K3b on remote X server?

I am in a situation where I run SuSE 9.1 pro on a different floor then I work on. I have had good results using ssh X -l theuser themachine and then just running the app, such as kmail from the command line. This does not work with Kb3. I can not get a project window up! Anyone have any clue to why this is going on??? All comments welcome. john