Karlyn
Spicer red label
Febi
Beck/Arnley
Spicer pro grade
Moog

Thanks,
John

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1986 190D, 2.5L, 5-speed swap, 180,000 Miles (60K by me).
Jeep CJ-7 with Cummins 4BT/NV4500/AtlastII 4.3.
Grand Wagoneer 4BT project in progress!

I just put in 2 lemforder's. got a whopping 150 miles on 'em. no complaints yet.

I used meyle UCA's.

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1984 123.193 372,xxx miles, room for Seven.

1999 Dodge Durango Cummins 4BTAA 47RE 5k lb 4x4 getting 25+mpgs, room for Seven.

Lemforder.

Lemforder....or dealer OEM.....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Lemforder, TRW or Moog.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

What is "dealer OEM?" Do dealers sell OEM parts?

Dealer OEM is just a rebadged part made by someone else.

That would be a big fat YES and NO!! They buy from the manufacturing company that can make the parts to meet minimum specs, at the lowest cost. Then they are rebadged, be it MOPAR, MB Ford, etc. Since it now contains the car maker's logo, it now becomes "OEM" Just because it is badged to be OEM, does not mean it is of the highest quality.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Get Lemforder or OE/dealer ball joints.

OE = Original Equipment, meaning the part comes in official Mercedes-Benz packaging. The part could be made by one of several different mfr's to MB's specs. Genuine Mercedes-Benz OE parts are only available from a Mercedes dealership. If you buy OE parts from MercedesShop, or Performance Products, etc... *they* are buying it from a Mercedes dealer somewhere.

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer, meaning the part is made by one the mfr's who makes the OE part for Mercedes. It may or may not be made to the identical specs as the OE part... could be "cost reduced", or parts which failed to be MB's standards, etc, depending on the mfr in question. OEM parts are commonly available from WorldPac vendors. I believe Lemforder is the OEM who makes the OE ball joints for Mercedes.

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Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

Like Dave and the others have said: Lemforder (who is the OEM or has been the OEM for Mercedes dealer front end parts).

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84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)

I see you have a 190D too. When I did a ball joint replacement on my 190D, I bought the part from the dealership and it was a TRW-branded part (MB P/N 124-333-03-27). It has been on the car for 16,700 miles so far without problems.

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1989 250TD Wagon 5-speed, 160,000mi ::: Dark gray metallic / black cloth
1984 190D-2.2 5-speed, 287,000mi ::: Silver-blue metallic / black MB-tex ::: SOLD

If it has a star on it, it's OE, not OEM. In some cases, the part becomes OEM when the star gets ground off, as sometimes happens when the manufacturer wants to sell the part on the aftermarket.

There are two basic categories of parts- OE and aftermarket. OEM parts are in the aftermarket category.

Correct. And in the aftermarket category, OEM parts are generally good, often similar or equal to OE. Non-OEM parts can be junk, and in general should be avoided (unless you're on a REALLY tight budget and/or are selling the car. )

Example: Bilstein, Sachs, and Boge are all OEM's for Mercedes shocks and struts. In general the aftermarket Bilstein, Sachs, and Boge "OEM" items purchased through WorldPac, etc will be similar or equal to the OE item you would buy at the dealer. However the KYB or Monroe shocks you might find are most definitely not OEM, and are inferior to the OE/OEM items.