Is my H3 already lifted?
 

First off I'm a noob to this stuff so bear with me.

I was going to purchase the rough country 2 1/2" lift but I'm wondering if I already have a 2 1/2" or some kind of leveling/lift kit?
Maybe somebody familiar with how a stock hummer would look can help me out.


Here's what rough country's 2 1/2" lift consists of; a torsion bar key spacer and a lifted rear shackle:
http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/...98fba7bc2a.jpg
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Here's a close up of rough countries torsion bar key spacer:
http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/...711ff64529.jpg
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Here's a closeup of my, what appears to be, torsion bar key spacer. Is this what this looks like on a stock H3?
http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/...890349d9f5.jpg
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Here's rough country's rear lifted shackle up close:
http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/...56f664a805.jpg
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Here's my rear shackle up close. Look stock?:
http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/...3fa6626d95.jpg
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Finally I've always notice the front of my h3 appears to sit slightly higher then the rear which is the exact opposite of what I've noticed on stock h3's
Attachment 13263
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Do I have some sort of leveling or lift kit all ready?

Those are 33" tires and there seems to be a lot of gap in-between the tire and fender. I do have the adventure package....

Is it possible the previous owner just cranked the torsion bars and that's why the back is a little low?

Appreciate any help here.

If the front is higher than the back I would say it is one of two things.. The first is what you guessed. That the previous owner leveled it out... Or two, that they use to do a whole lot of towing and hauling and the leafs are flattened out a little bit. If it is leveled you want to measure from the center of the hub up to the fender well. . You want it at about 23 inches and not past 24.

Your rear shackles are stock. Same as we have.

I must be seeing ****

I just went out and parked on level ground and took measurements from the center of the hub.

The front and the back are excatly 24- 1/2 inches

My driveway is slightly steep so that must of been what was dipping the rear a little.

So I'm passed 24 on both ends... Lifted?

Good to know. Does your torsion key bolt look like mine?

What it looks like is that the previous owner wasted good money and installed a "leveling kit". You probably have reindexed keys and those spacers. Stock H3's don't have spacers on those bolts.

Since they are there, leave them as is, but the advice to anyone else is that you just tighten that bolt to adjust the torsion bar and it will raise the vehicle.

You don't need "reindexed keys" or bolt spacers or any other form of" Leveling Kit" to raise the nose of an H3.

Those look like the stock rear shackles. Around 24" in the rear is normal, could be a little more if you gave the brakes a tap and the nose dove down when stopping. I like to take several measurements like after a short trip around the block or even just running the shifter through reverse and drive a few times. The stock springs are somewhat undersprung and shock stiction can give you a false reading. You definitely need to come down on the front to under 23 1/2" though. As you are learning, you don't need to spend your money on the "lift kit". Just get a set of shackles from Samco or off a YJ and crank the bolt on the torsion bar and you'll be G2G.

Yep, you have a "torsion bar reindexing kit" on the front. Rear is stock.

Try to lower the front to about 23 3/4" at least and you will notice a HUGE difference in the ride quality and wear on the front end components.

Thanks for all the great info everyone.


I think I will drop it a hair in the front. She's a rough ride as of now.

Be sure to get an alignment done after you decide on a final ride height. :cool: