What's new
By:
Filters

Hummer H3 Build

Sooo I have a smittybilt....and toying with a warn or super winch...but the apex price is appealing.
 
pennsylvaniaboy said:
Sooo I have a smittybilt....and toying with a warn or super winch...but the apex price is appealing.
Click to expand...
Technically my warn still works, I just cracked the housing....so I can’t talk shit on it.

I’ll keep you posted on the apex as time passes
 
06h3 said:
AE113751-63C8-4B58-81E0-CF0B519571C4.jpeg
Technically my warn still works, I just cracked the housing....so I can’t talk shit on it.

I’ll keep you posted on the apex as time passes
Click to expand...

Might just be the pic but is the winch plate bent on the right side? Might be why the old one cracked
 
It was, that’s probably why. I went back and straightened it out. I really need to add a spine to it
 
j20brett said:
How do you like the speed of the apex compared to warn/smittybilt?
Click to expand...
So far I like it. My warn pulled quickly under load for the first couple years. It definitely slowed down as I continued to use it and abuse it.

I’d say the apex is quicker then my tired warn but slower then when it was new.

I noticed HF advertises it is quicker then my exact warn (VR12) in unloaded line speed. 😂 something tells me the VR12 is quicker loaded when both new, and in good condition.

But as a whole the line speed is good. I’d put it between my smittybilt and my warn. Smittybilt being the slowest (mine was a gen 1)
 
Has anyone used Rare parts builder parts for their steering?

Products - Suspension-Steering-Brakes - Steering Components - FAB Series Components - Page 1 - FCRC Machine

fcrcmachine.com fcrcmachine.com

I am tired of bending my 1.5in .25wall tie rods. I usually get a year or two out of them before they are wasted. I put a slight bend in them pretty quick and then once they are start bending it just gets worse each trip until they are so bent its time to replace em again.

I tried the 1.5in aluminum tie rod with offset heims and surprisingly I got death wobble. I ended up switching back to steel and it went away. I believe the offset ends were putting just enough load on them for it to deflect.

I couldnt go with bigger steel because I ran into diff cover to tie rod clearance issues.

An offset heim is 1in offset. These rare parts ends have an option with a 2in offset. That would give me an extra inch of offset and if I go with a 2in aluminum tie rod I would still net .75in of more clearance then before.

I guess my questions are the "2.5 ton tie rod ends" durable or is 2.5 ton some marketing gimmick? I stepped away from standard 1 ton tie rod ends because of longevity.

Appreciate any input
 
What are they hooked to? At a certain point something else will give. I can’t remember who it was but years ago someone made thick heavy tie rods. People were shearing off steering arms and breaking knuckles. I the heaviest option was 1.5”x.5”.

Go to 1.5x.375. Slight bore and tap to 7/8. I know someone that will probably do it.

I haven’t wheeled hard in years but after I got my tie rod up high I haven’t bent one. The one on it now was bent before and hasn’t changed since being moved up. It’s lasted through two sector shafts and then hydro assist. 1.25x.288.

I bet your shakes are the aluminum flexing. I like aluminum because it will flex quite a bit before bending. I could see hefty unbalanced tires causing some flex across a tie rod length.
 
Lincoln its hooked to Chevy D60 kingpin outers. I have the tie rod as high as I can without sacrificing up travel.

I was thinking the 2in offset will buy me some room vs the 1in offset and then if I use 1.75 or 2in aluminum it shouldn’t flex the tie rod during road use but offer give when hitting rocks.
 
I would think 1.75 would be enough without being too much but I haven’t tried it to know. 2” seems like too much and would stress the studs on the arms.
 
1.75x375 (or similar) heat treated chromo and be done. Fuck aluminum shit, I'd rather bend 5 mild steel tie rods than break 1 aluminum one and not be able to do a field repair.
 
A buddy made my tierod out of this stuff called Stressproof cold rolled bar. Its solid 1.5" and machineable, but not weldable. I was bending 1.5"x0.25" wall tierods every trip, and got tired of it. I cant seem to bend this new one, at all. Its still perfectly straight after a year and a half of abuse. You'll have to machine in a lip to mount a tierod clamp for hydro assist, but thats about it.

Speedy Metals Information for Stressproof® Cold Roll Bars

Speedy Metals Material Library, get Information, Analysis, Mechanical Properties, Applications, Machineability and Weldability, Heat Treating, Tolerances, Speedy Metals items. Goto www.speedymetals.com to purchase.
www.speedymetals.com
 
Thanks for all the info and input guys.

I agree with you on aluminum just sucking for field repairs. I have seen broken aluminum lower links before and refused to do aluminum lower links on my rig, it’s a heavy pig and I know I’d end up stranded one day. I haven’t seen aluminum tie rod failures and thought I may go that route.

Another thought I had was just get the same old 1.5in .25wall tie rod I always build but slug it with 1in Solid 6061 or 7075 aluminum.

I wonder what would work best between what you guys mentioned and the solution above
 
06h3 said:
Thanks for all the info and input guys.

I agree with you on aluminum just sucking for field repairs. I have seen broken aluminum lower links before and refused to do aluminum lower links on my rig, it’s a heavy pig and I know I’d end up stranded one day. I haven’t seen aluminum tie rod failures and thought I may go that route.

Another thought I had was just get the same old 1.5in .25wall tie rod I always build but slug it with 1in Solid 6061 or 7075 aluminum.

I wonder what would work best between what you guys mentioned and the solution above
Click to expand...

Heat treated chromo, hands down. You could probably just do 1.5x250.

I don't see 1" aluminum doing anything. I also don't think slugging heavy wall Dom with aluminum is really a great idea. I think that idea started with thinner tubing to ruduce denting on rock sliders and sub frames. In heavy wall stuff, denting isn't the issue. The aluminum is more flexible so when the dom bends, it's bent and the aluminum is just flexed.

Last time I saw an aluminum link break on the trail, it was on a fairly fresh build. Another guy who races a Toyota buggy in 4800 happens to mention his 2x250 ht chromo links have been in the rig for years.
 
j20brett said:
A buddy made my tierod out of this stuff called Stressproof cold rolled bar. Its solid 1.5" and machineable, but not weldable. I was bending 1.5"x0.25" wall tierods every trip, and got tired of it. I cant seem to bend this new one, at all. Its still perfectly straight after a year and a half of abuse. You'll have to machine in a lip to mount a tierod clamp for hydro assist, but thats about it.

Speedy Metals Information for Stressproof® Cold Roll Bars

Speedy Metals Material Library, get Information, Analysis, Mechanical Properties, Applications, Machineability and Weldability, Heat Treating, Tolerances, Speedy Metals items. Goto www.speedymetals.com to purchase.
www.speedymetals.com
Click to expand...
Hmm 🤔

Will keep this for future reference. :smokin:


Thanks for sharing the link.:beer:
 
Lincoln said:
It is when the arm tears off the knuckle. I would rather bend the tie rod than cause a more difficult fix.
Click to expand...
I think the point is, deflection is preferred over distortion. Find the right material that will give when it takes a hit, but then deflect back into shape. The stuff i posted above does that.
 
j20brett said:
I think the point is, deflection is preferred over distortion. Find the right material that will give when it takes a hit, but then deflect back into shape. The stuff i posted above does that.
Click to expand...
So when it’s mentioned that it’s “not weldable” is it truly not weldable? Like trying to fix an aluminum link in the field or it is weldable but you ruin the heat treat/properties that make it deflect and maintain its shape? If it’s the ladder then I’d consider it repairable in the field since it’s going in the garbage after that run anyways
 
If you read the info from speedy metals, is essentially not advised to weld at all. But, again, my buddy has been running one for years on his buggy with zero issues. Its not brittle like 7075 al.
 
j20brett said:
I think the point is, deflection is preferred over distortion. Find the right material that will give when it takes a hit, but then deflect back into shape. The stuff i posted above does that.
Click to expand...
I agree. That stuff sounds interesting.
 
I was also on-board with the aluminum tie rod path and planned to do just that this very weekend until.... I had to weld to my tie rod to get myself off the trail. Sure, I probably could have janky put something together with a u-bolt clamp if I had an aluminum tie rod, but it was a LOT stronger and faster of a trail fix to just weld the broken parts back together.

Field fix (angle welded to the tie rod with a hole through the taper part)
rsb2CgQxTnxbBIk_fwk9VODQQ=w1219-h914-no?authuser=0.jpg


Camp fix (threads mangled in tie rod when TRE broke):
KUvxv0hQJwBSYY43jGpQsvY7Q=w1219-h914-no?authuser=0.jpg


When I got back to camp, I was able to cut it all off and weld it even more nicely to continue wheeling during day two and drive home without worry of killing a bus full of nuns. :flipoff2:


Before this trip, I was sure I was going to buy an aluminum Tie Rod like you. Now I'm pretty confident I'll be going the path of j20brett and using that Speedymetals Stressproof alloy and machining it. Anyone got 7/8-18 LH/RH taps I could rent from them? :grinpimp: I also really like the recessed Hydro Ram clamp to keep it from sliding. Even if weldability is poor - I bet it's better than clamps on an aluminum tie rod, especially if you can spread the weld out a lot.
 
Last edited:
I was gonna ask the same thing. Lol who has a tap? I need 7/8-14 though
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh