w201 suspension help-moog vs lemforder vs delphi?
 

Hey all-
Steering in the 190 has gotten sloppy. The tie rod ends were replaced at some point, but they are in need of replacement. I'm thinking of replacing the entire tie rod assembly on each side and the center link. Struts, springs and ball joints were done previously.

Could some of you rate these brands for suspension part quality and durability? I've had terrible luck with "FEQ" and "febi" of late so these are the alternatives I've found:

Moog
Lemforder
Delphi
Klarius/Quinton Hazell

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Lemforder is usually pretty good stuff. I've never used any of the others at least not on a Mercedes.

Thanks for the reply. These tie rod ends were replaced at some point by a PO, but they're toast now. I have no idea what brand they are/were. I have seen lemforder suspension stuff listed for MBs and I know moog used to make good stuff, but since I haven't had any experience with any of these brands on the 190 I thought I should ask. So, one vote for Lemforder. Oh and I've never heard of klarius/quinton hazell...

a few years back when i went to replace ball joints, i ordered MOOGs, when they finally arrived in the mail, it turns out that the ball joints had the little owl stamp on them(this is LEMFORDER's LOGO).

Moral of the story: the more expensive MOOGS turned out to be Lemforders in a MOOG box.

Im not sure who made the factory installed ball joints for the 190 , but i believe that the w124 factory installed tie rods, centerdrag link and ball joints were made by TRW and Lemforder.


good luck

This is from personal experience. If I were you...don't skim, get them from the dealer.

I replaced mine with Febi & Lemforder, the rubber boots torn after one year. So I picked up a new set from the dealer, after my discount...they were like only $10 more each. I waited till I purchased a new set of tires b4 I put these on, bc alignment is recommended.

You may want to think about making things easy and just buying from the dealer? Not the cheapest I know. If you have a MBCA membership I think you can get 10% off.

The reason I bring this up is I have read that the MB items in some instances are actually made to a higher standard than the aftermarket items even when made by the same manufacturer. One example of this would be flexible driveshaft couplings. Read a Star article to that effect which was describing the differences between MB parts and aftermkt by the same supplier. I always wondered why the dealer parts were so much more expensive, this provoked some thought on my part as to why.

I had a bad experience recently with an aftermarket part, a simple rubber hose. When it gets to the point that you cannot trust a simple aftermarket rubber hose, it's the last straw. At least it was with me. No more aftermarket. That aftermarket piece wasted three days of my time and I learned a lesson from it.

Whatever you do, do not buy Meyle. Don't even accept Meyle as a gift. Lemforder would be the brand I would trust if I were buying aftermarket, but in the interest of doing it right the first time I would buy only dealer parts for the suspension. That kind of work is tiresome, brutish, and dirty. I wouldn't want to have to do it again.

XXXX orders things right from the dealership. Everything I've bought from them has arrived from MBUSA warehouses.


There is also shipping charges. Everything I've ever bought has come in overly large boxes. My buddy and I always make fun of it. But nothing has ever been damaged in shipping either.

I just checked. Evidently I bought meyle tie rods for my 201 in 2010. I'll give them a look over this weekend when I put some parts on.

^ this x2.

I still haven't learned my lesson. Just changed out my fan bracket ...again. The original fan bracket lasted 15+ years. The chinese one lasted less than 5 years.

If you are going to keep the car for more than 5 years, go ahead and get the dealer part. They will save you time, money and aggravation over the long run.

The replacement ball joints I got for my SL were Moog boxed with Lemforder logos on the boot and plastic bag.

The original joints were TRW. The steering joints were Lemforder.

Many aftermarket parts companies make OE parts for car makers. ( auto makers make few parts, most are outsourced even if it is to one of their spun off companies ) There can be a difference betwen OE and replacement parts from the same maker as the replacement part business is price driven.

Thank you for the suggestions. I haven't priced anything from the local stealership since I was so badly ripped off for the factory key and ignition switch previously. I would consider checking another dealer in Illinois or Michigan before giving them more business. When I worked in an auto parts store in high school, (80's) TRW and Moog were the highest quality suspension parts we could get for customers. Was Lemforder the OEM for benz in the 80's?

If you are keeping the car, don't bother pricing...just get it from the stealership. Any parts with "rubber" on it....dealer only!

Thanks for all of the replies. I'll be pricing parts this weekend....

Use XXXX They order direct from Mercedes-Benz. You even get a receipt/invoice from a Mercedes-Benz dealership a few days earlier/later. XXXX has always been cheaper than my local dealership. They've always charged me list price on stuff.