Jeep 4.0 in 69 Barracuda
So all in all, I think the big question regarding AJE is would I purchase from them again. And the short answer is YES given the understanding I have now. But that comes with some clarity after dealing with his product and having corrections made.
So let me see if I can clarify my poor answer above.
So I got the suspension and K-Frame parts as shown on page 7 some time back. It took some time, but I finally got a chance to pull my car apart and start the assembly of the new parts. Which brings me to my first problem with this kit. Lack of good installation documentation. A quick phone call to AJE solved the confusion and the intended installation method became clear. That being said, AJE needs to create a better installation doc.
So you don't have to go back and forth between page 7 and this page, I will re post pictures from there as I try to describe the issues and the changes.
So here is a image of the original control arms I bought. Notice I went with stock bushings.
Ok, so here is where the problems start.
The control arms are built to a specification which has been tested to fit while still raw. But it appears there was no post production fitment to ensure nothing changed. And as you can guess, due to normal spring back from the soft metal being bent, and compounded by the heating process during powder coating, these next pictures will show you the result and why the control arms didn't fit my car. The issue with the upper control arms were no argument from AJE and he even expressed concern and interest in looking at manufacturing processes changes including post fitment checks.
Comparision of OME to AJE.
With the other bushing seated properly, you can see the error in the control arm
AJE's solution to this was to push it back into place and install it. Right there I can understand how people could have problems with binding and poor performance.
This is a bit hard to see, but in this image, you can see how far off center is of the 2 bushings using a fairly new long 3/8 extension.
The owner made a mistake when he justified himself by saying that jeep parts are built with larger deviation than this and that they are safe to drive on the road. As a proud owner of 2 Jeeps (92 Jeep Wrangler and a 97 Jeep Cherokee XJ) both of which are built and not bought, I responded that I would not accept this poor quality on my Jeeps and with the money I spent on the parts from AJE I would rather take a loss in the pocket book and buy new than run them as they are.
So now lets talk about the problems with the lower control. Oh the lower control arms.
So lets look at that lower control arm.
Obviously this is not a stock setup. And I bought this knowing and wanting it. But I do want things that work together.
Those bushings don't fit in the brackets that are welded to the K-Frame. There is too much material. More on that a bit later.
First lets talk about using these bushings. This bushing style is pretty straight forward and shouldn't be that hard to fit in most vehicles.
Take a guess at what these are... You guesed it. The center sleeve for the bushings...
And due take note that all 4 are different length. WTF??? That should be a pretty simple thing to ensure are equal.
Whats even better is the second longest one didn't fit in any of the K-Member tabs.
Now keep this in mind when you think about my above comment about how there was too much material in the bushing.
So here is the bushing aside the lower control arm
Here is a picture of the bushing and sleeve flush on one side.
And here is the other side (keep in mind second longest in that line of 4)
Now look again at the picture above and see how big this sleeve is to the lower control arm brackets welded to the K Frame. AJE owner said that I should be able to squeeze these bushings to fit. First off, grinding to the sleeve would be requied first, second and more importantly the bushings should fit snug in between the brackets with the sleeve being slightly smaller so when tightening the brackets squeeze on the bushing to the point of the sleeve. Yet a gain, fail. And as I pointed out to AJE post production fitment would have caught this problem. AJE was not all that happy with the deviation in the 4 sleeves let alone the fitment of the entire lower section to there K-Frame.
And too the solution. In discussions with AJE where I expressed my dissatisfaction on what I purchased and asked for possible solutions, AJE was willing to upgrade me to their race package which included adjustable Heim Joints for free. And even paid for shipping.
The benefit of this is that no matter the direction of the fastening bolts holding the joint in place, the control arm will smoothly move due to the heim joint as compared to rubber joints. More importantly the movement will not kill the heim joint like it would have eaten the rubber joints. This is not what I wanted as I was not interested in the care of the heim joint, but at least it will run and I can work with this.
The pit fall is I am going to need to build shims (close to 3/8 inch thick) for each joint. Probably 2 each to take up the space which was meant for those large bushings.
For those who don't know what a Johnny Joint is...
CE-9114CML - 2 1/2" Johnny Joint®, Billet, 1 1/4" LH Thread (2.625" x .562" Ball)
...these are used in Jeep and custom off road rigs quite frequently. And can width stand the abuse of a Rock Racer, let alone a 6000 pound Jeep in the hills. So a 3000 pound A body should be a walk in the park for it. Yes overkill, and not something I am looking at now as I just want the car back on the ground so it rolls.
I may look at how to change out the Heim joints for these. Many say Currie sells the best ones made. There are others I may consider as this car gets moving.
As too my opinion, I am willing to do business with AJE again. Though in my opinion there is no option other than the RACE kit. I really wish AJE would just sell the K-Frame alone again as the K-Frame is a nice piece of work. More importantly, I wish they would sell the kit as a builder kit. Or they need to do more post production quality control. If they would sell the K-Frame raw with no mounts, then provide detailed directions as to how they locate the lower control arm mount with templates, that would solve part of this problem.
These are my opinions of AJE and my experience with the A body package. There is a lot I am sure I missed as much of this happened in early Sept and its now Nov. Please feel free to ask any questions for clarification.
So all in all, I think the big question regarding AJE is would I purchase from them again. And the short answer is YES given the understanding I have now. But that comes with some clarity after dealing with his product and having corrections made.
So let me see if I can clarify my poor answer above.
So I got the suspension and K-Frame parts as shown on page 7 some time back. It took some time, but I finally got a chance to pull my car apart and start the assembly of the new parts. Which brings me to my first problem with this kit. Lack of good installation documentation. A quick phone call to AJE solved the confusion and the intended installation method became clear. That being said, AJE needs to create a better installation doc.
So you don't have to go back and forth between page 7 and this page, I will re post pictures from there as I try to describe the issues and the changes.
So here is a image of the original control arms I bought. Notice I went with stock bushings.
Ok, so here is where the problems start.
The control arms are built to a specification which has been tested to fit while still raw. But it appears there was no post production fitment to ensure nothing changed. And as you can guess, due to normal spring back from the soft metal being bent, and compounded by the heating process during powder coating, these next pictures will show you the result and why the control arms didn't fit my car. The issue with the upper control arms were no argument from AJE and he even expressed concern and interest in looking at manufacturing processes changes including post fitment checks.
Comparision of OME to AJE.
With the other bushing seated properly, you can see the error in the control arm
AJE's solution to this was to push it back into place and install it. Right there I can understand how people could have problems with binding and poor performance.
This is a bit hard to see, but in this image, you can see how far off center is of the 2 bushings using a fairly new long 3/8 extension.
The owner made a mistake when he justified himself by saying that jeep parts are built with larger deviation than this and that they are safe to drive on the road. As a proud owner of 2 Jeeps (92 Jeep Wrangler and a 97 Jeep Cherokee XJ) both of which are built and not bought, I responded that I would not accept this poor quality on my Jeeps and with the money I spent on the parts from AJE I would rather take a loss in the pocket book and buy new than run them as they are.
So now lets talk about the problems with the lower control. Oh the lower control arms.
So lets look at that lower control arm.
Obviously this is not a stock setup. And I bought this knowing and wanting it. But I do want things that work together.
Those bushings don't fit in the brackets that are welded to the K-Frame. There is too much material. More on that a bit later.
First lets talk about using these bushings. This bushing style is pretty straight forward and shouldn't be that hard to fit in most vehicles.
Take a guess at what these are... You guesed it. The center sleeve for the bushings...
And due take note that all 4 are different length. WTF??? That should be a pretty simple thing to ensure are equal.
Whats even better is the second longest one didn't fit in any of the K-Member tabs.
Now keep this in mind when you think about my above comment about how there was too much material in the bushing.
So here is the bushing aside the lower control arm
Here is a picture of the bushing and sleeve flush on one side.
And here is the other side (keep in mind second longest in that line of 4)
Now look again at the picture above and see how big this sleeve is to the lower control arm brackets welded to the K Frame. AJE owner said that I should be able to squeeze these bushings to fit. First off, grinding to the sleeve would be requied first, second and more importantly the bushings should fit snug in between the brackets with the sleeve being slightly smaller so when tightening the brackets squeeze on the bushing to the point of the sleeve. Yet a gain, fail. And as I pointed out to AJE post production fitment would have caught this problem. AJE was not all that happy with the deviation in the 4 sleeves let alone the fitment of the entire lower section to there K-Frame.
And too the solution. In discussions with AJE where I expressed my dissatisfaction on what I purchased and asked for possible solutions, AJE was willing to upgrade me to their race package which included adjustable Heim Joints for free. And even paid for shipping.
The benefit of this is that no matter the direction of the fastening bolts holding the joint in place, the control arm will smoothly move due to the heim joint as compared to rubber joints. More importantly the movement will not kill the heim joint like it would have eaten the rubber joints. This is not what I wanted as I was not interested in the care of the heim joint, but at least it will run and I can work with this.
The pit fall is I am going to need to build shims (close to 3/8 inch thick) for each joint. Probably 2 each to take up the space which was meant for those large bushings.
For those who don't know what a Johnny Joint is...
CE-9114CML - 2 1/2" Johnny Joint®, Billet, 1 1/4" LH Thread (2.625" x .562" Ball)
...these are used in Jeep and custom off road rigs quite frequently. And can width stand the abuse of a Rock Racer, let alone a 6000 pound Jeep in the hills. So a 3000 pound A body should be a walk in the park for it. Yes overkill, and not something I am looking at now as I just want the car back on the ground so it rolls.
I may look at how to change out the Heim joints for these. Many say Currie sells the best ones made. There are others I may consider as this car gets moving.
As too my opinion, I am willing to do business with AJE again. Though in my opinion there is no option other than the RACE kit. I really wish AJE would just sell the K-Frame alone again as the K-Frame is a nice piece of work. More importantly, I wish they would sell the kit as a builder kit. Or they need to do more post production quality control. If they would sell the K-Frame raw with no mounts, then provide detailed directions as to how they locate the lower control arm mount with templates, that would solve part of this problem.
These are my opinions of AJE and my experience with the A body package. There is a lot I am sure I missed as much of this happened in early Sept and its now Nov. Please feel free to ask any questions for clarification.