is a HUGE bonus, adds an additional QT and cooling. The fan/cooler under the rear is an awesome idea, definitely the plan when I LS swap.

 

[06 H3]

I think you are on the right track. I have learned a lot about cooling over the years. I am no expert but I’ll gladly share some stuff.

Honestly, this post probably belongs on Facebook, where the morons lie, and complain about overheating. It seems the people here do have quite a bit more sense lol. While I can’t say that I live in 115+ degree weather, I do see 100 degree days, and more importantly, I see load that most H3s do not see. Moving a 42-43in tire off the line and keeping it moving has a lot of drag, it’s like I am moving a trailer all the time. Some don’t believe that, but you mentioning the change from a 35 to 37 and a gobi rack I think reiterates what I see. Anything you add is load. I move that load through a doubler t case, so now it’s an extra t case and then it’s big giant gears vs a chain, it’s drag, through a big 10.5in ring gear, vs a 8.6in ring gear, it’s all drag, so while it isn’t pulling a trailer, it feels like it to the cooling system.

So, I ran a trans cooler in front of the radiator, it was negligible in terms of highway temps, but it heat soaked more at slow speeds. Then I did 2 trans coolers and a PS cooler all in front of the radiator, it heat soaked BAD. I mean, 100* out, AC on, flat ground and it would hit 220 at highway speeds. Slow speeds, forget about it, especially off-roading, turning the wheel back and forth, I was just expelling heat to the PS cooler, and heat soaking the fuck out of the radiator, that setup didn’t last long. I hit 250 and knew change had to happen.

So I ditched it all, PS cooler is now away from the radiator and the trans coolers are out back. The result is amazing from a coolant perspective. I just ran up a grade, AC on, in 90* heat and hit 207 max. Remember, operating LS temp on any Chevy 1500 is 210. While it isn’t 115 out, 207 up a grade is probably similar to heat generated at 100 on flat ground, like I had last summer.

Remember, I also have a 403 hp 6.2L. Power is heat. More HP, more heat to expel. So I’m confident clearing the radiator will work great for any H3, and the results should be even better for less HP.

Lastly, put a piece of tape on the temp gauge, I haven’t but might as well lol. My old Chevy equinox company car always sat at 1 tick mark under half. Never moved…I plugged in a scanner, that needle stayed put between 178 and like 220 coolant temp. My H3 shows above half at 207!!!! Any 4.8/5.3/6.0/6.2 LS in any Chevy has a dash temp gauge with 210 in the middle. H3 temp gauges cause anxiety lol

I learned from you, that HD fan clutches are the shit, they move so much air! It can’t be beat, unless you’re moving at a snails pace under 5-10 mph. Then an e fan moves more air but other then that, an H3 fan clutch moves the most

 

[H3Hummer]

As of late and following other original builds, I have decided to rethink my cooling situation.

In the last year, addition of the gobi, 37's and rancho has worsened heat soak and temps coming off the highway/city driving and regular commute at 110-115+F ambient. The steering isn't happy with the heat and 37's and as an average I've seen transmission temps increase 10*F and coolant about 5*F while driving in 3rd at highway speed (4th is currently useless). Nothing I'm unhappy with, just comes with the territory above 35's. (Trans temps with external Super cooler Part No #70266 and coolant with manual trans radiator)

Plans:

It's not original, it's not groundbreaking. @cgalpha08 and @06 H3 have done their versions of removing the heat from the core support and spreading it across the chassis. I'll be copying them as it works great. One difference is I'll be running a 40K cooler with (3) 5.5" spal fans at the rear of the truck. One fan running on a thermostat and 2 fans on a switch. @cgalpha08 runs a cooler rated higher than 40k. Also, the early I5's only had a tube cooler for power steering, so ill be utilizing that and a heat sink to try and make the steering happy again. Engine oil is what it is, I run a 5w-40 Castrol with Lucus every 3-5k. So with that mileage I should be clear from the detrimental effects of abusing the oil. Waiting on Blackstone laboratories to tell me if I am correct on my assumptions. May tie in a oil pressure sender, but a v8 is coming so that point is moot.

Other than that, working on a half door, rock lights and other misc. repairs on a nearly 20-year-old rig. I am at a crossroads of whether I self fab an ultra 4 style the front IFS or succumb to the 1-ton devil on my left shoulder... #TrailsBowDownTo40s


Anyways, here's one of the more recent photos. Working on clearances, have most of it figured out. Huge thanks to @cgalpha08 for the 37's. View attachment 33992

just perfect like that

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Little things this last weekend. Replaced yet another rear window regulator and upgraded to an 08 airbox to accomodate the snorkel. 6 years post install of the snorkel itself. Came in handy during the triple tropic storm run in AZ last week.

Next up is some additional trimming for the 37's and seeing how the truck feels on flex 42 which is a technical trail. Carrying extra tie rods ffor when that time comes. After I may have some time to install the updated transcooler by the end of the year.

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Awning tent arrived, hopefully should make my other fall hobby experiences warmer. Anything to cut the wind from going under the cot when camping.

View attachment IMG_1795.jpeg

 

[EndeavoredH3]

Next project on the horizon. ‘05 Gen 3 motor I’ll be refreshing and converting over to Gen 4.

I’ll be rebuilding this summer with install this winter. All depending on honeymoon dates and expenses accrued.

View attachment IMG_4285.jpeg

 

[rascole]

Next project on the horizon. ‘05 Gen 3 motor I’ll be refreshing and converting over to Gen 4.

I’ll be rebuilding this summer with install this winter. All depending on honeymoon dates and expenses accrued.

View attachment 34505

Nice, make sure shop knows to put gen 4 crank in. Not like my shop did.

 

[alrock]

That'll be a great upgrade.