[neilmegh]

Hey guys, I finally got myself to replace the cam and the rocker arms on my 450sl. However, I am having a hard time finding Mercedes OEM rocker arms for it. The dealer wants $82 a piece for the arms, but Febi made ones online are selling for $20 a piece (I will need 8 of them). Is it worth buying the Febi ones? I also decided to change out my Timing Chain Tensioner, and ran into the same issue. The Febi one is $130, compared to the dealer at 552. Anyone have any issues with Febi parts in general? Is it worth the extra 900 dollars to go with the Mercedes parts?

 

[Ilovemaui]

Run, don't walk from Febi parts.

 

[nobby]

However, I am having a hard time finding Mercedes OEM rocker arms for it.

Doesn't sound like finding OEM is the issue.

PAYING for OEM is the issue.

FEBI is a four letter word around here.

 

[rowdie]

Run don't walk from that dealer. They are gouging you.

Tensioner......117 050 10 11 MSRP $486.00 OE Discount site $364.50.
Rockers.........116 055 15 01 MSRP $69.00 OE Discount $51.75

Run the part numbers OE Discount Parts

USA location is too broad. Would like to know the dealer name so others in your area can be alerted to over pricing.

 

[MBGraham]

Run, don't walk from Febi parts.

Febi can be a reliable supplier. Ferdinand Bilstein GmbH + Co. KG © 2015 | febi is a bilstein group brand.

Problem is that they like many other once 100% German suppliers, now likely get some of their parts made in China (although they claim to produce most of their own parts). This does not necessarily make them bad. In some cases as with Bosch and others, some parts may not be genuine. Bosch have a big problem with knock-offs.

I have used Febi for several items.

- Shocks - Although most call them Bilstein, it is, I believe, the same company - Febi-Bilstein.
- Chain tensioner - I replaced one on my SL with a Febi tensioner. No problems.
- Diesel prime pump on my 300D is also Febi. Appears 100% identical to Bosch and OE units - perhaps all made in same factory? No problems.

Based on some comments here, presumably some here have had first hand problems with Febi parts? Perhaps cite some examples?

 

[Clarkz71]

Bilstein suspension is not the same company as Febi Bilstein.

Febi is re-boxer of parts made by other manufacturers.

They do not manufacture anything

http://www.bilsteingroup.com/uk/start.html

http://www.bilsteingroup.com/uk/brands.html



The real Bilstein

ThyssenKrupp Bilstein - Home


E-mail Bilstein, ask them if they are affiliated in any way with Febi.

 

[Clarkz71]

Here's a few complaints about Febi.




Buyer Beware: Febi Suspension Parts - PeachParts Mercedes ShopForum

 

[MBGraham]

Bilstein suspension is not the same company as Febi Bilstein.

Right, but F-B does make truck shocks. Interestingly both companies are based in same town in Germany.

Febi is re-boxer of parts made by other manufacturers.

They do not manufacture anything

They apparently DO manufacture their own as well as distribute parts made by others.

I have no wish to promote FEBI, but personally, I have had no first hand bad experience with their parts. But OE parts from dealer prepared to offer discount or Classic Centre are no doubt the best option for critical parts. But sometimes, prices are ridiculous, so I can understand why the OP asked the question.

 

[Clarkz71]

I've never heard of them manufacturing parts.

They have a headquarters in Germany so the can mark their parts box Germany

Just like Meyle.

Both say Germany on the box, never made in Germany.

Find a Febi-bilstein box that says "Made in Germany" and I'll send you that coil wire. List price $60

116 150 60 18

My main point is they are in no way related to Bilstein suspension.

 

[MBGraham]

I've never heard of them manufacturing parts.

Did you read the link?

Find a Febi-bilstein box that says "Made in Germany" and I'll send you that coil wire. List price $60

116 150 60 18

Why would I want a coil wire? I have a perfectly good complete Bosch set that works just fine. But seeing you asked for a Febi box that says Made in Germany. My tensioner

 

[Clarkz71]

Thanks for the image, that must be old stock. I haven't seen
a made in Germany FEBI parts box in a long time.

Maybe I should have added recently in that statement
The only thing recent I've seen recently Made in Germany is ATF

MB spec 236.14 which is made by Fuchs.


The coil wire is genuine MB, and costs almost as much as your wires.

But, OK. I will send it back to Lionel for a credit.

Bottom line Febi is a roll of the dice, not a good idea on rocker arms
which are known to fail on M116/117. Especially the R/S

First 3 posts seem to agree on Febi quality

 

[Clarkz71]

Did you read the link?

Yes, they manufacture "something".

But what? Nothing OE on Mercedes.

And in my 30 years as a MB tech, I've seen many Febi failures.

Top failing part, 81-89 M116/117 chain tensioners. Less then 6 months
on at least 6 cars that I can remember.

The only decent re-box Febi part I've seen was a belt tensioner pulley
for my M119. Ordered it from Autohaus AZ.

Was listed as OEM made by INA. Came in a Febi box, but the bearing
did say INA

 

[rowdie]

There were earlier discussions about the early tensioners in the 116/117.982 engines. IIRC Febi might have been OE supplier in very early ones. IIRC it was a later model Febi that failed.

Does not really matter now.

On a weekend driver I might be tempted to use an after market. You can replace it every couple of years for less than one from MB.

 

[Clarkz71]

I still do some part time work at an Indie MB shop.

Some suspension parts from World Pac, a Febi distributor sent these the other day.

That's some quality control.

 

[rollin560]

i would not use febi on any customer car. i have seen the chain tensioner leaking right out of the box. i have used febi rocker arms with good luck but have also seen them fail. me being able to change it any time i might use tensioner on a daily driver because it will get pumped up every day rather than one that sits and might bleed down every time i let it sit for days. the 560 tensioner does say febi on it so they may make that part.(does not mean its good)
use at your own risk
question is can you change four febi's before they damage other engine parts?
plastic chain rails dont like chain slapping on them while the tensioner builds press.

even though they say febi germany they probably say something else somewhere on the box or part

three pics of same box. label made in germany part made in china

 

[rowdie]

I have a NIB one from MB for the 500SL. (same as 560SL) around here somewhere. I will try to get a picture later.

 

[rollin560]

here is a factory one and where the mb part number is would be the febi name if this was one from febi. febi name is embossed not stamped like mb number

 

[MBGraham]

I recall reading almost same about Bosch:

From Febi:

febi bilstein: Successfully fighting plagiarism

febi bilstein stops a distributor selling counterfeit febi parts.

In cooperation with a number of other reputable car and truck part manufacturers, febi bilstein has filed a lawsuit against Autolut of Dubai, a distributor of counterfeit parts. Autolut’s entire stock was confiscated and formally destroyed. Close market observation by febi’s partners in the United Arab Emirates and the cooperation of the law firm AL SHAALI & CO meant that Autolut was identified as a trader of counterfeit vehicle spare parts.

Counterfeiting causes significant economic damage. Furthermore, producers and traders of counterfeit components recklessly put their customers’ lives at risk. The main factor to be considered is quality, especially where safety critical items are concerned. The quality of counterfeit parts cannot be guaranteed and therefore fitting and using such parts puts lives at risk.

To ensure that only original febi spare parts are fitted to vehicles, febi will continue to closely monitor the market and, where necessary, take rigorous steps against producers and traders of counterfeit components.

Bosch Fakes
Counterfeit and Fake Bosch Car Parts, Bosch car spares forgery and Bosch copyright support.
Fake auto parts of Bosch found at Auto Expo | Business Standard News

Even ACDElco:
https://www.acdelco.com/parts/counterfeit/

So perhaps some of Febi failures may have been fake parts? Probably not as likely if bought through reputable supplier, but certainly possible if bought off eBay etc.

I bought a Bosch fuel pump. Because numbers differed from Euro part numbers, I asked Bosch in Germany. They asked me to send them pictures of the pump and it's markings. They thought it might be counterfeit. As it was, they did not know that Bosch USA had sourced the otherwise NLA pumps from a Japanese associate company. But it showed how sensitive suppliers are to knockoffs these days.

 

[rowdie]

here is a factory one and where the mb part number is would be the febi name if this was one from febi. febi name is embossed not stamped like mb number

That is the one I have. The strange thing is the box it came in shows A 116 050 118 11 part number. The same as the EPC

 

[MBGraham]

That is the one I have. The strange thing is the box it came in shows A 116 050 118 11 part number. The same as the EPC

The embossed number could be a casting number perhaps? Or is that a legit part number? Doesn't show up on epc. Maybe an obsolete number? Or just that part of the tensioner ?

BTW, shouldn't that be 116 050 18 11 ?