Hummer H3 rear springs....

[steph74]

In traffic this morning, I was sitting behind a hummer H3....
Looking at the rear suspension, I was wondering if the springs would give an interesting bastard pack lift ?

You know if anybody has done that ?

[Mudderoy]

In traffic this morning, I was sitting behind a hummer H3....
Looking at the rear suspension, I was wondering if the springs would give an interesting bastard pack lift ?

You know if anybody has done that ?

That's an interesting question. I wonder if the problem would be that they just haven't been out that long so there aren't a lot of H3 coil springs available in the junk yard.

[steph74]

yes but that thing is SUA so my guess is that should be a huge lift. Plus me thinking the Hummers have relatively soft suspensions (maybe I am wrong though)

I'll look onto that just for curiosity lol

[bluedragon436]

Nothing wrong with looking into it... It sounds like it might be a nice project if it will work..

[LizardRunner]

about all I know about the hummers is that the military rims are good bead lock rims, both inner and outer beads are locked by them so you don't ever have any bead breaking problems. There's a guy that remanufactures them with new centers so you can get them set up for any axle. If the springs will fit, they should work quite well but I would think on an XJ that they would stiffen the suspension.

[4.3LXJ]

My guess is that it would be stiffened due to the higher spring rate in the heavier H3. But I don't have any figures to back that up though.

[Mudderoy]

My guess is that it would be stiffened due to the higher spring rate in the heavier H3. But I don't have any figures to back that up though.

Jeep Cherokee weight: 2955 lbs
Hummer H3 weight: 4,700–4,900 lbs

[bigjim350]

I'm sure they would work fine. However the S10 and Dakota leafs work great to build bastard packs. Even if you did find a H3 in the JY the leafs would still cost more than the others cause they are for a Hummer.

[steph74]

My guess is that it would be stiffened due to the higher spring rate in the heavier H3. But I don't have any figures to back that up though.

it does make sense... now like Tony was saying, it will probably be a challenge to find one at a JY ;)

Right now I have a bastard pack with the springs from a Blazer 4x4 HD springs and yes it is stiff...
In the spring off it goes and I will follow 4.3LXJ's isuzu rodeo idea for the bastard pack.... just to see ;) if I can find one in good shape....

This is one part I like about the XJ's.... you can mess up with them for not too much money.... well not too much money in theory because when you add up all the messing up..... oh well !!!!

[4.3LXJ]

The thing about making bastard packs is that you don't have to use all the spring you get. You can use as little as one leaf as an add a leaf. The things to look for in good donor springs is width and free arch. The XJ has about 4" of free arch measured from a straight line between the eyes and the place where the center pin is. An easy way to do it is to place the spring upside down and measure from the ground. The S10 spring has about 8" free arch and the Isuzu spring has about 10". I don't know what those figures for the H3 is.

[Mudderoy]

Have you seen the post by Dalton4x4? He had a hole list of things you can use.

[steph74]

yes I have seen it.....
I have bookmarked all the "Cheap mods from JY parts" threads on all the forums I have seen ;)
But I am a slow learner lol.... so from theory to practice it takes a lot of hesitation....

My list of things I want to try and experiment is probably as long as his lol

[steph74]

The thing about making bastard packs is that you don't have to use all the spring you get. You can use as little as one leaf as an add a leaf. The things to look for in good donor springs is width and free arch. The XJ has about 4" of free arch measured from a straight line between the eyes and the place where the center pin is. An easy way to do it is to place the spring upside down and measure from the ground. The S10 spring has about 8" free arch and the Isuzu spring has about 10". I don't know what those figures for the H3 is.

OK, thanks
but now if I read correctly your "tutorial" the isuzu springs for example are much softer than the S10.... So does that mean that the 2" difference in Arch measeurment are not going to translate necessary in total lift ?
Is that a good reasoning ?

[4.3LXJ]

OK, thanks
but now if I read correctly your "tutorial" the isuzu springs for example are much softer than the S10.... So does that mean that the 2" difference in Arch measeurment are not going to translate necessary in total lift ?
Is that a good reasoning ?

It does mean more lift. The classic S10 spring is a two stage spring, that is it has a flat bottom leaf. These springs settle more when weight is applied. The spring pack I made is a single stage spring and will sit higher. One suggestion, take that flat leaf that comes with it and turn it upside down on the bottom. I didn't quite get the middle supported enough and flexed them too far when stuffing so I got some settling. The upside down flat leaf should prevent that and is what I will do probably sometime this week.

[steph74]

OK cool....
it is not planned for now so I just gather infos ;) but I know who I'll talk to when I decide to go for it lol
your last post went straight into the "bloc note" thanks


Was just reading a cool Hummer H3 axle swap for a XJ... hehe that looked cool

[toebee97]

Considering that the H3 is based on a Chevy Colorado(which is the successor to the S-10) chassis and suspension, it could probably work. But like everyone else said, the two problems would be either the spring rate being too stiff, or the cost would be too high since it's a newer vehicle. Better off just using S-10 springs, especially if you're gonna mess with your spring rate anyway. :)