Lemforder.

And without adding to the other thread..oy....Looked at my ball joint and was suprised to see there was a hologram sticker with three pointed star on the tie rod. Guess the OEM stuff is so much superior, that they felt they needed an authenticity assurance sticker?

 

From what I have seen, they hologram sticker as much as they can. Brake pads come in boxes with holograms, tie rod as you noticed, mufflers, wiper blades, batteries, just about everything that comes in boxes and as many of the unboxed as they can. Mercedes Benz probably has the same aftermarket problems that the Pacific Rim companies have been dealing with. Their (Pac Rim) suppliers sell to the OEMs "during the day" and ship into the aftermarket "after dark". Big issue for a lot of manufacturers in a lot of other industries.

In many cases, the parts coming from the OEM and the aftermarket are identical except there is no identifier. In other cases, the parts aftermarket suppliers get are produced to a lesser quality standard or are past their "sell by date". OEMs like Benz and so many others, have to protect their reputation and higher prices by offering better service and warranties. Of course there are other independent manufacturers of parts, such as those listed in this thread, and the hologram is intended to protect the Mercedes reputation in a world of substandard parts.

Another reason for the hologram, and maybe the biggest reason right now, is to ward off counterfieters. Its easy to print up a box that looks like a Mercedes Benz parts box but its one more step to have to reproduce the hologram.

 

You're unlikely to find too many Meyle defenders here...or anywhere. At least for now, Lemfoerder still builds their stuff to OEM specs in Europe, though that might not be the case with with all parts.

 

The difference between lemfoerder and meyle is like the difference between gold and excrement. Lemfoerder is the only choice for suspension/steering components as far as I'm concerned.

 

LMFAO!

 

You're kidding, right?

The 'story' on Meyle is this:German owned company that touts they re-engineer most parts to be 'better than' OE. Sounds great on paper, right? But their parts are made in China, India and Turkey. This is why they are parts competitive in price against OE and they can put 'Germany' on their boxes because they are a German owned company. In German car parts, you really do get what you pay for. Lemfoerder always for the win.:thumbsup:

Kevin

 

Thanks guys. The reason for the question is because Autohaus sells those two brands and Uro...and I know all about Uro

 

Uro and Meyle are on the same playing field; competitive, cheap aftermarket parts. I wouldn't let either ride in the back of my wagon, even a short trip. It's getting harder for parts house like Autohaus to carry OE. This was MB's doing and was an edict they issued over in Europe a few yrs ago; no more OE parts to discount houses.

Kevin

 

Didn't know that about Meyle. Thanks for the lesson, Kevin

Nick

P.S. Already ordered the Lemfoerder

 

+1 on that Andy. I think MB has it under control over in Europe, but as you said, over here the market for foreign parts is so lucrative, all kinds of shady deals and characters involved in parts distribution. Which of course, makes it infinitely confusing to us consumers. When I pulled off that idler pulley and it said 'Made in Slovakia', I decided this shite was gonna stop at least on my car. As far as I'm concerned, there are no 'good guys' in the price competitive, aftermarket German parts scene

Kevin

 

Another reason why I have tried to avoid Bosch these days. Every time i get something from them its made in some former soviet republic. The cap and rotor I bought from them was pretty rough quality compared to the old one I took off.

Hopefully hengst, Mann, lemforder, beru and such don't go down the same path.

 

Yeah, it's a crap shoot with Bosh. Gawd, I hate to hear that about the cap-I was hoping they would leave that the same. So who now makes a quality OE cap, if not Bosh??

Kevin

 

Bosch is all I could find in terms of cap and rotor besides the obvious low quality Chinese stuff. Maybe its something different at the dealer, but I doubt it. beru would be ideal.

 

I was afraid of that....now we're all screwed for a good quality dist cap. Someone that needs one right now, should buy a dealer OE and compare. Reminiscent of what I went through decades ago with military vehicles; cheap aftermarket caps that carbon tracked. Finally, someone started making a decent cap again.

Kevin

 

Our dealer is right next to mb of Tysons Corner, I will call and check. I have a feeling it will be Bosch though, pretty positive the Bosch rotor I pulled off had a star on it.

 

As feared, it's mb branded Bosch from the dealer. Nuts.

 

Which begs the question; is there a Bosh cap that goes to the dealer and a lesser Bosh cap that goes aftermarket?

Kevin

 

Why not, that's a pretty common practice in many other industries. Reputable electronics, computer, sporting goods manufacturers premium products are sold through high end specialty shops and their similar but lower consumer grade products are sold through Wal-Mart and Target. Nikon for example offers it's Japan built profssional grade metal camera for about $2000 and similar looking amatuer grade plastic camera made in China for about $800. There is a market for both. As someone mentioned in an earlier post, if MB is trying to keep factory parts out of the discount houses, that may give OEM suppliers the motivatiion to set up additional manufacturing lines outside of Germany. Bosch doesn't want to lose it's contracts with MB but is also doesnt want to lose it's business with aftermarket suppliers. Offering two quality levels keeps everyone on the supply side happy, but on the consumer side, we just have to do our research before we put down our hard earned money.

 

I am going to stop by tomorrow and take a look at it. My guess is that it's the same Bosch cap and rotor I just purchased. I lost faith in Bosch quite a long time ago.

 

Here is a new Lemforder tie rod compared to an

original tie rod off my 87. the original part is actually a slightly larger diameter than the replacement. the adjustment threaded portion of the rod end is 13mm diameter on the origiinal and 12 mm on the Lemforder

 

What are the Karlyn STI leads on autohaus? The Bosch leads I got from them are arcing out already.

 

Bosch leads have a lifetime guarantee. Apparently there aren't enough people like us who keep their cars forever that would make this a problem for them. So if shipping them back to Bosch (rather than chucking them) isn't too expensive, or if you just want to "poke them in the eye with a stick", send them back for replacements even if you buy replacements.

 

Ok, just stopped by the mb dealer on a road test. Sadly, they are the same Bosch cap and rotor I just bought online, just with a star on it.

 

Well, that just sucks.....given the wear on my 'Bosh' cap after 15K, I'll add this to my list of consumables. Thanks for checking it out though...:thumbsup:

Kevin

 

No problem man, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't getting 'b' stock online. I would be very depressed if I paid all that money at the dealer to get the same thing.

 

I picked up the Meyle 4 link rear kit from autohouseAZ for my 190E. I started to install it summer of 2011 but the car never moved due to a suspension overhaul and I was in school. The car sat outside here in Northern California (50 degree average). The car didn't even see 2 miles of drive time for 5 months and my Meyle kit is already showing signs of rust on the arms and the metal bushings.

 

Sure....Meyle ain't Lemforder. Imagine what it would look like if you had been driving it all this time in a more inhospitable climate.

Kevin

 

So what are we to do about this Bosch cap and rotor? I was ready to pull the trigger on Autohausaz until I read this thread. Should I get the superior dealer Bosch(more expensive) or the aftermarket Bosch(right price)?

 

Sherman321 had both in hand-said they were identical;one had a MB star, one didn't. We talked about the shuck & jive that some major manufacturers can do with a 'second' line. My 'Bosch' cap after 15,000 looks like my OE did after over 100,000. I guess what I'm saying is that right now, maybe there isn't a good choice....and maybe with 'Bosch', you're wasting your money to buy OE other than the warranty.

I'm temped to put my old one back on, but that's like the difference between treading in fresh water or sewage;you can eventually drown in either.

Kevin

 

"Been there": Meyle tie rod ends, main center link, idler arm kit, other suspension parts = Chinese junk that lasted only 6 months of dry gentle city driving. Other Chinese MB junk that let go: idler pulley in 6 months; chinese shock absorbers: leaking in 1 year; Lemfolder or original MB OEM is the only way to go since you'll save money in the long run.

 

Thanks for verifying that going Turkey, China, India, Korea, Malaysia & Slovakia are usually for price point only and not any kind of longevity.:thumbsup:

The worst part is that "Meyle" purports to be a 'German company' that "improves the OE design" and the uninitiated get sucked in thinking 'German made', uber parts. Uber shite.....

Kevin

 

I just got an air intake boot from Autohausaz, the brand is Vaico which autohaus lists as the OEM supplier. The part numbers are on the end above the throttle flange mount. The numbers are identical, the molded in date stamp is identical(different dates of course), the original boot also has MERCEDES BENZ molded in above the part number. the Vaico boot appears to have had the MB lettering removed with a die grinder. Apparently it's the same part, but can't be sold through non MB sources with the MB logo.

 

Febi too . . . .

Febi is another company that "used to be good" but has now slid down the cost-cutting-crapper. I just finished the ordeal from hell that took over a year and half to chase down a suspension vibration coupled with a clacking sound at low speed.

After at least a hundred hours and well over a thousand dollars, I finally isolated the problem to the cheap knock-off bushings that Febi is supplying with their lower control arms (on my 1995 Cabrio, one must replace the entire LCA when the ball joint fails). It turns out that the kock-off bushings are 2.5 mm (0.90") shorter than genuine MB bushings. This causes the inner tubes to meet at an angle which allows them to move under stress from wheels loads, thus causing vibration and the clacking. I found it by positioning a video camera under the car to watch the bushing in action. It clearly showed the bushing moving side to side in the LCA mounts.

Not only are the bushings a bummer, so it Febi's quality control. I went through no less than 5 different LCA's in order to get two that have the correct bushings in the correct places!! And, I had one LCA ball joint fail after less than 1500 miles.

I plan to write up my ordeal at some point because I learned a few things and maybe I can help people avoid what I went through. BTW, the Lemfoerder bushings are the same as the MB OEM bushings, right down to the rubber embossed part numbers.

 

Febi is another company that "used to be good" but has now slid down the cost-cutting-crapper. I just finished the ordeal from hell that took over a year and half to chase down a suspension vibration coupled with a clacking sound at low speed.

After at least a hundred hours and well over a thousand dollars, I finally isolated the problem to the cheap knock-off bushings that Febi is supplying with their lower control arms (on my 1995 Cabrio, one must replace the entire LCA when the ball joint fails). It turns out that the kock-off bushings are 2.5 mm (0.90") shorter than genuine MB bushings. This causes the inner tubes to meet at an angle which allows them to move under stress from wheels loads, thus causing vibration and the clacking. I found it by positioning a video camera under the car to watch the bushing in action. It clearly showed the bushing moving side to side in the LCA mounts.

Not only are the bushings a bummer, so it Febi's quality control. I went through no less than 5 different LCA's in order to get two that have the correct bushings in the correct places!! And, I had one LCA ball joint fail after less than 1500 miles.

I plan to write up my ordeal at some point because I learned a few things and maybe I can help people avoid what I went through. BTW, the Lemfoerder bushings are the same as the MB OEM bushings, right down to the rubber embossed part numbers.

Flooby, did you ever do a writeup on this topic, with photos? If so, can you post a link?

I have late Febi LCA's on one of my cars, courtesy of a PO, installed mid-2008. These have rubber bushings which are visibly different from the OE/OEM/Lemforder bushings.

I got a set of the late Febi LCA's earlier this year for another car, and the bushings now appear visually the same as OE/OEM/Lemforder, but they lack any of the part numbers normally visible on the OE/OEM/Lemforder bushings.

I have detailed photos of the newer Febis, but i need to get photos of the old (2008-vintage) Febis with the funky bushings. I'd like to figure out which bushings were the ones you had fail on your Cabrio...

 

I went to reinstall my fuel distributor/air meter today. when I picked it up I noticed that the NEW hose that runs from the Air Meter to Idle Control had split from being installed on it's hose barb overnight. I checked the supplier's website and the manufacturer is Meyle. It couldn't do it's job long enough for me to even install the assembly(in a way, thats a good thing). I reinstalled the 25 year old MB hose and moved on.