Had a blast offroading this weekend with my cousin and his wrangler. Unfortunately the hummer didn't come out unscathed. I hit a few deep muddy ruts with a little to much speed and when I got on the road noticed the front left tire camber visibly out. I took it to the mechanic and was hoping it just needed an alinement but they told me it needs two new control arms with ball joints for a total of $699.00.....

I'm buying a quad to tow behind my hummer and offload whenever I go offroading with my buddies. It just doesn't feel right abusing something so damn expensive.

 

Didn't survive offroading*. Damn auto spell check.

 

I also have noticed the rear end gap from the tire to the fender is 3/4" less the the fronts. What does that mean?

 

darn, i thot these things could be dropped off buildings and survive a bomb blast. im not driving down the railroad tracks anymore thats 4 sure.

just high speed deep muddy ruts huh,ill watch that too...
guess ill go look at heeps too.
darn spelchek

 

You need to measure from the fender lip to hub center, then maybe somebody can tell you. Have you adjusted the T Bars up front to level your 3???

I have some ideas, but I'll save speculation until you reply with more info.



I see that you recognize this (hit the ruts too fast), wheeling is not about just adding more skinny pedal, it is about driving technique. You have to know the limits of what your truck can do, and how best to get it done. H3s are not Jeeps, they can do most everything a Jeep can, and some things a Jeep can't, but they do it differently. Following Jeepers is not necessarily a good way to learn the differences. Wheel with some other H3s, then go follow the Jeepers, or better yet, have the Jeepers follow you.

 

LOL, having the Jeeps follow the H3 sounds like a boring day for the Jeeps.

 

looks like you had fun though

 

Actually, I have had many follow us, and every one of them have commented on how the 3 impressed them, and how it went through lines they would not try. One guy watch several of us tackle a large and loose steep hill, wouldn't even attempt it.

 

Trust me when I say you guys are giving Jeeps far too much credit.

I can tell you straight up Jeeps have many downfalls as well. I had an '05 Jeep Rubicon for about 4 years that I just sold last fall.

Throw a set of 35" tires on a lifted Jeep and the stock axles and gears quickly become the weak link, on or offroad. The stock axleshafts and knuckles are prone to breakage with any aggressive gas pedal.

The stock TJ brakes are completely inadequate with 35's. A Jeep owner can only dream of having a brake system as high-tech and functional as the H3.

A stock Jeep TJ can only fit 31" tires without rubbing. To fit 33"s you need at least 3" of lift. Adding a decent lift to a TJ without getting driveline vibrations is a major undertaking in both time and money. For any lift higher than 2" you need a combinations of a motor mount lift, either a transfer case drop (which reduces the clearance you are attempting to get with the lift) or a TC slip yoke eliminator, new driveshaft, adjustable control arms to correct the driveshaft angle... the list goes on and on.

I had what is considered the top end offroad Jeep and I still needed to invest a ton into suspension upgrades just to run 33's and managed to explode the factory rear LSD/locker which resulted in a total rebuild. The transmission took a dump and needed a complete rebuild at 40k miles. The oil pan developed a leak at 12k miles. Both front axle seals leaked at 30k miles. The water pump and timing cover seal were replaced under warranty at 35k miles. The front driveshaft failed at less than 30k miles.
And I babied that rig with only very mild occasional offroading.

Bottom line, the grass isn't always greener.

 

Thanks Xlr8n. I wasn't trying to give the Jeepers too much credit.

Just pointing out that 3s are a different animal and as nice as possible tell a new guy to learn how to wheel the 3 before just goes doing what his Jeep buddies are doing and deciding he should leave it parked for fear of abuse.