Lemforder control arms for w124 = truly equivalent to factory original???
 

With 400,000 miles on the clock, it’s time to rebuild the front end on my 1995 E300d. I’m just going to replace everything that’s replaceable in the front suspension and be done with it.

Instead of dealing with the grief of pressing the ball joints and bushings in & out, it’s tempting to just purchase new control arms. Has anyone specifically used Lemforder replacement control arms? I understand Lemforder is owned by ZF, but is their quality truly equivalent to original MBZ factory parts? (I also question whether many dealer parts are equivalent to the original factory parts nowadays…)

Opinions, comments, and prior experiences are invited!

Thanks!

I'd keep the originals.

Thanks for the quick reply! Is there any particular or specific reason that you suggest that? Metallurgy? Manufacturing tolerances?

I could keep the original arms and replace the ball joints & bushings, but it is a real PITA to press them in & out. I'm tempted to be lazy and spend the extra $$$ to buy the complete assemblies, but I don't want to have a mission-critical part fail on me.

Normally I obtain all key safety items directly from the stealer, but (lately) I am suspicious of some of their parts too!

well, the replacements are going to be for the newer spindles, for the gassers... and while they'll work, you'll NEVER BE ABLE TO CHANGE JUST THE BALL JOINT AGAIN!
yes, it's a pain to change the parts, but if you have a spring compressor, and you do one side at a time, it's not terrible.

I just rebuilt the front end on my w123. Not sure how similar the procedure is, but I removed the entire spindle and took it to a speciality suspension shop. They let me provide my own new Lemforder ball joints. $65 out the door for R&R. Not bad IMO.

the 123 uses an inverse method of ball joint retention... and it's into cast iron.
the 124 has thin sheetmetal for a control arm, and it's difficult to align a press to hold things when changing ball joints...
but my shop charges 45/side to swap in ball joints on the 124 arms.
I am thinking about picking up a Ball joint kit to do this myself, as I've got about 8 sets of joints to change...

I used to recommend replacing the entire LCA on the early style units, but given the lousy quality of most aftermarkets these days, I think it's best to just replace the bushings and BJs. My last set of Lemfoerder LCAs were made in Italy and were OK quality...but, I don't have any confidence that they will continue to maintain production in the Euro zone into the future.

vstech: Thank you! So does that mean that the replacement arms have the ball joints welded in instead of a press fit? (I hope to NOT have to replace the ball joints again, but it's obviously good to have that option available.)

I guess I'll need to read further regarding any differences in the spindles (my car is an early 124.131, made 7/94).

bamba: I re-did my 123 suspension several years ago, and it wasn't all that hard to do - but having a shop press those in for you was a good idea.

Just from reading what Members of the forum say about the various parts makes me suspect that since 1995 the quality of parts has gone down.

In fact the quality of parts has gone down hill in the last 5 years.

You could simply take the Arms to a Shop and have the Ball Joints removed and installed.

I'll be doing this same job on both of my 95 E300's over the next month or so. It is my understanding that the E300 got the replaceable ball joint LCA whereas the E320s have the LCA that the BJ's are not replaceable. I'm right at 300k on one and 265k on the other. I think I am going to attempt to just replace the ball joints and bushings.

The 103 and diesel engined 124 cars have replaceable ball joints.

The 104 and V8 engined vehicles have welded non-replaceable ball joints.

Is this info correct?
If so, when you order a new LCA for a 95 E300, why would you get welded BJs??

Thanks.

Hi Jim - It's good to "see" you again...

Thanks for clarifying the welded vs. press fit issue. My E300 definitely has the press fit ball joints in the LCA's.

Ds190: If the info you stated is correct, then I assume (assume is a word/action I particularly dislike) that when ordering new LCA's, they may be a "universal" application, i.e., welded vs. press-fit LCA's may have the same dimensions & functionality. (?) But then there is the "spindle" issue mentioned by vstech, so I really don't know.

You can install the welded LCAs on a chassis originally fitted with the press-fit BJs, but you can't go the other way 'round. There's really no advantage to doing this, unless you're upgrading to larger diameter brake discs, which require the added clearance afforded by the welded BJs

your 95 E300D has the old style replaceable ball joints. Considering the original chunky quality arms that the W124 got from the factory, its best to keep them.

You would need a spring compressor to remove them to change the bushings, for the ball joints its the easiest to change them when you are changing the bushings - you will need a sort of cutting tool to cut the mushroom edge of the spacer between the pair of bushings - to push it out, similarly a cone shaped deal to remake the mushroom on the new one.

Removal of the bushings is done with a cold chisel.

I saw a german video long time ago which I cannot find on youtube anymore. It showed it done by basic home garage tools and a smallish hydraulic press.