-
Hi Guest !
Welcome to the 500Eboard forum.
Since its founding in late 2008, 500Eboard has become the leading resource on the Internet for all things related to the Mercedes-Benz 500E and E500. In recent years, we have also expanded to include the 400E and E420 models, which are directly related to the 500E/E500.
We invite you to browse and take advantage of the information and resources here on the site. If you find helpful information, please register for full membership, and you'll find even more resources available. Feel free to ask questions, and make liberal use of the "Search" function to find answers.
We hope you will become an active contributor to the community!
Sincerely,
500Eboard Management
Early Front Control Arms NLA?
- Thread starter DarkStar
- Start date
Ouch. Yes, you can rebuild the early LCA's with new balljoint and bushings. I'd recommend OE for both items.
The alternative is to buy the late Sportline LCA's, which are still available, and would allow for brake upgrades if desired. Cost is roughly double, but you don't have to mess with pressing parts in & out, or worrying about getting the bushings clocked correctly (which is critical - pics are on my website).
The Lemforder early LCA's are now made in Taiwan with non-OEM bushings, and I'm not sure I'd use them anymore.
The alternative is to buy the late Sportline LCA's, which are still available, and would allow for brake upgrades if desired. Cost is roughly double, but you don't have to mess with pressing parts in & out, or worrying about getting the bushings clocked correctly (which is critical - pics are on my website).
The Lemforder early LCA's are now made in Taiwan with non-OEM bushings, and I'm not sure I'd use them anymore.
I’m surprised the sport line is not recommended as a replacement but the revolution system is pretty simplistic.
how do I find sportline? Is it tied to a model (eg. 300CE ) or is it just by part number?
1243303607
1243303707
these come up as $700-$900 on most searches.
was the 1243303007 the early 92-93 model?
And 1243303407 the later (fixed ball joint) model? Also works with big brakes?
how do I find sportline? Is it tied to a model (eg. 300CE ) or is it just by part number?
1243303607
1243303707
these come up as $700-$900 on most searches.
was the 1243303007 the early 92-93 model?
And 1243303407 the later (fixed ball joint) model? Also works with big brakes?
Late Sportline is indeed 1243303607 and 1243303707 and works with big brakes.
Late standard is 1243303407 and 1243303507 but NLA, also works with big brakes. These were popular prior to NLA.
Early standard is 1243303007 and 1243303107 but doesn't clear big brakes.
The late Sportlines will be $700-$900 per pair, depending on the vendor... maybe try these guys in southern Texas? No affiliation, I haven't ordered from them before. Dunno if they charge sales tax:
www.mbpartsource.com
www.mbpartsource.com
Late standard is 1243303407 and 1243303507 but NLA, also works with big brakes. These were popular prior to NLA.
Early standard is 1243303007 and 1243303107 but doesn't clear big brakes.
The late Sportlines will be $700-$900 per pair, depending on the vendor... maybe try these guys in southern Texas? No affiliation, I haven't ordered from them before. Dunno if they charge sales tax:
124-330-36-07 - Control MB Parts Source
Factory Direct Control (1243303607) For Your
www.mbpartsource.com
124-330-37-07 - Transverse Control Arm MB Parts Source
Factory Direct Transverse Control Arm (1243303707) For Your
www.mbpartsource.com
I have the Leomforder bushings with the MB PN stamped in it. I was told these are no longer available. If you decide to go that route let me know. I think you can still get OE ball joints.
From what I've seen of OE vs aftermarket, I'd prefer a clean set of used LCA's with a tight balljoint and undamaged boot... then rebuild it with new OE boot, new OE bushings, and adding grease to the joint. I've done this a couple times already. Years ago @samiam44 cut apart OE and aftermarket joints, the aftermarket design was visibly inferior.
Replacement is not really practical, since the design is a compact joint welded to the LCA. There's nothing available (AFAIK) that would weld on in place of it. And, it would require precision location... not really DIY'able. Decades from now when these have been NLA long term and good used donors are also gone, it might be worth pursuing; but at that point gambling on aftermarket may still be easier.
The late joints are quite robust IMO and if the boot is never compromised, may last the life of the car. Still, it's not be a bad idea to proactively replace the boot and add some of the Jono-approved Red Line grease to the joint.
The RedLine grease is thin and tends to run and separate. A bunch of folks have used it in the swivel balls on the G-wagen and it runs past the scrapers. I got a bunch of grease gun tubes of the Fuchs Renolit grease (same as factory) which is much better for this application. I would use it on ball joints as well above the Redline grease.
In your reviews of different LCA did you look at TRW Malaysia products?...and, ball joint failures at speed can cause SEVERE damage.
Do we know who/where the MB sportline LCAs are produced?
I’m getting disheartened Thinking about mad maxing this car to keep it on the road.
the fact that I see Dorman LCAs online means there is a market for them, I can’t imagine why there isn’t one reputable manufacturer willing to produce them!
I have ordered a set of genuine Sportline LCA´s yesterday. I´ll check the label and report.
Late-style OE MB LCA's are made in Slovenia, both standard and Sportline.
I'm not sure where the early-style OE LCA's were made. Don't think I have photos of the early OE's.
Aftermarket late-style TRW, back in 2013, were marked "Made in EU" and looked visually identical to Febi, which at the time were labeled Made in Spain. Photos of both are on my website, video is below. I don't know where either are made today.
Dorman = doorstop, I wouldn't use those.
I'm not sure where the early-style OE LCA's were made. Don't think I have photos of the early OE's.
Aftermarket late-style TRW, back in 2013, were marked "Made in EU" and looked visually identical to Febi, which at the time were labeled Made in Spain. Photos of both are on my website, video is below. I don't know where either are made today.
Dorman = doorstop, I wouldn't use those.
As I posted above:
The late-style ball joints are quite robust, and if the boot is never compromised, may last the life of the car. Still, it's not be a bad idea to proactively replace the boot and add some of the Jono-approved Red Line grease [or Gerry-approved Fuchs grease] to the ball joint, assuming you are working with older / high-mile late LCA's.
I have done the same. No stock in the U.S., so they are being shipped out of Germany. Thank you for making everyone aware of your discussion with the dealership @Twilling - crazy that stock is down to 60 units with no intention of doing another run.........
Last edited:
By the way, the Fuchs grease is very difficult to find here in the US.
If you want to get some, you can get it here:
If you want to get some, you can get it here:
Fuchs Renolit Replex Multi-Purpose Lithium Complex Tube Grease. | eBay
<p dir="ltr">This listing is for seven tubes of grease.<br> Fuchs Renolit Replex Multi-Purpose Lithium Complex Tube Grease.. Condition is New. Shipped with USPS First Class Package.</p>
www.ebay.com
I intend to keep my car for a very long time and have already been f'd over with some of the prices I had to pay for NLA parts I needed/wanted to put on my car. While I have had new LCAs put on my car about 6 months ago, I decided to bite the bullet and purchase these now for when the time comes that my current LCAs are worn again.
I use my 500 E as my daily so I'm trying to plan ahead to avoid getting f'd over again when LCAs are priced in lunatic headlight territory in several years. Not part speculating here, just trying to avoid getting in a bind down the road
There are a zillion variants of Fuchs Renolit. Is the REPLEX neon-green like the LX-PEP2 variant (which also meets MB sheet 265.1)? I couldn't find a REPLEX-specific spec sheet.By the way, the Fuchs grease is very difficult to find here in the US.
If you want to get some, you can get it here:
Fuchs Renolit Replex Multi-Purpose Lithium Complex Tube Grease. | eBay
<p dir="ltr">This listing is for seven tubes of grease.<br> Fuchs Renolit Replex Multi-Purpose Lithium Complex Tube Grease.. Condition is New. Shipped with USPS First Class Package.</p>www.ebay.com
High Quality Lubricating Greases | FUCHS SCHMIERSTOFFE GMBH
Greases from FUCHS offer you the ideal solutions for the greatest possible number of grease applications in industry. Get an overview of the grease lubricant program.
Interesting. Mine say Slovenia on the sticker but have the TRW stamp on the arm, the opposite of yours.
Very interesting - thanks for the pics! I have a pair of NOS 36/37 from many years ago. I thought I had photos but apparently not. I need to dig them out and get pics. I'd have sworn both were Slovenian. The grease boot may be TRW branded, and the ball joints usually have the TRW marking somewhere (cast in the metal, as seen in photo below). Remember this is completely different from TRW aftermarket.
So, with my 500E having the Silver Arrow brakes (Maui's old car), then I should get the 1243303607 and 1243303707 for future use, correct?
Where did you purchase yours from?My new set just showed up and are Slovenia 2010
My original set of Sportline was from Germany
Correct. However if Maui installed new 34/35 LCA's, they should last the life of the car.
Thanks for that post. I will check with Maui and see if he replaced them. I found a text that said he did LCA work on two of his cars so I'm pretty sure he did.Correct. However if Maui installed new 34/35 LCA's, they should last the life of the car.
You might have just saved me $700-900 bucks! Gracias!
Both times from local MB dealer
Thank you
Be wary of newer OE boots mostly 2010+, after 5-6 years they crumble at small ring, I have seen this happen in a set that was on car and one in storage.
Overall OE quality is not great these days, If you see OE LCA set bellow, you can see joint weld does not look good, almost looks like misalignment.
Overall OE quality is not great these days, If you see OE LCA set bellow, you can see joint weld does not look good, almost looks like misalignment.
Could it be mostly cosmetic? I mean, producing control arms is far from rocket propulsion science, right? Maybe that peeling is not detrimental to, say 10 years out durability? Ditto for the weldBe wary of newer OE boots mostly 2010+, after 5-6 years they crumble at small ring, I have seen this happen in a set that was on car and one in storage.
Overall OE quality is not great these days, If you see OE LCA set bellow, you can see joint weld does not look good, almost looks like misalignment.
Agree, in this case the ball joint portion is actually an insert and weld, my point is quality control and material are not what it used to be. During my 124 rebuild I had ordered new bolts (sourced via MB dealer in Germany) for critical areas, most ended up being generic size and din't compare to quality of what was on car, so ended up re-finishing old ones.
Recently I ordered OE belt and it was made in Romania, it started chirping immediately after install, inspected and saw groves where not deburred.
Most MB bolts have changed since the 80's and early 90's, and supercede to newer part numbers. The replacements are no longer yellow plated and often have a different head (i.e. male or female Torx instead of hex). Sometimes the replacement bolt won't work at all, like the replacement M119 fan clutch bolt. I'm not surprised you ended up re-using and re-finishing the old hardware.
Some parts are changing to new suppliers (IIRC some belts are now Gates?), and/or changing to new factories in different countries, where the materials used are not the same. For example the new OE 124 strut mounts are no longer made in Germany and the rubber smells distinctly of Harbor Freight, since roughly 2018 or so.
However, I have no reason to believe that 2010-production late LCA's are in any way poor quality. If the LCA grease boot is not TRW branded or is in any way suspect, replace it with new OE.
Yesterday I picked up a pair of new OE LCA grease boots in case I can save one that started to tear on my Sportline LCAs.
Current stock is branded TRW Germany 2018.
Current stock Sportline LCA is branded TRW Slovenia 2010 and the grease boots are branded TRW also.
Current stock is branded TRW Germany 2018.
Current stock Sportline LCA is branded TRW Slovenia 2010 and the grease boots are branded TRW also.
Attachments
Attachments
OE boots are defenitely suspect vs LCA, LCA components could still be original source, but where its made or welded is not.
Last edited:
@Klink, have you ever seen the OE TRW boots crack as shown above?
The photos in post #44 are not the same grease as the eBay listing in post #20. Different stuff.By the way, the Fuchs grease is very difficult to find here in the US.
If you want to get some, you can get it here:
Fuchs Renolit Replex Multi-Purpose Lithium Complex Tube Grease. | eBay
<p dir="ltr">This listing is for seven tubes of grease.<br> Fuchs Renolit Replex Multi-Purpose Lithium Complex Tube Grease.. Condition is New. Shipped with USPS First Class Package.</p>www.ebay.com
The LX-PEP2 grease is the neon-green MB wheel bearing grease.
I don't know what REPLEX is, can't find the spec sheet for it.
Nice! Any mfr logos on the metal portion?
Similar threads
