leveling and shocks question
 

hey guys i just ordered this lift/level kit from rough country...Hummer H3 Suspension Lift Kit.
Do i need to replace my shocks in the front? i just put new ones in a month ago. i used the rancho rs9000xl. they wernt the ones made for any lift. I have a feeling i am going to have to replace them...am i correct?

you don't have to, mine is leveled and running the stock ones, I will eventually but don't have the funds rights now.

you can also get an extension that allows the stock height to work.

the rancho shocks only have about 2.5 inches of travel were as the stock acdelco ones have over 4 inches. I figured this would cause a problem if i leveled the front 2 inches.

As far as your shocks go, you can add a spacer (a 1/2"all-thread nut) to the top shock stud to regain about 1/2" of the travel, but as you pointed out that will likely not be enough to get it back into the proper stroke, or you can fab up a lower shock extension with minimal effort. Someone used to sell them pre-made, but I haven't seen them offered lately. There are some pics around here somewhere.

Not sure why Rough Country bills that as a leveling kit, because once you add the rear shackles and crank the torsion bars to the normally recommended max height, the vehicle will retain roughly the same rake as before. If you skip the rear shackles, then it would leveling the rig, but then again, without the shackles there is nothing you'd need to buy as the torsion key spacers they include are unnecessary on the H3.
On that same note, not sure why Rough Country advertises you can now fit 33" tires with their kit when the H3 rolled off the assembly line on 33's and can fit 35's with no lift at all.

yeah i dont think they know what their talking about. I'll probably just end up buying new shocks. oddly enough i found some that are for a 1 - 2.5 inch lift that are half the price of what i paid for ones with no lift...same brand too. same website...partsgeek.com

Looking at the kit in the link it appears ot comes with the shock spacers.

I wonder if using the torsion key spacer allows for more front lift than not using it?? Like you add the shackles, and now you can still level the vehicle?

Let us know how it goes once fitted. Photos would be great as well:D

will do aussie h3. it will probably be a week or so before its done. i just ordered new shocks today and the level kit yesterday.

Are you going to level it after fitting the shackles?? Or just lift it and still have the rake??

I am intrigued as I have wondered if it is possible to lift the front of the H3 a bit more than the standard leveling.

I have recently leveled my H3 and fitted 33" tyres and like the look, legally (where i live) I could now lift the whole truck another inch or so but not sure on how to go about it. If the torsion key spacer and new shocks allow the front to be raised another inch over what it is now I will make a spacer, buy new shocks and reset the rear springs (extended shackles are banned here) but I can get the springs raised for about $150-180.

the proper way to lift a vehicle with independent front suspenesion is to drop the front differential and put spacers between it and the frame. this is time consuming and expensive. you could always do a 1" body lift on your rig. its alot cheaper then a suspension lift.
i wanted just to level it out. if you watch the video at the bottom of the page on the link it says that the rear shakles are there to accomodate the front lift and keep it level.

You can only raise the front 24" max with the torsion bar adjustment.
You can waste money on reindexing keys but you still can only go to 24" max.
That is approx. level with stock rear shackles.
If you add longer rear shackles you will be raked again.

You CANNOT adjust the front any higher. The IFS cannot handle the extreme angles.

And them's the facts...Jack! :D

Unlike nearly all other factory IFS rigs, the H3 was designed with abundant lift adjustment in factory form.
Thus, the index spacers are worthless as they'd only allow more unsafe turns of the key.

hmm wouldnt these spacers make it alot easier on the adjustment aspect? is it as simple as putting the spacers in and then tightening down the bolts, or do you still have to measure? I figured this would take the guess work out of how many turn to crank the bolt.
maybe i should just return it?

No easier. It can't be any easier than lifting it as it sits now. You simply turn both sides an equal amount until you achieve the desired lift you want. If one side is lower than the other, simply crank that side until they are both level. 23.75" or less seems to be the accepted max range.

There is no set number of turns of the adjustment bolt.
Everyone seems to be different and most people reported a different number of turns side to side.
Cranking, measuring for 23.75 or 23.50, drive around a little, let it settle, then readjust to your measurement, let it settle, then get an alignment.

alright ,thanks for the info guys.!

You can use the "SEARCH" button before buying anything for your rig especially leveling kits.

It would save the Original Thread Stater time and $. It would also save the responders from typing the same thing 100s of times.


Large threads on this exact subject from the last 4 1/2 months: https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/h...s-tires-30693/

https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/h...opinion-27651/

https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/h...ing-kit-29887/

https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/h...ing-kit-30466/

https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/h...s-tires-29660/

My H3 sits at 24" at the rear, and the front only went to 23 1/2 inches with the bolts cranked right up, I did not like the fact that the adjustment was at it's maximum so I backed it up a bit and I settled on 23" for the front.

I did as mentioned by 'Bunger' above after driving the H3 I rechecked and adjusted the bolts till I was happy.

I would love to be able to raise the back to 25" and the front to 24 or 24 1/2", the back is no issues as I can easily get the back springs re set to 25" at reasonable cost, but the front is already out of adjustment.

Happy to buy some longer shocks as well to suit.

So people are saying there is no way you can raise the front past the adjustment??

If that is the case I will just leave it as is, and I will make some spacers for the front shocks to give them better travel at the new 23" height and leave the standard shocks in place, and replace them when they are worn out (Still good at this stage)

The spacers are only there so the bolts don't run out of adjustment, for $60 you might as well use them as they come with the shackles, so the spacers really cost you nothing anyway.

The adjustment is really easy, just follow the instructions with the kit and you will be fine.

If anything I believe you will not really need the shocks, as long as yours are still in order.

Since I don't use the rear shackles as they are banned over here I will just make up my own spacers for the shocks.

You can use the "SEARCH" button before buying anything for your rig especially leveling kits.

i did use the search function but was looking to see if anybody used the same kit i bought. i didnt see any for sure answers. I always use the search function before starting a new thread.

aussie the reason i believe my shocks wont work is because the ranchos i out on only have about 2.25 inchs of travel were as the oem shocks have 4 inchs of travel. So if i raise the front 2 inches then i only have 1/4 inch of travel and the ride would be very stiff. Am i correct in this assumption?

There is a way to get more front end lift than the torsion bars can provide: http://www.gorancho.com/suspension.p...r_h3:confused:

I am certainly no expert but it would seem the ranchero shocks you already have are no good, 2.25 inches of travel is not much for a 4x4 shock where maximum travel would be important when going off road.

Might have to watch this when I upgrade my shocks as I was considering ranchero shocks.

Wow very nice kit.....so once the keys run out of adjustment that's it till you buy this serious kit.

I really like it. Would look good with some fat 35" tyres. (I know I can fit 35" tyres now but think 33" are enough with the I5 and my minimal lift)

yeah 2.25 inches isnt much travel at all! but i didnt know if i could install the ones that were designed for a 2 inch lift if i didnt have it lifted 2 inches. but i just ordered the ones for a lift yesterday so once those come in ill install them and crank my t bars up 2 inches.

correction. the ranchos i have are the rs9000xl series and they have 4.16 inches of travel. the rs5000 series have the 2.25 inch travel. I had it wrong all along. so if you get ranchos make sure you get the rs9000xl series.

At this stage will not worry about shocks, but will keep this in mind once it's time to replace shocks, at this stage I will be making up and fitting some spacers to my factory ones next time I have a few days off.

Had a bit of a play today testing out the suspension travel, posted the below in my build thread but thought it would be relevant here, pictures were taken today!!:)

33" tyres with levelled (not quite) suspension, front set at 23" (from 21.5" standard) and rear suspension is at the standard 24", will soon be adding spacers for the front shocks, as they are still standard.

Attachment 12769

Attachment 12770

Attachment 12771

Attachment 12772

Attachment 12773

nice. Hey aussie this is an off subject post but i have never spoken to anybody from australia before and had a couple of questions...1) does the toilet water really spin the opposite way? 2.) guns are a big part of the culter here and the majority of the population is armed. what was it like having all the guns confiscated? wasnt it is '96?
i know i would be flipping out if that happened here.

Will answer those in my own thread.

As for shocks, the Monroe Reflex monotubes from sponsor Rockauto.com are the right length.

Compressed Length 11.125"
Extended Length 15.375"
Travel 4.25"

^ yeah i found out that the rancho rs9000xl series are also. Its the rs5000 series that are the wrong size.

I am running Rancho RS5376 shocks on my H3.
I have the torsion bar adjustment set at 23-1/2".

you dont have a problem with a rough ride and the shocks topping out? the rs5376's only have a 2.25 inches of travel in them were as the rs9000xl series have about 4.66.

Nope, the RS5376's are designed for H3's that have been raised by 1.00 to 2.50 inches.

They won't top out unless someone mistakenly uses a spacer.

The ride is as good as the Cogneto/Bilsteins that I replaced. Which is a little stiffer (which is what I like) than OEM. The Bilsteins only lasted 2 years (18,000 mi.) before one blew.