Febi Front Lower Control Arms (Late style)

[JC220]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

I unclipped the black rubber boot from the new Febi LCA- no surprise I guess that there was very little grease in there. (Just like GSXR's pictures before in terms of grease QTY) I’m going to clean that out and properly pack it with the Redline synthetic / Jono grease.



I need a second set of the late LCA’s for my 300E-24. I’ll not be going Febi again for the second pair- they are 'OK' on the CE just for now but wouldn't want to try another set until I see for myself how they behave.

REALLY would love to see pics of the current TRW aftermartket offerings. Could they now be like OEM arms!?

 

[jhodg5ck]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

I just run the early style arms..with some light judicious trimming of the casting slag and a careful hole cut into the brake dust shields you can have Real MB stuff for a fraction of the cost..and be able to fix it again and again..Woo!!

jono

 

[spkalka]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

I just run the early style arms..with some light judicious trimming of the casting slag and a careful hole cut into the brake dust shields you can have Real MB stuff for a fraction of the cost..and be able to fix it again and again..Woo!!

jono

Jono, are you saying you modify the old style to make bigger breaks fit by grinding off some material, or was that the recommendation for JC220's 300E-24?
s

 

[JC220]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

I’m pretty sure that’s what Jono meant. The early LCA’s for MB are made by Lemforder. Lemforder ‘aftermarket’ is identical to the genuine article and much cheaper. The early LCA also has the replaceable ball joints VS the welded / non replaceable joints on the late arms.

The early LCA can be ground back a little so as to clear the brake rotor and the dust shield will need a slot cut in it to prevent rubbing for fitment on models that are supposed to have the late LCA. All m104 engined w124’s (Even my 1990 300E-24) came with the welded ball joint ‘late’ LCA from factory and 4 pot brake callipers. On my W124 E36 AMG project car I fitted early Lemforder LCA’s by filing the edge of the casting and trimming the brake shield as described above.

But it felt wrong to grind a new part and a little unsafe- should anyone go this route be very careful to not remove too much material and weaken the casting. For my 300E-24 it is not urgent so il wait and see what the TRW aftermarket are like or get them from the dealer.

 

[Klink]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

I just run the early style arms..with some light judicious trimming of the casting slag and a careful hole cut into the brake dust shields you can have Real MB stuff for a fraction of the cost..and be able to fix it again and again..Woo!!

jono

Been there and done this, too, for the same reason.

 

[Klink]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

For any rubber items use a rubber-specific protectant, like the ones available from Wurth or 3M. Silicone spray probably wouldn't do anything.

I prefer to get NOTHING on them, but some warnings here are valid, as the carrier solvents in some sprays kill them in short order. The ones in most silicone sprays are particularly aggressive to these synthetic rubber boots. And never mind direct contact with the spray, but just the vapors from some wheel cleaners disintegrate them rapidly. Not surprisingly, enthusiasts and clean freak types have the highest failure rate of these and similar items. The guy that hasn't washed his car in 300,000 miles? His are still perfect....
Maybe a little 303 aerospace protectant?

 

[gsxr]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

FWIW on grinding the LCA for clearance. The factory air gap between LCA and brake disc is ±6mm or so, and the dust shield occupies ~1mm of this air gap. The absolute MINIMUM air gap required is about 2.0mm with a hole cut in the dust shield. Any less than 2mm and the brake rotor will very likely rub the LCA while turning, as the lateral load moves the disc closer to the LCA from wheel bearing play. Due to tolerance stack, on some cars you may only need to grind the LCA a teeny bit, on other cars it may need a BUNCH of grinding. YMMV, yadda x3.

For the record, I can't recall ever seeing or hearing about a total ball joint failure on the late-style, non-replaceable type joints (OE / Genuine MB). By "total failure", I mean the joint breaking and the LCA separating from the steering knuckle, resulting in a loss of steering and bent/destroyed fender sheet metal as the tire swings out of normal position. Conversely, I've seen multiple failures on the early, replaceable style BJ. I could be way out in left field here, but I personally prefer the correct LCA's where required. Shoot, I'd even prefer the late LCA's on an early car that doesn't "need" them.

Edit: Late LCA's are NLA from Mercedes, aftermarket are not recommended.

 

[Deserion]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

It would’ve helped if I had read this (and the thread from #18 which I did pore over in the past) fully before commenting. I swear I’m not (usually) that much of a dunce.

From the pics I had, the take-offs were the genuine article, and the replacements matched the aftermarket joint covers. Next time I have the front wheels off I’ll try to remove the boot lower to peek inside.

 

[jhodg5ck]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

FWIW on grinding the LCA for clearance. The factory air gap between LCA and brake disc is ±6mm or so, and the dust shield occupies ~1mm of this air gap. The absolute MINIMUM air gap required is about 2.0mm with a hole cut in the dust shield. Any less than 2mm and the brake rotor will very likely rub the LCA while turning, as the lateral load moves the disc closer to the LCA from wheel bearing play. Due to tolerance stack, on some cars you may only need to grind the LCA a teeny bit, on other cars it may need a BUNCH of grinding. YMMV, yadda x3.

For the record, I can't recall ever seeing or hearing about a total ball joint failure on the late-style, non-replaceable type joints (OE / Genuine MB). By "total failure", I mean the joint breaking and the LCA separating from the steering knuckle, resulting in a loss of steering and bent/destroyed fender sheet metal as the tire swings out of normal position. Conversely, I've seen multiple failures on the early, replaceable style BJ. I could be way out in left field here, but I personally prefer the correct LCA's where required. Shoot, I'd even prefer the late LCA's on an early car that doesn't "need" them.

I think I've set up @ least 15 cars w/ early LCA's that called for late. One of the first was my 300TE that I put Late E420 brakes on. IDK just how many years it's been...but at least 7 or 8....I daily drove the car for a year, then my mom used it @ the farm for 4 or 5 of those...it's been a loaner here at the shop for 2...6 months one of my guys needed a car so he used it. Point of that, I haven't so much as looked at the wheel bearings since i installed it...I know I should but tires are wearing well, everything is super spiffy.. I opted to leave the dust shields off all together on that one but that was just me!

The only total ball joint failures I've seen were on such Horribly neglected cars and I can only Imagine the CLUNK coming from the front end prior to them letting go...esp considering the ones that were still together with 1/2-3/4 of an inch of drop in em..;-)

I can only imagine late LCA's are going to get More expensive for Genuine and crappier on the aftermarket....call me pessimistic but that's been the trend up till now. The bushings and ball joints I think stand a better chance of being solid/reliable/reasonable further into the future.

jono

 

[Klink]

Re: Febi Lower Control Arms

Whatever their life span was, I have to agree with you, Jono. Like Adele, they must’ve knocked a thousand times...

 

[samm]

Hi Dave,

Ball joint boot kit for the front control arm.
Part number 201 330 0085

I bought it but it seems a little bit too small for the ball joint on my 95 E420.

Is the boot meant to be really pulled and stretched to fit?

My control arms have under 50k miles on them so I'm not looking to replace the whole arm. Just the boot is torn.

So is this part the correct one?
Much appreciated

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[samm]

The part numbers on my original boot and the new boot from Mercedes is exactly the same.
I guess because of the stretch fit on the ball joint the old boot looks wider.

So I see that I will have to really stretch the new boot onto the joint on the control arm.



Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[gerryvz]

It appears that FCP Yurro is having a sale on PAIRs of Lemforder front LCAs. [GSXR edit - these are the early LCA's with replaceable ball joint.]

Mercedes Control Arm Kit - Lemforder 124330

Mercedes Control Arm Kit - Lemforder 124330

www.fcpeuro.com

No COO, but given that they are ~$150 each, it's fairly safe to say that they are likely being made in China or similar (last we knew: Taiwan). I believe these are for the early cars with smaller front brakes. It would be good to check with FCP to have them confirm this, or provide the current COO if different.

Buyer beware, but in case someone desperately needs a pair, here you go.

 

[dreaming.haze]

Looks like still Taiwan. Checked the individual listings vs. the kit.