GKN/Loebro Axles -- Any Experience
 

Just saw them in the parts section:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperCat/3862/MBZ_3862_SUSAXL_pg1.htm#item0

Says original OEM and has German flag, and the very brief research I have done seems to confirm these are OE axles, without the dealer markup.

Both of my front boots are torn on my 01 E430 and replacing seems more sensible,and less costly, than re-booting. But I won't risk the cheaper, Chinese-made axles; I'll replace the car before doing that.

Just did my 201 boots with GKN/Loebro boots. It was actually pretty simple (at least on the 201). Replacing the entire axle will definitely save you a few steps, but I've read that the axles are hit or miss when I searched. I probably would've opted to replace the axles if they were available for the 201 at a reasonable price because one of mine started clicking. Ended up pulling one from the yard and using that and just rebooted that and the one that wasn't clunking. It's not all that bad of a job and despite what I've read about getting axle boots on...I have no idea what the fuss is about, it was pretty easy.

Although I don't hear any clunking I do hear what sounds like ball bearings rolling, on sharp turns.

What I might also do is have the cheap axles installed temporarily, send my originals to a re-builder I found in a thread on this forum, then reinstall those -- or have them standing by for when/if the aftermarkets fail. It's a lot of effort but still considerably less costly than buying a pair of MB originals.

Been a couple years on new GKN rear axles on my 300TE. No issues. Seem high quality when compared to factory that I took off after 170k. Solved a clicking noise that I only heard on the dyno for emissions test.