CgAlpha's Solid Axle Swap - Step by step....

The following is a step-by-step how to for guys wanting to do an SAS/SOA to their H3's or H3T's. Lets get right to it...

STEP 1

PREPARATIONS:
The very first thing you need to do is get your rig sitting on a nice level floor slab. Good lighting, good jackstands, and some pre-measuring will make your job easier. Plan on leaving your rig in one spot for 4 to 10 weeks. I am skipping the axle build since its sort of a separate project. So you will see a pre-built Dana 44 ready to get installed (more on that later). Here's CG's rig in my small shop...

I start by using a plumb bob and locate the centerline of each wheel, and transpose this up to some painters tape on each fender. This will give me a record of where the stock wheelbase was, (important since I will be cutting off all reference points).

Next I record the "bottom-of-fender-lip to floor" dimension at each corner. I know we typically refer to "bottom-of-fender-lip to hub" but, I like using the floor. The floor doesn't move and its more accurate than eyeballing the center of the hubs. Also...since I'm not really comparing the height to any other vehicle, it doesn't matter. The key thing I want to know is where THIS truck was sitting before I start chopping. After I get this stuff recorded, I can jack the truck up and prep it for surgery...

I cannot stress enough how important good jackstands are. Get some big ones. I prefer to use (4) concrete blocks as base platforms. This gives the height I need without having the jackstand raised to its limit. I believe they are stronger in shorter positions. Take time getting these in place. I very much recommend supporting the truck from the rock rails, as this frees up the frame for cutting & welding. This truck has Rocky Road rails, and they are a bit scary...not near as sturdy as the GM rails. They should work but, I will be keeping an eye on them...

The rear jackstands must be placed forward of the rear spring hangers, and the front ones must be placed aft of the front fenders. This means you will have quite a bit of weight overhanging each end of the truck and it makes it slightly unstable...so be very careful. They must be placed this way so you can gain access to the frame for cutting & welding. I also put smaller jackstands under all four hubs just for piece of mind. Obviously, these smaller stands will be removed with the axles. Of course as with ANY front end work on an H3...TIE OFF THE STEERING WHEEL!!!!!...

And because we will be plasma cutting and welding...DISCONNECT THE BATTERY!!!

One comment about the aftermarket positive terminal you see here. It doesn't do much good to only replace the positive one. Nine times out of ten...the negative terminal is the culprit. So if you're going to the trouble of replacing the stock cable ends...do them both.

Now your H3 is moth-balled and ready for disassembly. See Step 2.

Step 2...

STEP 2:

FRONT END DISASSMBLY:

Start by removing the wheels. You will need to keep the rotors, calipers, and brake lines. Everything else goes. There are a lot of other threads that deal with removing stuff, so I'll just hit a few highlights. There is nothing complicated about this. I soak everything with PB Blaster the night before...makes bolts come off easier. This truck is very low-mileage and super clean, so I did not have to deal with rust. As evidence of the 30,000 mile odometer, it still has the factory clips holding the rotors in place...

You'll need to unbolt the entire front suspension...

• torsion keys
• torsion bars
• shocks
• diff skid
• front crossmember
• half-shafts
• differential (don't forget to pull the vent hose and un-plug the locker)
• upper & lower A-arms, knuckles, and hubs...can be removed as a unit.
• front sway bar & ends
• steering rack
• front driveshaft

All this stuff must be removed. Contact cgalpha08 if you want to purchase any of these parts. I can vouch...they are CHERRY. This truck has never been wheeled.



Once you get the truck to this point...you are ready to start chopping. Take a few minutes to disconnect the rubber front brake lines from the rigid lines at the frame. These are held in place with a small metal clip. Save all that stuff. The rotors, lug-nuts, calipers, rubber brake lines can be set aside for use on the new solid axle. Disconnect all the hoses & wires that are clipped onto the frame. There are numerous clips and they all must be removed to clear the way for the plasma torch.

See Step 3.

STEP 3:

START CUTTING!:

Before cutting, I will take a few minutes to run down the list of tools you will need. A plasma cutter is awesome for this job but, if you don't have one...use a Oxy/Act torch or (gulp) an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel. Trust me...the plasma torch does this job in mere minutes. You will need an air compressor and a 220v source to use a plasma cutter. It works by blowing a concentrated jet of air past an electrical arc. When you pull the trigger...the arc strikes and the jet of air start at the same time, and off you go! It slices 1/4" steel like buttah...

Be prepared for lots of sparks, and I usually have singed hair and pin-hole burns in my shirt when crawling around under the truck. A BFH and a pair of pliers come in handy as well.

Here's what you will start with. This is what it will look like after you un-bolt everything...

Start by cutting the shock towers and bumpstops off the frame. Then you can chop off the crossmember mounts. With the plasma torch...its pretty easy to simply trace the factory welds. Be careful about what's behind your cuts...I use a piece of 1/4" plate to slide in behind my cuts so I don't cook any hoses or wires...


Next...remove the steering rack crossmember. This truck has the PS cooler, so it needed to be un-bolted first. This last shot shows the frame rail with everything removed. I try to cut and leave small stubs a bit proud of the frame rail. This allows me to grind them down, and make everything pretty. If you try to cut them too close...the plasma will blow a hole in the frame rail, so I always leave some slight stubs...


Now you are ready to spend a few hours grinding. See Step 4.

Thank you ! Where is part4 ?

Отправлено с моего SM-N950F через Tapatalk

Great detailed thread. Really shows what’s all involved with performing this type of swap. You got it down to a science. [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love the attention to detail. Not sure I would ever be up to this task but it sure is cool to see

Awesome love to see the work so detailed. It allows people to see what is involved

STEP 4

BLANK CANVAS:

After three hours of grinding...your frame rails will be shaved and smooth. I use a chisel & hammer to get the remainders of the factory brackets off the rails. At this point you need to prep the rails for some reinforcement plates. The plates are from THORparts, and they are laser-cut to fit the H3 frame perfectly. The stock frame rails are not suitable for supporting the nose weight of the H3, so adding a .250" thick layer of steel helps keep them from bending. Before welding the plates on...take a close look at your rails and repair any digs that the plasma torch may have made. The closeup below shows some jagged cuts from the plasma torch. These get welded up and ground smooth.


The frame plates come "flat" and must be bent to fit the contour of the frame. This can be done without heat but, using an Oxy/Acl rig will make things go easier. Additionally, there is a small loop that needs to be bent 90 degrees. This will align with the factory IFS mounting hole in the bottom of each frame rail. Go slow and test fit often...the curve is very slight...



The loop is there to help you get the plates in the right spot. I use a big socket on the super long factory IFS bolt, and snug it down to hold the plate in place. Then I can get my C-clamps in place and adjust the plate so its centered on the frame. Clamp the plate and start doing 1" long stitch welds around the perimeter. Move around as you weld so you don't overheat and distort the plate. Once you get a few welds on it...you can remove the C-clamps and finish it off. You can remove the loop with a cut-off wheel, after you get the plate tacked in place. There are also some holes in the plate for rosette welding the center of it...



After all the welding, grind down the welds and hit the whole plate with a wire wheel. Now you are ready to start figuring out your suspension, and welding on the necessary bracketry. See Step 5

I'm enjoying this series. Thanks for taking the time to document all your work.

STEP 5:

FIRST MOCK-UP:

Grab your axle and slide it under the bare frames. Don't be alarmed if you start to get a semi-chub at this point...its the first look at the solid axle in its new home. But don't get in a hurry. This is the point in the project where you must slow down and start to "think in 3D". It looks wide open right now but, all of that empty space will fill up quick with link bars, track-bar, steering box, drag-link, tie-rod, springs, shocks, bump stops, etc. There is not near as much room as you think. I'll start off with a 1.5" wheelbase stretch, and use the plumb bob to get the axle sitting where I think it will be. I also use a tape and measure from the bob to the end of the hubs...sliding the axle left/right and fore/aft to get it in its approximate position. Mind you, at this point...its just a guess, and this is where I would like to see it sitting. Hub to fender is 27.25" inches for those that are wondering...



Right away I see a problem. One of my customers called me with this same issue. This is my first Alpha SAS, and it becomes immediately obvious that the motor mounts are completely different from the L5 motor. The "hole" that is there for the link tower on the L5...is not there on the V8. Hmmm. Normally this link tower fits without issue, and you can choose from three different mounting holes. But on this build, the motor mount is basically requiring me to chop this bracket way down. I suppose I could debate this but, in the end...the motor mount wins. So rather than try to come up with a way to make it fit as-is...out she comes for a quick trim...



I know 06H3 is playing around with link bar angles, and I have done some tuning on mine as well. But, on this rig...its a no-brainer. The link tower must be chopped to get the axle in place. Period. So after ten minutes with the plasma torch and a flapper wheel, she is all cleaned up and back in place under the truck. Now I can start to cram 10 pounds into a 3 pound bag. Things I am focusing on at this point are: Steering box location. Spring bucket locations. Bump stops and available up travel. Track-bar bracket location. I basically lay on the concrete floor and stare up at the emptiness that will become the front 3-link. I try to visualize each component and how much room it needs to not collide with other imaginary components. I picture each item in full droop, and full compression...trying to catch a problem in my head before its welded in place.

The steering box on this build is a departure from previous builds, and I'm excited to see how this box (Toyota FJ-60) fits compared to my usual choice (Nissan Xterra-Gen I). It is a front steer box, with the pitman arm pointing forward, where as the Nissan is a rear-steer box. I am hoping this difference in design will free up some space to slide the axle forward, and lower the ride height slightly. More to come on this topic. Stay tuned.

STEP 6:

STEERING BOX:

Before welding up the suspension brackets, its a good idea to take a closer look at the steering. The box location must be closely coordinated with the axle placement. So I did some chopping on the left front fender to make a big hole for the new box. This needs to happen for either the Nissan or the Toyota box but, the two will sit in different locations. So I wanted to get this figured out before finalizing the axle position. The hole can be cut with cut-off wheel. The plastic inner fender must be cut, then the double-thickness steel fender behind it. Lurking behind the steel fender is a junction block for the rear brake lines, and it must go...


Here's the pieces I cut out to make way for the steering box. And another shot after the brake line junction box is removed. These two brake lines must be removed to make room for the box. They are attached to ports #1 and #4 of the master cylinder. Once you get this section of brake lines out...the remaining lines (still attached to the frame rail), will be re-bent and re-routed up near the firewall and reconnected to the master cylinder. This works really well, and there is no need for new brake lines or re-flaring. The only catch is that you must make sure to hook them back up to the same ports, so take the time to label them before you tear it apart...



I also removed the remnants of the stock PS hoses (and cooler). The end on the high pressure side is different from the 5-cylinder, and it looks like I might have to track down this weird fitting to fit the Alpha PS pump. Lastly here is a shot of the new box clamped in place. I will be shifting this around and looking closely at how it relates to the nearby coil spring bucket, bump stop, and track-bar bracket. You can see the stock Hummer steering shaft clamp and close it is sitting to the Toyota input shaft....shouldn't be to big of a deal hooking that up. On the other end...you can see the Yota pitman arm, and how it relates to the THORparts front bumper. Looks like I have room for it to swing, and my initial thoughts are to taper the hole from the top down, so the 1-ton drag-link end will sit on top of it...

That box might even allow the factory sway bar to be reused!

That box might even allow the factory sway bar to be reused!

Click to expand...

Yeah, that was my initial thought too. But, after getting all the components in place...I doubt that I can make it work.

I’ll send you some pics of an FJ80 rear sway bar I’m working with right now up front...it mounts off the axle. It’s not done yet but I think it will work

STEP 7:

SECOND MOCK-UP:

Excuse my absence. Before I could get any further I had to order a few parts. One of which was some wheel spacers. Because CG initially plans to use the stock wheels and 35"s, I must use some spacers. I settled on some from Trail Gear (Toyota) because Summit had them in stock and I was buying some other parts from them at the same time. Summit orders show up here next day or second day, so I really like dealing with them. The spacers are 2" and this will give clearance at the tie-rod attachment points (on the Dana knuckles), and also clearance between the tires and the link bars. This second area is a problem on all linked vehicles and many Jeep JK lift kits come with bent links to clear large tires. I prefer straight links as you can adjust them in place.



I have found the best way to get the bracketry welded-on correctly, is to use the axle and suspension itself as a "jig". This seems to be far more accurate than measuring and welding on individual pieces...and praying that everything lines up when you're done. So, start by sliding the axle under the truck and getting it positioned exactly where you want it...both front to rear, and side to side. Then using our old buddy "Bob" (plumb bob), you can get the coil buckets located directly above the spring pads on the axles. Tack the coil buckets to frame. On this build...I actually decided to go with a 1" stretch rather than my initial 1.5" stretch I was planning on. It just looked better with the front wheels centered in the wheel wells.

After you get the coil buckets tacked in place. Pull the axle back out and install your link bars (adjusted to the middle of their length) to the axle...and then the brackets to the link bars. Then you can slide the whole thing back in (again!) and locate its position using the plumb bob (again!). When you have it sitting exactly where you want it...swing the brackets up and tack them to the frame rails. Then once again...pull the bolts out of the brackets and slide the axle out (again!). This will free up the space you need to do your final welding on the frame.


The lower link brackets simply weld to the bottom of the frame rails. I had to notch the factory crossmember gussets slightly to get them in place. I prefer to scoot them as far inboard as possible, to maintain tire clearance when turning full-lock. The upper link on this vehicle had to be dropped down about an inch from where it normally sits. This is due to the Alpha package. The O2 sensor is right in the way, so I added a .250" thick plate to the frame and located it slightly below the sensor...hopefully so it can be accessed in the future. Nearby you can also see the two rear brake lines that have been re-routed to make room for the upper link bracket...


After you do your final welding and clean up on the 3-link brackets, you can bolt the axle in place for some more extensive checking. I have the coil buckets and shock towers in place. I find its easiest to hang the spring from the bucket prior to installing the axle. Because you previously located the bracketry from this assembly...it goes in & out without too much drama. Pay particular attention to the angle of the link bars in these photos. I get a lot of comments from people (Jeepers) saying..."you need to make these a long-arm". While that may be true for a Jeep...on this build, its simply not needed. The angles you see here are at mid droop. So at ride height, the link bars will be sitting even flatter. You can go longer (Squeaky) but, unless you plan to have 14" or more of travel, its overkill...

STEP 8:

MORE STEERING INFO:

As mentioned earlier, this build is using a Toyota FJ-60 steering box. It is very similar to the Nissan Xterra boxes I have used in the past, with a few notable differences. First off...its a front steer box. This allows you to position the drag-link out in front of the axle by a good distance. It also allows you to slide the box position slightly rearward on the frame rail from where the Nissan must be. Some other differences are that the Toyota box has lots of aftermarket support, compared to the Nissan. So you can find numerous pitman arms for the Toyota box. If you want a Nissan pitman arm, you'll have to fabricate one yourself. Lastly...another really convenient thing about the Toyota is that there are NO MASTER SPLINES ON THE SECTOR SHAFT OR THE INPUT SHAFT. What does that mean? Well...you have the option to unbolt either the input clamp or the pitman arm and re-position it in any orientation. That is huge! The Nissan had master spines which permanently clocked these pieces to one position. This makes correcting the steering wheel angle and alignment changes much easier.

Hose fittings...
Most everybody doing SAS's of any kind, converts to -6 JIC fittings for the power steering. To hook these up to the both the Toyota box and the GM PS pump, you need adapters. The box uses some weird metric inverted flare fittings, and you can find these adapters at Jegs or Summit. The hard part is finding out what thread size you need. In the case of the Toyota box, its a 16mm and a 17mm. The GM PS pump uses a goofy o-ring flare fitting (much like a refrigeration fitting), and again...you can get these from Jegs or Summit. The return line on the pump is simply a barb with a hose clamp, so I'm not showing that. Once you get the correct fittings, you can run universal -6 JIC fittings on the entire system. Oh...and don't use the Aluminum fuel fittings from Russel or Earls. You need to use real STEEL fittings for steering...

Pitman Arm...
This Toyota box came with a dropped arm (also with a curve to it). Not sure if I will use this or go with a flat arm. The cool thing is that the flat arm is readily available. Whatever steering arrangement you choose, plan on using GM 1-ton drag link ends and tie rod ends. These will require the holes to be re-tapered using the correct tapered reamer...


Input connection...
So you got the box. Got the hoses. Got the pitman. How do you hook it up? On the Nissan boxes, I use a flapper wheel on a grinder and carefully grind off the splines, then add some flats to the input. This allows me to use a bone stock Hummer H3 intermediate shaft and clamp. This is a very delicate procedure and its important to get the flats in the correct position. On the Toyota, I am choosing to go with an after market U-joint from Borgeson. It has an 11/16" x 36 spline hole on one end (with a set screw), and smooth 1" bored hole on the other. The Hummer shaft just happens to have a 1" tube so its simply a matter of cutting off the H3 U-joint and welding the Borgeson joint on to it. Again, these parts came from Summit. Since I am scooting the Toyota box back a couple inches, I would be chopping the H3 intermediate anyway. So now I can shorten it to the correct length and weld-on the new u-joint. The shaft is telescoping to account for body/frame flex, and I will wrap the new u-joint and the telescoping portion with cold wet rags during welding. This will keep from boiling the grease out of them.


Mounting to the frame...
Regardless of the box, make sure to sleeve and reinforce the frame rail where the box bolts to it. Running a box (instead of rack & pinion) puts a tremendous side-to-side load on the frame rail. Ram assist (which this truck will be getting) increases this load even more. The stock frame rails are so flemsy that you can crush them when tightening the mounting bolts. So make sure to SLEEVE the bolt holes. I bought grade 8 7/16" bolts, washers, and locking nuts. The sleeve tubing is .060" wall 5/8" OD and I will be plating the frame on both sides as well. I might even install a crossmember between the frame rails to further stabilize the steering box...

EDIT: Re-linked to the photos in the last post.

Not sure what happened. My pics appeared fine, then suddenly switched to blind links. I tried posting a new thread with a photo and I get an error message. Maybe maxed out my photo space or something?

So...this may be the end of this thread.

4speedfunk said:

Not sure what happened. My pics appeared fine, then suddenly switched to blind links. I tried posting a new thread with a photo and I get an error message. Maybe maxed out my photo space or something?

So...this may be the end of this thread.

Click to expand...

Fixed. Not sure if it will affect the current post, but future ones will be fine. Thanks for bringing this to light. It's an old setting that never seemed to be an issue, but it was certainly worth updating.

Okay. Back on track. Thanks again to Alrock for running a tight ship!

STEP 9:

MORE TEST FITTING:

Once I got all the bracketry welded-on...I slid the axle back under the truck (again). This time I bolted everything up to the bracketry, and also installed the coil springs. This is first real test fit with the 2" wheel spacers, and I wanted to see how far the tires stuck out. I also focused on axle location and ride height. Initially the truck was sitting much higher than I wanted, so I moved the coil buckets up two holes from where they previously were. This essentially lowered the body's position in relation to the axle. Now that I have it sitting how I want it, I will measure for the track bar...weld it up...and install it in place. Its important to note that at this point...the truck is sitting on its tires, and the suspension is holding it up. However, the track bar is missing so one should be careful to not get too crazy bouncing the suspension. Without a track bar, the suspension can collapse sideways with horrific results. Some pics...


The front suspension is sitting at 27.5" hub to fender. It currently has 35" tires on stock wheels with 2" spacers but, the owner is going to install 37"s at some point (probably with aftermarket wheels). The suspension is adjustable so it can be raised or lowered accordingly. As mentioned earlier...the front axle is sitting 1" forward of stock. For comparison purposes, here are a couple shots with my H3 (stock axle location and 37"s) vs. CG's H3 (1" stretch and 35"s). Both use a Dana 44 but, my truck has a Nissan box and I cannot scoot the axle forward due to pitman arm clearance. You can see below the difference 1" makes at the lower fenders. My tires (left) are slightly larger too.

By far, the tightest spot was the clearance between the Alpha's motor mount and the upper link on the drivers side. I have 4" of up travel before the link slams into the motor mount, so its critical to get the front bump stops positioned correctly so they absorb the bottom out, rather than the motor mount. This problem does not exist on L5 H3's...only the Alphas. I have considered chopping and re-welding the motor mount to gain more clearance but, that would be quite an involved project. This suspension could easily be raised another 3" to 4" but, that would put the ride height at something approaching "crazy". My goal all along was to build this as mild as possible. In fact, the track bar bracket you see in the photo below will probably get chopped before I am all done. I will use the top or middle hole, so the bottom hole can be cut off to clean things up a bit...

Lastly here is a shot of the caster angle. This is a stock 73-92 GM Dana 44 housing, and when you locate the axle with the spring perches flat & level...you should see the pumpkin pointing slightly upward and the caster should be visible with the naked eye like this. This is 4 to 5 degrees, and it is necessary for your truck to track properly at high speeds. It also helps the steering wheel return to center after turning a corner. Lifted Jeeps are famous for "death wobble" and can usually be traced to lack of caster angle. So if your truck wobbles at high speed (often a sudden onset of violent wobbling), and the steering wheel seems lazy returning to center after turning...it is probably a caster issue...


On solid axle trucks, the caster angle and pinion angle are forever connected. If you increase one...you decrease the other. So tuning a lifted rig with a solid axle becomes a dance between these two critical angles to get the performance you are after. Novice builders will be quick to rotate the housing so the pinion is pointing directly at the transfer case. This seems to make sense, as it straightens out the front driveshaft. However, it also rolls the axle so the caster angle is not near enough or in some cases...it actually goes into negative territory. This will make your truck wobble like a grocery cart with a bent front wheel and it should be avoided at all costs! Given the choice, caster angle should always take priority over pinion angle. ALWAYS! You need to have at least 3 degrees of caster, and no more than 7 degrees. If your rig is sitting so high that the pinion angle is a real issue...then it is time to do a "cut-and-turn" mod on the housing. This involves cutting the inner-C castings loose from the tubes...rotating them...and re-welding them in a new position. This is the only way to keep your 5 degrees of caster, and point your pinion upward to the transfer case. On SAS H3's...this is not needed if you keep the hub to fender height to under 29".

Sweet. Thanks Alrock!

Sorry about the troubles, thanks for bringing it up.

STEP 10:

PAINTING:

After a break for the holiday...I'm back at it. I got all the parts test fitted and did the final welding on the frame bracketry. I also drilled, reinforced, and sleeved the frame rail for the new steering box. Now that everything has been test fitted and welded, it all gets two coats of primer, and two coats of black. This is not to make things pretty but, rather to combat the road salt & winters here in the midwest. In the past I used spray paint but, on this build I'm brushing layers on. Time will tell if this holds up better. Here are some shots of the frame rail during and after final welding. The small tab you see welded between the coil mount tabs, is there to capture the brake line where it transitions from rigid to flexible...



BUMP STOPS:

On this build, I'm trying something new for the front bumpstops. I'm using aftermarket progressive urethane bumps, and I fabbed some mounts for them. I set the ride height as low as possible and designed these to halt the uptravel of the axle before anything collides. In the future, if ride height gets increased...a shim can easily be added between the bump and its mounting surface. I also designed some offset into the mounts. The frame rails are 29" apart and the Dana leaf perches (now used as bump landing platforms) are 32" apart. So this means I have a 3" difference in spacing. I simply offset each mount 1.5" and added some gussets to strengthen them. The towers are 2.5" tall and are made from 4x2TS-3/8" wall with a 3/8" plate & gussets. Holes are 3/8"-16. I will show some shots of these installed in a later post...


MORE STEERING STUFF:

After test fitting the box numerous times, I chopped and welded the intermediate shaft. The stock H3 u-joint/clamp got cut-off, and the new Borgeson Toyota/clamp got welded-on. Like all tubular work around here...this got welded on a lathe. Makes for the prettiest possible weld...


Also during this phase of construction, I took care of some previously mentioned issues. One was replacing the upper link end. I had originally intended to use a bushing at the frame but, once everything was welded in place...the angle was too steep for bushing. I could get the bushing into the bracket but, it would no doubt be "squeaky" and wear out quickly. So I swapped it out for a Ballistic Fab creeper joint. These have the ability to swivel up to 15 degrees, so this mod was something I needed to do to correct the bracket angle. In retrospect...I should have cut the bracket's mounting face to fit the angle I wanted but, I did not notice this issue until everything was welded up. So it was easier just to swap the bushing for a creeper...

On the other end of the upper link...I had a clearance issue with the link tower coming too close to the V8 motor mount. I chopped off the extra holes, and here is a pic of it installed. Additionally I chopped off the bottom hole of the track-bar mount, as it hung down too far and was getting too close to the tie rod at full compression. More pics of the assembled suspension coming soon.

This is awesome! If it's possible I'd love to see a parts/price list when you're done (it can be minus the axle since I know that can be a huge variable). This very well could become a project I'll take on in 2020/21 or so after I've settled into our new place and will have the ability to leave my Alpha down for a while to work on this.

I love a well documented, very detailed, pictures included, technical thread like this.

Nice.