H3 Leveling Kit

Does anyone have recommendations for a H3 Front End Leveling kit?

There are a few ways to do it, most have just cranked the tortion bars. I cranked mine 2.5 turns each side and the truck sits completly level now...for free I have not noticed any ride difference at all truck still handles like stock. Or you can install re-indexed torsion bar cams, this will keep the tortion bar adj factory but lift the front end up. go to this link on ebay H3 level lift contact the seller and tell him you only want the cams, I have talked to him before and he will sell only the cams. If you buy the lift the way it is in the auction it comes with add a leaves in the rear which will lift the whole truck but still leave you with the raked look.

ditto
that where i got mine

I found another kit from http://www.stallioncustoms.com/h3truxkit.html

This one has new torsion bar keys and shock extenders.

Any idea which way would be better?

seems like a lot of money for something that can be done for free. just my opinion, Before you shell out $500 try turning the tortion bars and see if you like it, does the same thing. If turning them was so bad GM wouldn't build them to be adjustable. takes all of 10 minutes to do and you don't need to jack up the front of your truck, I did mine in my driveway at 2 in the morning cause I was bored...realllllll easy to do!

you do not need the shock extenders
i paid $160 for new keys and i love it

quote:

ORIGINAL: importkiller

There are a few ways to do it, most have just cranked the tortion bars. I cranked mine 2.5 turns each side and the truck sits completly level now...for free I have not noticed any ride difference at all truck still handles like stock. Or you can install re-indexed torsion bar cams, this will keep the tortion bar adj factory but lift the front end up. go to this link on ebay H3 level lift contact the seller and tell him you only want the cams, I have talked to him before and he will sell only the cams. If you buy the lift the way it is in the auction it comes with add a leaves in the rear which will lift the whole truck but still leave you with the raked look.

Hey importkiller

Can you post instructions on how to do this? I've read other threads about this but no one posted instructions. I would really appreciate it!! I'm going to try to do it this weekend.

Thank you!

quote:

ORIGINAL: inked

quote:

ORIGINAL: importkiller

There are a few ways to do it, most have just cranked the tortion bars. I cranked mine 2.5 turns each side and the truck sits completly level now...for free I have not noticed any ride difference at all truck still handles like stock. Or you can install re-indexed torsion bar cams, this will keep the tortion bar adj factory but lift the front end up. go to this link on ebay H3 level lift contact the seller and tell him you only want the cams, I have talked to him before and he will sell only the cams. If you buy the lift the way it is in the auction it comes with add a leaves in the rear which will lift the whole truck but still leave you with the raked look.

Hey importkiller

Can you post instructions on how to do this? I've read other threads about this but no one posted instructions. I would really appreciate it!! I'm going to try to do it this weekend.

Thank you!

If you search around on this site in the H3 forum, you will find another thread that discusses the merits and procedures for turning the torsion bars. In a nut shell, there are two bolts that are facing down in the center cross member. These are connected to the torsion bar cams. Crank on them clockwise to gain height, and counter clockwise to lower the vehicle.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Linus Gump

quote:

ORIGINAL: inked

quote:

ORIGINAL: importkiller

There are a few ways to do it, most have just cranked the tortion bars. I cranked mine 2.5 turns each side and the truck sits completly level now...for free I have not noticed any ride difference at all truck still handles like stock. Or you can install re-indexed torsion bar cams, this will keep the tortion bar adj factory but lift the front end up. go to this link on ebay H3 level lift contact the seller and tell him you only want the cams, I have talked to him before and he will sell only the cams. If you buy the lift the way it is in the auction it comes with add a leaves in the rear which will lift the whole truck but still leave you with the raked look.

Hey importkiller

Can you post instructions on how to do this? I've read other threads about this but no one posted instructions. I would really appreciate it!! I'm going to try to do it this weekend.

Thank you!

If you search around on this site in the H3 forum, you will find another thread that discusses the merits and procedures for turning the torsion bars. In a nut shell, there are two bolts that are facing down in the center cross member. These are connected to the torsion bar cams. Crank on them clockwise to gain height, and counter clockwise to lower the vehicle.

Thanks guys, found it: http://www.hummerforums.com/m_2595/tm.htm
Will do it this weekend and post a before and after pic.

Marc

I have tried emailed Sandy River Enterprises, the company with the ebay leveling kit but haven't heard back from them. Does anyone know how to get in contact with them?

Does anyone know the difference between changing the torsion keys and changing the torsion cam?

Same thing, different name.

Do you have any rubbing with the leveling kit and 35 inch tires?

i just notice it does but only when you cut the wheel realy hard
the only reason i notice it i notice a little paint rubbed off the bar only about 1/4 on the bar not that bad

quote:

ORIGINAL: dilo2001gt

i just notice it does but only when you cut the wheel realy hard
the only reason i notice it i notice a little paint rubbed of the bar only about 1/4 on the bar not that bad

Good grief Man!..Never leave your painted rubbers on the Bar..Especially the 1/4" ones..Damn!

in that case i meant 12 1/4

I put on new torsion keys (supposed to lift the front 2 -3 inches) and adjusted the ride height (distance from center of wheel to fender) to 24.25 inches like the directions said. The front end feels like I am bouncing down the road. Does anyoine else with a leveling kit feel like this?

On the up side, the level H3 looks really good!

remember, the tortion bar is a big spring. If your front end is bouncing away then you somehow overloaded the t-bar.

quote:

ORIGINAL: dilo2001gt

in that case i meant 12 1/4

most of us are American here, we don't use the metric system. would you convert that back to inches from millimeters? or better yet, we don't really wanna know, so just leave it, we get the picture, but only by using a magnifying glass . . . . . . .

When you crank the t-bar you tighten it. I have about 1 3/4" likt from just tightening it. I have speed bumps on my street and you can feel the bars push the wheels down as you hit them at certains speeds. It felt nose light at first but ou get used to it. Enjoy the lift!!! What is your height from street to fender? I am at 39 1/8 with 32" tires.

I am at 40.5" from the ground to the fender with 35" tires (24.25" from the fender to the center of the wheel).

I did back off 1.5 turns on the torsion bar. It really smoothed out the ride. I don't feel like I am crusin in the hood anymore.

quote:

I don't feel like I am crusin in the hood anymore.

I was just reading through the posts about adjusting the torsion bars. I noticed some folks didn't really know what to expect from it etc, other than the gained lift that is. Anyway, I thought I'd try to help explain it a little for anyone that's interested in it.

The torsion bars are the springs for the front independant suspension. By keeping the torsion bar in a torqued state, it provides a resistive or dampening state.. which creates suspension. There are adjustment screws, as you all know, that can releave some of the torsional force on the bars, or more can be created. However, this does come with a price. How much, depends on how much adjustment is made. When you adjust the t-bars to raise the vehicle, what you are doing is actually taking away from your down travel, the down travel of your front suspension. As your tire tracks across terrian, be it a road or whatever, the suspension allows the tire to maintain contact with it. The more contact that is maintained, the better the control etc. This up and down motion is called travel. When you adjust the t bar to gain upward lift, you are taking away from downward travel. basically, your limiting the travel you have stored in your suspension, to push the vehicle upward. Now, if the adjustment is minor, then it is very likely that you will never miss the lost down travel. However, if too much is used, then you will no longer have a suspension that has droop in it. Droop is the visual downward travel that is seen when you raise a vehicle up on an automtive lift, or jack up a corner of the car, until the tire come off the ground. Using too much is not good. An example of a suspension with no droop would be:

You're going down the road and you enter a washbaord surface . The suspension would normaly drop into the hole (with droop) then rebound upward past the point it started at, as it leaves the other side of the hole, and rolls over the crest, and then come downward again into it's normal position, or through another cylce of that depending on factors. If you don't have the droop, the tire won't drop, and will only cycle upward when it encounters the crest, and can create a basketball dribble effect.

So, my advise to anyone who wants to adjust the t bars is: keep the adjustment to a minimum. If you want to take out some of the rake of the vehicle, then that should be fine. 1" to slightly more is OK. I would not use the torsion adjustment to compensate for a cheap suspension lift, if significant lift is desired.

I would suggest either a re-index key (or cam) or an engineer suspension lift from a reputable company. I have no experience with the "leveling kits" that sell re-indexing keys, but I know they ahve been around a while. I would imagine that they should leave the t bar settings stock, or at least close enough to it that it shouldn't be a problem, but I am only guessing. I would also make sure that the kit came from someone, a company, that has experience with suspension lifts, and is not some fly by night company, that is just filling a void to make money.

Anyway, not trying to come off as some know it all .. just want to make sure that anyone who has no idea about the torsion bars is alittle more informed.

As for myself, I'll probably adjust the t bars slighlty to remove the raked look, or at least minimze it some. I plan to run the stock 33's for now, if not always, so I don't need a real lift. I'll probably keep my eye open for the leveling cams, or keys, but I want to make sure they come from someone who makes a quality product, and at least has some time in the suspension market.

Good post and pretty much spot on. If someone does crank the t-bars to the point that their downward travel is limited they could always replace the stock bumpstops with either low profile or ultra low prifile bumpstops, this will give an additional inch or more anf travel and definitely helps smooth out the ride.

I put two new keys in had no problems at all love it and i knew what to expect when i was doing it same as the tires. But my theory is you live once and do what you like and in a couple of years i know i be trading it in.

ENJOY YOURSELF NOW.

quote:

ORIGINAL: importkiller

Good post and pretty much spot on. If someone does crank the t-bars to the point that their downward travel is limited they could always replace the stock bumpstops with either low profile or ultra low prifile bumpstops, this will give an additional inch or more anf travel and definitely helps smooth out the ride.

Actually, no it won't help with down travel. Bump stops limit up travel, to keep the suspension from bottoming out. Adjusting the length of the bumpstop, by using a longer or shorter one, will only restrict, or allow more suspension travel upward, not downward. And, that only counts if the upward travel is there to begin with. it won't actually allow you to gain any more up travel, it will just let whatever you have travel further upward. Once the downward travel is used for lift, it's gone. There is no way to get it back unless you adjust it back out with the torsion bars. There is no way to have the lift from the torsion bars, and the downward travel too, Unfortunatly. If you're only using a 1/2" or 1" that's no big deal really.. but if you're going to go higher than that, especially much higher, then it's going to cause issues, which will show up sooner or later.

My main point is, adjust your T bars sparingly. Maxing them out will provide a nasty ride quality, and will wear tires, and the front end components. Minor adjustments are fine, but if you need a substantial amount of lift, then you should look for a different way to gain it.

Anyway, like I said before, I'm just trying to make sure it's clear to anyone who isn't familiar with torsion bars, what to expect from them, and what to be careful for when adjusting them.