What's The Best Brand Driveshaft Support Bearing Carrier Available? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Squiggle Dog · #16 04-06-2019, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motorwagen

you could always buy one from FCP Euro, they offer lifetime warranty on everything they sell. I looked and it seems like they sell the rein brand and its only $9.22!
I have had good success with ECS and eeuro as well. I just liked the fact that I didnt have to worry for a long time because all my parts are lifetime warranty.

motorwagen

They have a good warranty, but the part is cheap enough that I don't really care about the money if I have to buy another. What I care about is the time and labor involved in replacing the part if it fails. I'm mostly concerned with getting the best quality part so I can avoid the labor of replacing it again due to failure. Also, Rein is made in India and I've had nothing but bad experiences with Indian rubber. It's dry rotted in only about a week every time I've bought something made with it.

I could buy a part and get a free replacement under warranty for life, but I'd still have to replace it, and that's the worst part. I'm mostly concerned in a part that lasts so I don't have to do the job again anytime soon. So, I don't mind that I had to pay over $100 for this part when aftermarket is 1/10 of the cost.

ECS Tuning is the only place in the world I've found that sells this genuine Mercedes support. It's not even available from Mercedes anymore. So, I don't really know how they are going to pull one out of a hat, but supposedly it's already shipped out to me, so I'm hoping that's what I get, and it's not super old stock.

It's kind of like parts store remanufactured starters. I got one for a 300SD I used to have and they had a great warranty and always made good on it. But, the downside was the starters would either be bad right out of the box, or they would fail at inopportune times after only about a week of use, so every few days I'd be replacing the starter. After about five times of this, I said "enough", got a refund, and installed a used starter from a wrecking yard, which gave no problems.

Warranties are nice and all, but I care more about the part lasting than endless replacement parts being sent my way while I have to constantly replace them.

Diesel911 · #17 04-06-2019, 11:29 AM

When you get the genuine one check the markings on it and see if we can do as with did with W123 Motor Mounts (which turned out to be Pheonix) and identify who makes it. Pictures would be nice.

Squiggle Dog · #18 04-06-2019, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

When you get the genuine one check the markings on it and see if we can do as with did with W123 Motor Mounts (which turned out to be Pheonix) and identify who makes it. Pictures would be nice.

I'll let you know. It's likely Phoenix. Then again, a part that is made for Mercedes vs aftermarket is likely to be made in a different factory in a different part of the world, with a different rubber composition. It's kind of like how if you buy Continental belts directly from Mercedes, they have the star printed on them and are made in Germany. But, if you buy them as aftermarket from anywhere else, they lack the star and are made in China. It's the same company, but they often make it to a higher standard when they make it for Mercedes as "genuine".

I have a feeling that a lot of these engine mounts which appear identical to the genuine Mercedes parts, and have the star ground off of them, are probably made on the same mold by possibly even the original manufacturer, but it's highly likely the rubber composition is different because I read somewhere that by law, manufacturers of parts have to make them differently for the aftermarket than they do for the automobile manufacturer, so that might involve either making the part with slightly different dimensions, or using a different material composition. It doesn't necessarily mean the parts are of inferior quality, but then again, it might.

I always make an effort to buy genuine when possible, but it's getting more challenging these days with so many parts becoming either no longer available, or insanely expensive. And then the quality of aftermarket parts can be hit and miss. A part that's high quality and German-made one day can be made in China and looks like it was thrown around the factory the next day. I'd feel better about buying aftermarket if I could be sure of the quality. Some vendors offer great warranties, which is fine for easily-replaced parts, but for parts which are very time-consuming and labor-intensive to replace, the warranty almost doesn't matter because the time and labor spent might dwarf the cost of the part.

Diesel911 · #19 04-06-2019, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

I'll let you know. It's likely Phoenix. Then again, a part that is made for Mercedes vs aftermarket is likely to be made in a different factory in a different part of the world, with a different rubber composition. It's kind of like how if you buy Continental belts directly from Mercedes, they have the star printed on them and are made in Germany. But, if you buy them as aftermarket from anywhere else, they lack the star and are made in China. It's the same company, but they often make it to a higher standard when they make it for Mercedes as "genuine".

I have a feeling that a lot of these engine mounts which appear identical to the genuine Mercedes parts, and have the star ground off of them, are probably made on the same mold by possibly even the original manufacturer, but it's highly likely the rubber composition is different because I read somewhere that by law, manufacturers of parts have to make them differently for the aftermarket than they do for the automobile manufacturer, so that might involve either making the part with slightly different dimensions, or using a different material composition. It doesn't necessarily mean the parts are of inferior quality, but then again, it might.

I always make an effort to buy genuine when possible, but it's getting more challenging these days with so many parts becoming either no longer available, or insanely expensive. And then the quality of aftermarket parts can be hit and miss. A part that's high quality and German-made one day can be made in China and looks like it was thrown around the factory the next day. I'd feel better about buying aftermarket if I could be sure of the quality. Some vendors offer great warranties, which is fine for easily-replaced parts, but for parts which are very time-consuming and labor-intensive to replace, the warranty almost doesn't matter because the time and labor spent might dwarf the cost of the part.

The official W123 617.953 300D Motor Mounts were sold for about $76 each. They have the Mercedes Star and part number on them but the Phoenix Logo is still present on them. Lemforder apparently grinds off the Mercedes Star but the rest is the same and puts them in their own box.

The lemforders are 1/3rd cheaper and also cheaper then the ones if you bought the Phoenox brand. But, they are all the same and all made in Turkey.

Squiggle Dog · #20 04-06-2019, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

The official W123 617.953 300D Motor Mounts were sold for about $76 each. They have the Mercedes Star and part number on them but the Phoenix Logo is still present on them. Lemforder apparently grinds off the Mercedes Star but the rest is the same and puts them in their own box.

The lemforders are 1/3rd cheaper and also cheaper then the ones if you bought the Phoenox brand. But, they are all the same and all made in Turkey.

That could be, though I've also heard from someone that even though the parts are made in the same molds, they use a different rubber compound in order to get around the copyright issues before they grind off the star logo. Either way, they're probably very close in quality and likely much better than Meyle or ÜRO. I myself was guilty of using Lemförder flex discs when I replaced them about eight years ago. They've held up well. I went genuine on the engine mounts, though, but I can't remember where they were made then.

pj67coll · #21 04-06-2019, 03:04 PM

I'm messing about with my 240D's rear end at the moment. Figured I'd replace the diff mount which I assume is original so I bought a Meyle. Nicely packaged and wrapped in it's "Mercedes Benz Germany, Original Erzatzteil, Geprufte Qualiteit" packaging. Was feeling pretty good about it until I discovered a small sticker affixed to the underneath of the package saying "Made in Thailand".

- Peter.

Squiggle Dog · #22 04-06-2019, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj67coll

I'm messing about with my 240D's rear end at the moment. Figured I'd replace the diff mount which I assume is original so I bought a Meyle. Nicely packaged and wrapped in it's "Mercedes Benz Germany, Original Erzatzteil, Geprufte Qualiteit" packaging. Was feeling pretty good about it until I discovered a small sticker affixed to the underneath of the package saying "Made in Thailand".

- Peter.

Meyle likes to play that game. They make a big deal about putting the word "Germany" on all their packaging and parts, and some German words. But, I don't think they make a single part in Germany. I see a lot of people advertising the parts as "Meyle Germany", "German Meyle", or "German-made", and I just shake my head because it's so misleading.

But, for what it's worth, I ordered a new $30 Febi rear windshield seal for my 1965 W111 220 because I just needed something cheap so I could put the rear window glass back in that the previous owner had removed, and it was made in Thailand, but the quality felt very good and it installed with no problems--and in fact it seemed on-par with the genuine ones I've installed before. So, who knows, maybe Thai rubber can be decent afterall.

pj67coll · #23 04-06-2019, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

So, who knows, maybe Thai rubber can be decent afterall.

We'll perhaps that indicates a hopeful situation. I've just got my car back up on my garage ramps so I can get back under there and start pulling stuff apart. I really want to get this issue sorted so I can get it back to being a reliable backup to my truck.

- Peter.

Squiggle Dog · #24 04-11-2019, 12:11 AM

The part actually arrived, and it is genuine Mercedes! It appears to be date stamped "18". It was made by GMT.

strelnik · #25 04-11-2019, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

Genuine Mercedes driveshaft rubber center bearing supports (123 410 10 81) are no longer available. So, what's the best alternative in quality of the rubber? I would assume Febi, but have heard they are made in China and not everyone is happy with them.

Then there's Meyle and ÜRO, neither which are typically know for outstanding quality--but the ÜRO comes with what seems like a high-quality Japanese bearing pressed into it--then again, I read about a case where one of these bearings fit too sloppily on the driveshaft.

Rein is apparently made in India, which in my experience has rubber that dry rots in a week. Vaico might be a decent brand, possibly made in Germany if their parts are anything like their transmission parts, and theirs has the bearing pressed in.

Hamburg Technic is apparently low quality. MTC comes with the bearing, but I am unsure of the quality. Hopefully there is a decent quality and long-lasting rubber driveshaft support to be had! The original has lasted 39 years and appears to be in decent condition, so I'm wondering which will last longer--a 39-year-old original part, or a new aftermarket part. There's little more frustrating than installing a new part and having it fail sooner than the original would have.

There's a French company that also has an English language (American) website called [URL="http://www.oscaroparts.com.

I have bought stuff from them when in France but they ship everywhere.

I was buying MB filters from them for 6 Euros when they are 13.00 here.
Who knows? You may get lucky.
The French have stocks of NLA parts that are typically sold to French people because no one thinks to buy from them, they go immediately to Germany.