2" Firewall Grommet For More Wiring
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:20 pm
Sorry for any misspellings and grammar error's, not my strong area by a long shot. Any mod's feel free to fix something if you feel it's necessary, I don't mind.
This is done on a American H3 with a auto trans. It cannot be done on a H3 with a manual or the South African H3's. You should be able to do it on the H3T and I'm sure There's a way to do it on the H2, SUT and H1's if needed.
I have the problem of having too many wires. I got 4~1/0ga. and 3~4ga that are getting changed to 2ga as soon as I save up some coin. I had a 1/0ga. and a 4ga. running through that big grommet on the fire wall by the hood latch cable and master cylinder. I got 2 amps, rear winch, rear battery, rear power inverter and a compressor in the back cargo area. I didn't want to run my wires through the frame or under the H3 in fear of them getting ripped off or damaged from weather.
Here's my new firewall hole. It's a toilet drain for a RV toilet, the part that connects the toilet to the floor. And the the plug is a pipe cap for home plumbing for when you have to cut off a pipe that will not be used and need it capped. It's all rubber and the cap comes with a galvanized clamp on it. I think both cost 5$ or 6$ each. The cap came for ACE and the toilet thing came from General RV. It fits perfect.
I made the hole with a hole saw. I was worried about drilling through and hitting the ABS/master cylinder harness so I put a piece of wood between it and the firewall so when I went through I would see wood shavings and know to stop. But after more examination I found rite when to drill. If you have a automatic you can drill rite in the center of the plate where the clutch should be. Theres a circle of pinch welds at about every hour on a analog clock. Theres 2 pieces of metal here so be ready for that. As long as you stay centered in the spot welds you won't hit anything on the other side.
You should be able to poke a few holes in the grommet thats there but if you need more for the future you may want to try this.
NOTE: This will not work on the South American built H3's.
Heres some photos.
Tools needed: Ingersole-Rand's finest 2.25" hole saw.

The poop hole pass through and the pipe closure:

You can see one side is longer than the other, I kept the long side in the engine bay.

After you take the plastic off take the knee plate off. It will make the job much easier because most metal hole saws want you to run them at 300 or 200 RPM so it takes a long time to cut through.
Before

After

Silver sharpie to find the center.

My hi-tech way to find center, The hole on the engine bay side was for my spotter to see if I was centered when I went through. I was off just a hair so I went with it. You can't really tell when I was finished. I was more worried about hitting the ABS/master cylinder box. Call your dealership and see how much that thing cost and you will know why I was paranoid about it.


Inside before

Outside before

This is done on a American H3 with a auto trans. It cannot be done on a H3 with a manual or the South African H3's. You should be able to do it on the H3T and I'm sure There's a way to do it on the H2, SUT and H1's if needed.
I have the problem of having too many wires. I got 4~1/0ga. and 3~4ga that are getting changed to 2ga as soon as I save up some coin. I had a 1/0ga. and a 4ga. running through that big grommet on the fire wall by the hood latch cable and master cylinder. I got 2 amps, rear winch, rear battery, rear power inverter and a compressor in the back cargo area. I didn't want to run my wires through the frame or under the H3 in fear of them getting ripped off or damaged from weather.
Here's my new firewall hole. It's a toilet drain for a RV toilet, the part that connects the toilet to the floor. And the the plug is a pipe cap for home plumbing for when you have to cut off a pipe that will not be used and need it capped. It's all rubber and the cap comes with a galvanized clamp on it. I think both cost 5$ or 6$ each. The cap came for ACE and the toilet thing came from General RV. It fits perfect.
I made the hole with a hole saw. I was worried about drilling through and hitting the ABS/master cylinder harness so I put a piece of wood between it and the firewall so when I went through I would see wood shavings and know to stop. But after more examination I found rite when to drill. If you have a automatic you can drill rite in the center of the plate where the clutch should be. Theres a circle of pinch welds at about every hour on a analog clock. Theres 2 pieces of metal here so be ready for that. As long as you stay centered in the spot welds you won't hit anything on the other side.
You should be able to poke a few holes in the grommet thats there but if you need more for the future you may want to try this.
NOTE: This will not work on the South American built H3's.
Heres some photos.
Tools needed: Ingersole-Rand's finest 2.25" hole saw.

The poop hole pass through and the pipe closure:

You can see one side is longer than the other, I kept the long side in the engine bay.

After you take the plastic off take the knee plate off. It will make the job much easier because most metal hole saws want you to run them at 300 or 200 RPM so it takes a long time to cut through.
Before

After

Silver sharpie to find the center.

My hi-tech way to find center, The hole on the engine bay side was for my spotter to see if I was centered when I went through. I was off just a hair so I went with it. You can't really tell when I was finished. I was more worried about hitting the ABS/master cylinder box. Call your dealership and see how much that thing cost and you will know why I was paranoid about it.


Inside before

Outside before







