What have you done to your HMMWV today/lately

[Coug]

Last week took mine into Les Schwab for an alignment.
I started getting nervous when they broke out the oxy acetylene torch.
Then the 6 foot cheater bar.
They told me they couldn't get it loose, and didn't charge me for the work.

Today I crawled under it.
5 minutes with a torch and penetrating oil, and it was loose.


I've had the steel to make some rock sliders in the back of a pickup for a few weeks now. Starting to get some rust on it.

Cut some notches for the front bend in the 3/8" x 4" angle iron. Then it got dark.

Tomorrow will get it heated up and bent. Then figure out exactly how long I need it.

Slightly more difficult to figure out the angles because I've kind of beat the crap out of the panels there, but hopefully it ends up looking okay.

Have some flat head bolts to install it with, and a countersink bit. I'm just hoping it drills okay, since I don't have a mag drill to use, and the drill press isn't accessible to this large of a piece of steel (it's in the upstairs wood shop)

Screws are 140k psi rated, so somewhere around grade 7 on that scale (grade 5 is 120k, and grade 8 is 150k psi tensile strength)

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

I know a lot of the jack rails you can buy online come with carriage bolts, but I just don't really like how they look, or the fact that they stick out.

I'll probably start a thread later on about making the rock sliders.jack rails, but not tonight as I kind of just started.

 

[diesel_dave]

Last week took mine into Les Schwab for an alignment.
I started getting nervous when they broke out the oxy acetylene torch.
Then the 6 foot cheater bar.
They told me they couldn't get it loose, and didn't charge me for the work.

Today I crawled under it.
5 minutes with a torch and penetrating oil, and it was loose.


I've had the steel to make some rock sliders in the back of a pickup for a few weeks now. Starting to get some rust on it.

Cut some notches for the front bend in the 3/8" x 4" angle iron. Then it got dark.

Tomorrow will get it heated up and bent. Then figure out exactly how long I need it.

Slightly more difficult to figure out the angles because I've kind of beat the crap out of the panels there, but hopefully it ends up looking okay.

Have some flat head bolts to install it with, and a countersink bit. I'm just hoping it drills okay, since I don't have a mag drill to use, and the drill press isn't accessible to this large of a piece of steel (it's in the upstairs wood shop)

Screws are 140k psi rated, so somewhere around grade 7 on that scale (grade 5 is 120k, and grade 8 is 150k psi tensile strength)

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

I know a lot of the jack rails you can buy online come with carriage bolts, but I just don't really like how they look, or the fact that they stick out.

I'll probably start a thread later on about making the rock sliders.jack rails, but not tonight as I kind of just started.

I have an appointment with Les Schwab this Saturday for an alignment. Were they willing to do a full alignment including adjusting the shims for camber? I set up the appointment online and figured I'd call them in the morning to see if they will even work on this thing before I waste my time.

 

[Coug]

I have an appointment with Les Schwab this Saturday for an alignment. Were they willing to do a full alignment including adjusting the shims for camber? I set up the appointment online and figured I'd call them in the morning to see if they will even work on this thing before I waste my time.

mine had no problem with doing the toe, but doing anything more it was going to be charged by the hour since this is obviously NOT a standard vehicle.

Most likely you will need to do the shims yourself. They should at least be able to give you a printout with how far out of spec camber/caster are, but unless it's really bad then there isn't much need, especially for the rear.

I told them for my M1123 to just use specs for a 96 H1

 

[SmartDrug]

mine had no problem with doing the toe, but doing anything more it was going to be charged by the hour since this is obviously NOT a standard vehicle.

Most likely you will need to do the shims yourself. They should at least be able to give you a printout with how far out of spec camber/caster are, but unless it's really bad then there isn't much need, especially for the rear.

I told them for my M1123 to just use specs for a 96 H1

Does anyone have a walkthrough for doing the shims? I need to do mine, looks like getting to the nuts behind the control arm is going to suck.

 

[diesel_dave]

Does anyone have a walkthrough for doing the shims? I need to do mine, looks like getting to the nuts behind the control arm is going to suck.

There are guides if you google it but yes, its as straightforward as it seems. Take the upper control arms off and remove the appropriate number of shims to get the camber where you want it. I am happy to do most things myself but this is one of those things that I would rather pay for a few hours of labor for someone else to bust their knuckles up plus it would be way easier with a lift, all the proper tools, and a few other guys to help out. If I can't find anyone that will do it, I'm sure I will end up doing it myself. My truck isn't THAT bad like some others I have seen but you can definitely see the positive camber if you look for it.

 

[Action]

Does anyone have a walkthrough for doing the shims? I need to do mine, looks like getting to the nuts behind the control arm is going to suck.

Just get a printout at the first visit. The TM has a chart showing how many degrees each shim will change caster and camber. You can do the math yourself, and you should only have to do each corner once.
Then take back for a second printout and toe adjustment.

 

[Coug]

some shims are slotted, sometimes they aren't.
The slotted ones should, in theory, be able to remove by just loosening all the bolts, but not actually removing them.
As Action said though, look in the TM for the amount you need to remove (and the procedure should be in the TM for the entire job anyway)

 

[diesel_dave]

Took the truck to Les Schwab and the second the technician saw the truck he said "no". He elaborated that "his system" doesn't have the specs for that truck in it and he cannot manually enter specs so it is impossible for him to do it. Wouldn't even budge on it. So I took the truck 100 feet down to 4 Wheel Parts and they said they would do it absolutely, no problem whatsoever. Appointment is 4 weeks out and I am already prepared to be disappointed when that day comes and they actually start to do the work. If they actually align the toe and camber for $125 like they assured me, that would be an absolute bargain.

 

[Action]

Took the truck to Les Schwab and the second the technician saw the truck he said "no". He elaborated that "his system" doesn't have the specs for that truck in it and he cannot manually enter specs so it is impossible for him to do it. Wouldn't even budge on it. So I took the truck 100 feet down to 4 Wheel Parts and they said they would do it absolutely, no problem whatsoever. Appointment is 4 weeks out and I am already prepared to be disappointed when that day comes and they actually start to do the work. If they actually align the toe and camber for $125 like they assured me, that would be an absolute bargain.

I seriously doubt they will touch camber or caster fir $125.
I had a Bob Someral in KY say they would do it all for the set price. I even told them it has shins. After they started, i was told there would be an additional hourly charge. I said no. They got pissy, took the printout back, and gave me a full refund.

 

[diesel_dave]

I seriously doubt they will touch camber or caster fir $125.
I had a Bob Someral in KY say they would do it all for the set price. I even told them it has shins. After they started, i was told there would be an additional hourly charge. I said no. They got pissy, took the printout back, and gave me a full refund.

Oh I'm 100% prepared for that eventuality. Just like you I said "are you sure? It's weird and uses shims" and the dude said yep, no issues. Sometimes I feel like people aren't really listening to what you are saying.

 

[Gamble]

Finally found someone willing to do the paint work. It came out great! Now to add tire carrier and new dash and the baby is complete.

 

[Mogman]

My plan is to ask them to just spec out the alignment, then I would do whatever was needed as far as caster and camber is concerned and then return and have them set the toe.
Actually my Detroit (M99 has shown to have GREAT tire wear, so I will likely take it first and maybe just try to copy the actual specs of that truck.

 

[Maxjeep1]

View attachment 866120Finally found someone willing to do the paint work. It came out great! Now to add tire carrier and new dash and the baby is complete.

Really nice looking truck. I wanted to do mine like that but I wanted gloss black. To do it right is really expensive.

 

[TOBASH]

Guys, I own an alignment tool. It gets you close enough for the computerized alignment laser machine to finish the job.

If you can get the truck close to specs AND loosen all the tie rods and pull as many shims as needed to get her close, then the centers can do their job. If you bring them a rusty frozen rig way out of alignment they will send you on your way. Penetrating oil sprayed over 48 hours prior to working on the rig is strongly suggested. A 5 lb. persuader used properly will percuss the rust and dirt and assist with loosening.

The worker that said “your truck isn’t in my alignment system” is a bold faced liar. I would report him. You can use the Civilian H1 specs from 1994-5. That’s what I did and she drives straight and true at 65MPH. Really enjoyable drive due to the alignment.

IMHO

 

[diesel_dave]

Guys, I own an alignment tool. It gets you close enough for the computerized alignment laser machine to finish the job.

If you can get the truck close to specs AND loosen all the tie rods and pull as many shims as needed to get her close, then the centers can do their job. If you bring them a rusty frozen rig way out of alignment they will send you on your way. Penetrating oil sprayed over 48 hours prior to working on the rig is strongly suggested. A 5 lb. persuader used properly will percuss the rust and dirt and assist with loosening.

The worker that said “your truck isn’t in my alignment system” is a bold faced liar. I would report him. You can use the Civilian H1 specs from 1994-5. That’s what I did and she drives straight and true at 65MPH. Really enjoyable drive due to the alignment.

IMHO

I told him to look exactly that up, a 95 Hummer H1. He came back 2 minutes later and said nope it's not in there. His system only shows Hummer H2 and H3 as options. At that point I didn't want him to touch my truck anyways so it was probably for the best.

 

[Gcelevator]

Installed a new to me tailgate and painted. Still waiting for the hardware, brackets and chains to install

 

[Gcelevator]

Also finished installing the new seats.

 

[Gamble]

Also finished installing the new seats.

How difficult was this? Will trackhawk seats fit into the HMMWV? What type of seat base did you use?

 

[Action]

I told him to look exactly that up, a 95 Hummer H1. He came back 2 minutes later and said nope it's not in there. His system only shows Hummer H2 and H3 as options. At that point I didn't want him to touch my truck anyways so it was probably for the best.

They need to look up “AM General”.

 

[Gcelevator]

How difficult was this? Will trackhawk seats fit into the HMMWV? What type of seat base did you use?

It was not that difficult, only the front passenger seat is a little hard to fit, and fits tilted to the outside as the tunnel is offset and the sapce in the passenger front is narrower than the driver side. The base came with the seats. On the driver side, i kept the original base plus the base that came with the seats. Originally i wanted to install mitsubishi eclipse front seats with custom finishes but they were too bulky and would not fit on the passenger side. I don't know what a trackhawk seat is, sorry.