Good afternoon, men

I was wondering if anyone has successfully upgraded their front suspension or steering lay out. My mechanic/fabricator friend and I are looking into upgrade my steering rack to a Chevy 2500 (will be trying to use 2500 steering box and gears as well) and hopefully swap out the H3 shocks with the front "coil" shocks (I don't know what else to call them) from an FJ Cruiser. Has anyone successfully done (or seen) something like this before? Or have any helpful advise on what direction to go? I'm also hoping to keep the T-bar lay out as kind of an assist with keeping the front end setup. I'm just trying to build the front end a little more stable.

I already have the MMW adjustable upper control arms and the outfitter design inch thick tie rods and their steering rack brace. only raised the T-bars up about an inch with a 1 inch body lift and running 35s. I keep running into steering rack issues and my t-bars dropping a little, messing up my alignment. I'm happy with the ride height and how it tackles the trails. Just trying to beef it up a little more. I have also swapped out the front diff from the 09 adventure package into my 06. IFS is a great way to mob around off road. I'm loving this thing after 2 years of being a proud owner.

I'm hoping my H3 brothers can have some hopeful advice for this guy trying to strive for the greater good. Maybe spit ball some ideas. If we can pull this off, we will throw out a play by play and parts list if we can. I'm open to all ideas and suggestions. Mostly just looking to get the creative juices flowing or stopping haha either one

 

Best of luck.
It has been tried and failed. You need new torsion bars if the front keeps dropping after adjustment. Once you reach the end of the adjustment bolt. That's it. Time for new Tbars.

Without redesigning the entire front suspension AND front differential you won't get a coil over in there and around the CV shaft.
1 Full on long travel 4x4 Hummer H3 done and it cost a pretty penny.
Multiple Full on SAS/SOA H3/H3Ts out there now too. Price is dependent on what axles you use and the other components in the build.
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Tainter, thanks for the info on the Torsion bars. Funny story, I actually picked up a set of torsion bars with under 20k on them I was going to throw in this weekend. That makes me feel better about buying them now. Thanks, bud!
I was afraid there wouldn't be many non custom options on getting a new style shock on there like the stock coil shock from the FJ cruiser I posted in the post. I may put a fork in that one for a little while until I could get some more info on custom things that may help along the way. With my MMW upper control arms, I found an FJ coil over would fit to the bottom front shock mount. But I find the mount is my obstacle right now. I don't know how they'd work either. I have high hopes on finding a solution. But if I don't, I honestly won't be disappointed. I may go full SAS if this goes nowhere.

I've been looking around the Hummerforums website and you seem to be a huge piece to the knowledge in the archives. Very knowledgeable. Would you know much about putting in the steering rack from a Chevy 2500? Like taking the steering gears and pitman arm and rack and replacing them with the stock steering rack on the H3? I saw someone pull that one off. I know they dumped a lot of cash into their rig. I couldn't find any articles on that one specifically here in the hummer forums.

 

If you just want to wheel some mild trails and a few small obstacles keep what you have and buy Outfitter Design parts. The best most reliable parts. They are also workign on a D44 & D50 front IFS center section. https://www.outfitterdesign.com/hummer-h3-kits.html


You have 2 options if you want strength and reliability to tackle above the mild Offroad trails. Don't mess with the little stuff and waste $ on fabbing up new ways to save the factory IFS.
In the end go full custom IFS/SOA or SAS/SOA. If someone would have told me this years ago I can't imagine how much time and $ I would have saved in the long run.

Rick White and fabricator Jeff Haye, Owner Jacquelyne “Bebe” Theisen
https://www.fourwheeler.com/features...-independence/




or

 

[QUOTE=TAINTER;374822]If you just want to wheel some mild trails and a few small obstacles keep what you have and buy Outfitter Design parts. The best most reliable parts. They are also workign on a D44 & D50 front IFS center section. https://www.outfitterdesign.com/hummer-h3-kits.html


You have 2 options if you want strength and reliability to tackle above the mild Offroad trails. Don't mess with the little stuff and waste $ on fabbing up new ways to save the factory IFS.
In the end go full custom IFS/SOA or SAS/SOA. If someone would have told me this years ago I can't imagine how much time and $ I would have saved in the long run.

Rick White and fabricator Jeff Haye, Owner Jacquelyne “Bebe” Theisen
https://www.fourwheeler.com/features...-independence/

Thanks, Tainter! I actually already have Outfitter Design parts's inch thick tie rods and steering rack reinforcement kit - they rock! I just can't seem to keep my alignment right no matter what I do (go to work, dirt roads or trails). I assume my bad T-bars have some kind of play in this. I'm just tired of monthly trips to the alignment shop. Even on months where I don't wheel. I love this rig so much!

But Wait a hot second, I did not know that Outfitter Design was doing a dana 44 and 50 IFS section. What advantages will this have over the cast iron front diff with e-lockers (I have that swapped in my 06)? If there's a huge difference, will my e-lockers be swappable with it?

I haven't been to Outfitter Design's website in a couple years. I may want to get a few new goodies. I'm always debating a SOA or SAS on this thing. My fabricator friend and I are just trying to weigh our options to see if we have to make that dive or not. He's also my wheelin' buddy. So, we are both invested in this rig haha

 

Damn bad, bad *** red T

 

Thanks, Tainter! I actually already have Outfitter Design parts's inch thick tie rods and steering rack reinforcement kit - they rock! I just can't seem to keep my alignment right no matter what I do (go to work, dirt roads or trails). I assume my bad T-bars have some kind of play in this. I'm just tired of monthly trips to the alignment shop. Even on months where I don't wheel. I love this rig so much!

But Wait a hot second, I did not know that Outfitter Design was doing a dana 44 and 50 IFS section. What advantages will this have over the cast iron front diff with e-lockers (I have that swapped in my 06)? If there's a huge difference, will my e-lockers be swappable with it?

I haven't been to Outfitter Design's website in a couple years. I may want to get a few new goodies. I'm always debating a SOA or SAS on this thing. My fabricator friend and I are just trying to weigh our options to see if we have to make that dive or not. He's also my wheelin' buddy. So, we are both invested in this rig haha

Sorry if this is on there twice. I couldn't figure out how to edit my previous comment hahaha