Oooooohhhh realllllyyyyyyyy (cue evil laugh....)

http://www.crossfitfuture.com/wp-con.../Dr%2BEvil.jpg

Yeah, be careful... as documented on the W124 LCA thread, the European-sourced TRW W124 late LCA's are repackaged Febi... very different than the OE TRW. Dunno if this applies to the W123/W126 stuff, but you've been warned.

YouBoob video of the 124 OE vs TRW:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHzVpBF9_Sg

:shutup:

I have a new set of Lemforder Upper Control Arms I bought about a year ago. I`ll
check to see if they are the same or different than what you posted.

I checked the TRW part # and see there is a North America supply .

https://www.trwaftermarket.com/us/Product-Data/JTC289/

Looks like a pass word etc... is needed. Might have to come up with a fictitious business name to buy from them.


Charlie

I would think that "LMI" could be an acronym for "Lemförder Manufacturing Italy"
Just a guess!

P.S. This stuff is outsourced all over Europe, since the European Commonwealth!

That's grim

Even the Febi replacement ball joints on my W201 front LCAs aren't that bad. (And I didn't fit them - I did find a distinct lack of grease in some replacement TRW ball joints I got from the dealer...)

I just found my Lemforder Upper Control Arms. Richard, the one`s I have look just like the one`s you posted in post #1.
I bought mine close to a year ago.

Took me an hour to find them since I moved. before the move I knew what pile in the shop things were in, now it`s just one big pile. LOL :rolleyes:


Charlie

Not that it matters too much, but Lemforder, Sachs, and Boge are all subsidiaries of ZF, most known as a maker of transmissions. AND, as of September 2014, TRW is a subsidiary of ZF.

So that means that Federal Mogul, Delphi, Visteon, Lucas, and the now infamous Takata (shrapnel throwing airbags) and several other companies which are subs of TRW, and now also subs of ZF.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 435K

Monopolies commission time?

Dang Charlie, Thanks for your effort! I am glad at least one other member has one.
Hopefully you'll find the time to sort through your stash and get it all situated!


However, I did end up contacting ZF to make sure of the authenticity of the part in questioned. I sent the pictures to them.

Here is their response. I blacked out the names because I did not get their authorization to show this. Although I did tell him I would share this info to other "club" members.


http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1422291095

Although this is off topic...
The transaction should be completed later this year, it would be the second largest automotive supplier after Bosch.

Here is the reasoning for the merger.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150125/NEWS/301259999/qa-with-stefan-sommer-zf-friedrichshafen-ceo-trw-acquisition-gives


.

No worries. I expect they will all become part of the Umbrella Corporation, within a decade, anyway.... :eek:

Resurrecting an old thread:

The OE/dealer strut mounts for the 124 chassis (124-320-14-44) are up to $89 list, ~$72 wholesale. This is up ~20% from a year or two ago, and up ~35% from a couple years before that. The OE mounts are made by Metzeler, detailed pics are on my site.

Rein had been reboxing the OE Metzler mounts (also documented on my site), but that supply appears to have dried up, they are NLA from most suppliers now. Febi is priced the same as URO ($15-$20) which was not a good sign. Pelican has Boge, but there was 1 review that said the aluminum portion broke on the "Boge" mount (unknown origin) when the car hit its first big pothole. The Meyle HD may be decent at ~$30 but they are made in China. After Jono recently received Lemforder M119 engine mounts with no markings on them (unknown brand / country of mfr), I was a little nervous about Lemforder's current offerings.

Lemforder had not previously offered 124 strut mounts, at least not that I know of, or not in USA. They are currently available from the usual vendors for $26-$30 or so. My wife's E420 has cracking mounts so I figured I'd order a pair. I was expecting reboxed no-name mounts of unknown origin. They appear to be a Lemforder-produced item that is a copy of the OE. The rubber and metal parts each have the new "triangle L" logo, and are made in Brazil. The fresh Lemforder mounts have an odor similar to Harbor Freight rubber, while the OE mounts have less odor... however my new OE mounts are 4-5 years old and the original odor is mostly gone now. Not really a fair comparison without fresh OE mounts to sniff.

Anyway, from a visual inspection, they appear to be a decent budget alternative that is probably in between Uro/Febi and OE/Metzler. Guess I'll see how they hold up after they're installed, probably later this year. I'm willing to try them on a daily driver, but I'd still shell out the $70-$75/ea for anything going on my 500E's. YMMV, etc. Photos here:

http://www.w124performance.com/images/W124_suspension/strut_mount_124-320-14-44/


Based on a couple of other Lemforder parts I've received over the past year or two... I believe Lemforder was reboxing OEM parts for items where they were not the true OE manufacturer. However, it seems that for whatever reason, Lemforder is starting to produce their own version of certain items instead of reboxing the OEM (for example, the 400E/500E steering center/drag link, and now the strut mounts too). Only time will tell if the Lemforder-produced items are equivalent quality to OE/OEM.

:boat: