Upgrade time in Phoenix, AZ - 8 years new

[H3ATH3N]

Heyo - New to posting here - been prowling the posts for a while planning my eventual H3 upgrades. My practical side has kept me waiting (8 years from purchase of my 06 I5) until the sheen wore off and the tires wore down and that time has come. First steps are to level/lift the rig and get some new shocks and 35's on.. but here's the problem: I have no skills/tools to do the job. In going through post after post, the general consensus is adjusting the torsion bars and putting on the Bilstein 5100's, but I need to go through a shop and they all tell me I need new keys, bla, bla, bla, and big $$.

Can anyone recommend a good shop in the Phoenix/Mesa/Gilbert area that'll treat a 8-year delayed newbie right?

 

[Zach]

Welcome from So Cal. Contact Reloader, he has recently relocated from Iowa I believe. You have a great group representing from Az

 

[Ed's06h3]

Welcome to H40

 

[WillieMo]

Welcome from Miami FL

 

[Highatop]

Welcome from Co. Levelin is easy, a floor jack, 1 1/16 socket and tape measure. Thats it and while your under there. You can see if your up for doin the shocks and 1/2 extented bumpstops. Again, not very hard. once that is done you will have to get a aliment, new tires or not. But 35s, you will like the look. well I do anyway. And Reloader is very good at what he does and knows.
Good luck and post pics before and after and then more pics. We like pics

 

[Bigunit]

Forum member Reloader is your guy. He should be popping in soon. Welcome. I'm down in Tucson and looking forward to meeting someday soon.

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[3Hummers]

Welcome to H4O. There are several local dealerships that were Hummer friendly. Alex and a few of the others can fill you in. Reloader does some work on the side for forum members. I would start with him.

 

[poncho1965]

Welcome from California!


Mike

 

[alrock]

Hey, we'd be happy to help any way we can. Simple jobs like shocks, torsion bar crank, etc. can easily be done in the home garage in an hour. Why don't you come out with us next Sunday (check out the Vulture Mine thread in the West section), meet a few of us and tackle a mild trail?

 

[RamRod]

Welcome from Canada!

I am sue you'll find all the help you need here to do it yourself

 

[06 H3]

welcome from so cal

 

[Panzer07]

Welcome to forum.


Sent From Someone Else's iPhone 'Cause I'm Too Broke To Own One.

 

[H3ATH3N]

thx alrock - This sunday I am unavoidably detained - but I'll start paying attention to the West section for future events. I made it to the Box Canyon trail near Florence last weekend and started an impressive collection of Arizona pinstriping though...
I seem to remember seeing a post here or another site with a step by step description (with pics) of how to adjust the bars - any chance you know where that is?

 

[H3ATH3N]

tbar lift info found

did some diggin in the forum and am posting this for anyone else looking for more info on the tbar leveling - this post is a good one (i think) http://www.hummer4x4offroad.com/for...eap-on-the-torsion-bar-lift&highlight=torsion
I'll probably attack it in a couple weeks - thinking I'd like to make the jump on the billstiens as well - found this link to a package - https://www.trailduty.com/product_info.php?products_id=1555&osCsid=30633c84abef0754e9211d1fd0dbcef8
One thing that jumped out on the above thread was the difference btwn bump stops (oem being 2 stage and one in package being 1 stage with a rougher ride) - is there no aftermarket extended bump stop that has the 2 stage option?
As always - thoughts/input is much appreciated

 

[Highatop]

1/2" extented bumpstops will stop your rig from nose divin when brakin and cornin.This is after levelin. I think there is a 1" stop for street use only.

 

[poncho1965]

After my crank stayed with bumpstops I had. Nose dive doesn't bother me. Not a prob anyway since I drive it slow lol


Mike

 

[alrock]

After my crank stayed with bumpstops I had. Nose dive doesn't bother me. Not a prob anyway since I drive it slow lol


Mike

After my TD ones failed from age I went back to OEM. Minor nose dive, not bothersome to me, and maybe a smoother ride. Jury is still out as I haven't driven it much since the swap.

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[Reloader]

Reloader here. Welcome to the forum. I (we) can help you out bigtime. Order up some new shocks. I really like the Bilstiens. you may want to consider extended rear shackles to compensate for the rear springs also. We can slap it all on some Saturday morning and there happens to be an alignment shop just down the road that did a good job on mine after we finished hanging a bunch of new parts last weekend.

Sounds like you are over in Mesa or Chandler area. I am in Glendale near Luke AFB about 7 miles up Dysart road north of the 10.

The same place also has a pretty good deal going now on Goodyear Duratracs if you are interested in that tyre. I got a quote for $1400 for 5 tyres mounted and balanced out the door. Might be able to do better at Discount tyre.

How many miles on your 3? Have you done any suspension work like upper and or lower ball joints?

A 1 inch body lift kit from Daystar works and looks good on a 3 also.

 

[H3ATH3N]

Reloader here. Welcome to the forum. I (we) can help you out bigtime. Order up some new shocks. I really like the Bilstiens. you may want to consider extended rear shackles to compensate for the rear springs also. We can slap it all on some Saturday morning and there happens to be an alignment shop just down the road that did a good job on mine after we finished hanging a bunch of new parts last weekend. The same place also has a pretty good deal going now on Goodyear Duratracs if you are interested in that tyre. I got a quote for $1400 for 5 tyres mounted and balanced out the door. Might be able to do better at Discount tyre. How many miles on your 3? Have you done any suspension work like upper and or lower ball joints? A 1 inch body lift kit from Daystar works and looks good on a 3 also.

Reloader - I may take you up on that offer. I need to do some studyin' on the extended rear shackles, but I think I'm finally getting the jist of all the other "first step" upgrades. I was leaning towards the Duratracs, but am also interested in getting new wheels - maybe 17's - now just need to understand the offset situation (or just stick with the originals).

 

[Bananatank]

Okay this is just a question so no one ridicule me. I have seen in all the threads containing the tbar crank instructions,that you measure from the h of the hub cap to the fender flare and most people crank the tbar then measure about 23 1/2. But wouldn't this measurement not be completely accurate considering one tire could be lower than the other and wouldn't that throw off the measurement? Just a question


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[alrock]

Okay this is just a question so no one ridicule me. I have seen in all the threads containing the tbar crank instructions,that you measure from the h of the hub cap to the fender flare and most people crank the tbar then measure about 23 1/2. But wouldn't this measurement not be completely accurate considering one tire could be lower than the other and wouldn't that throw off the measurement? Just a question


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Good question. The reason we measure from the center of the hub vs. from the ground is that it is independent of tire size or inflation. If you were to measure from the ground then tire inflation and size would be a factor.

Think about it. If you deflate a tire and the center of the hub moves down three inches, so does the fender and that corner of the truck.

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[Bananatank]

Good question. The reason we measure from the center of the hub vs. from the ground is that it is independent of tire size or inflation. If you were to measure from the ground then tire inflation and size would be a factor.

Think about it. If you deflate a tire and the center of the hub moves down three inches, so does the fender and that corner of the truck.

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Ohhhh gotcha! Alright thx for answering. When I was doing my torsion lift, i knew everyone stopped at around 23 1/2 just to stay in the safe zone. But I was told if you measure at the h of the hub cap it wouldn't be completely accurate by a local mechanic. Guess ill measure from the h now. Can I ask, around how many turns do most people do when cranking the t bar?


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[alrock]

Turns vary by vehicle. Don't worry about counting, just do it by tape measure. Turns may also vary from side to side

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[poncho1965]

I did 9 drivers side, about 7.5 passenger.


Mike

 

[Bananatank]

Definitely going to have to measure again. I had been measuring from the ground when doing the lift. I didnt want to over do it so i only did four turns on both sides.


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