My take is the world has changed.

A known company today may not actually manufacture the part with their name on it themselves. They may sub it out based on price. Probably did a little of this in the old days as well.

Perhaps quality was more of a necessity at one time as there was less junk out there. I am almost absolutely sure that some parts are just made to sell with no intention of giving any service lifespan today.

They can get you once again by selling the same product item under many brand names.

Well I agree that the world has changed. But you also have to remember that the W201 has been around for some time. There are not as many as there used to be on the roads as there were, so you could conclude not as many parts are being sold. I guess parts are sitting on shelves for longer. I guess I could have got new old stock which is why the rubber cracked so quickly...

...I think I took some pictures of the parts when they arrived there might be some visible manufacturing date evidence - I'll check.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

LocL Indy says Lemforder only. Says TRW has gone down. He buys control arms with bushings installed at they are nearly the same to his customer as paying him to inztllw bushings.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Bummer. Lemfoerder don't seem to cover all the suspension parts on a W201 at the moment.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Lemforder doesn't cover all parts for a 126 either. SD which I had just installed front end parts on wore tires shortly after an alignment. Monkey at Firestone is blaming a bent tie rod. He aligned it with a bent tie rod saying that toe was within specs. Now he's saying that I must have bumped a curb which of course is my fault and the reason the tires are shot. God, I hate the incompetents working in shops around here. Indy doesn't have a machine.

It's raining and the wife doesn't like to drive the truck - 00 Dodge Ram 4x4 Quad Cab, long bed, straight shift. To tell the truth, I don't like her to drive it. I may go buy something newer until I get the SDs where they need to be. [/rant]

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

I know it is a pain in the arse but self alignment really is the way forward if you happen to have a flat and level floor to do it on. (Wanna link?)

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Bought a part from the dealership for the broken TRW anti-sway bar link

Two part numbers are used to identify it!

On the packet 124 320 02 89



Inside on the part 124 326 01 16



It seems to have an "M" after the part number.

Metzger may be?

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

That is a bummer. Sad to see TRW as no longer a reputable part...

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

Well one swallow does not make a summer...

...it isn't like I've consistently had bad TRW parts. The rest seems OK. It could have been hanging about for a bit longer than was intended.

TRW don't seem to be as bad as Febi who not only seem to provide substandard parts they also charge high prices for them.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!