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Febi front LCA's - Ball joints are shot
- Thread starter szvook
- Start date
Re: Febi front LCA's ball joints are shot
Update on the aftermarket LCA's:
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?4858-Late-LCAs-OE-vs-TRW
Update on the aftermarket LCA's:
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?4858-Late-LCAs-OE-vs-TRW
Re: Late LCAs: OE vs TRW
ADMIN EDIT: This post is copied from the original thread here, post #47. Cross-posting to add the autopsy results to multiple LCA threads.
I thought I'd update this thread with more information.
I can see in Dave's pictures- the OE part is very very different in the ball joint. Looking at the bottom, one is stamped and one is cast/forged/machined. When I started to mill the Febi joint open, the cover spun and it is noticeably looser than the factory. The fingers are there on the Febi part. OE the plastic top part has no fingers- so no "play". The Febi was removed after 40-50 k miles because it was never right. The broken 2 fingers explains the weird play in only one direction. The bottom of the Febi is unsupported and the ball is flat. Factory choose to be 2 pieces and the top is black/grey plastic. Bottom of the Febi is flat and doesn't match the stamped bottom. OE it fits perfectly and the bottom piece is much thicker.
Should be able to get a rockwell hardness check Monday night or Tuesday from a friend.
LHS is FEBI, Right is Mercedes.
Based on this if you can afford MB, I would opt for them on a late model W124. After seeing one apart, I might even consider adding a NAS516 zerk fitting to an old one and purging the old grease with a boot off. Then replace the boot with a new OE replacement. This one died showed rust around the neck and I was afraid of fatigue initiation at the rust. So I found a replacement and replaced the boot + cleaned the top and added a few squirts of fresh grease.
Michael
ADMIN EDIT: This post is copied from the original thread here, post #47. Cross-posting to add the autopsy results to multiple LCA threads.
I thought I'd update this thread with more information.
I can see in Dave's pictures- the OE part is very very different in the ball joint. Looking at the bottom, one is stamped and one is cast/forged/machined. When I started to mill the Febi joint open, the cover spun and it is noticeably looser than the factory. The fingers are there on the Febi part. OE the plastic top part has no fingers- so no "play". The Febi was removed after 40-50 k miles because it was never right. The broken 2 fingers explains the weird play in only one direction. The bottom of the Febi is unsupported and the ball is flat. Factory choose to be 2 pieces and the top is black/grey plastic. Bottom of the Febi is flat and doesn't match the stamped bottom. OE it fits perfectly and the bottom piece is much thicker.
Should be able to get a rockwell hardness check Monday night or Tuesday from a friend.
LHS is FEBI, Right is Mercedes.
Based on this if you can afford MB, I would opt for them on a late model W124. After seeing one apart, I might even consider adding a NAS516 zerk fitting to an old one and purging the old grease with a boot off. Then replace the boot with a new OE replacement. This one died showed rust around the neck and I was afraid of fatigue initiation at the rust. So I found a replacement and replaced the boot + cleaned the top and added a few squirts of fresh grease.
Michael
