Meyle or Lemforder

[BMW4LIFE]

okay so i did the search and came up with 78676576 hits...then decided to read 98769 of them and got tired... ;D

but yea on a serious note...i havethe beast for 6 years now...want to sell it but i cant due to all the memories...

its winter break so i need to do so suspension work...ive been looking at some parts and it seems the lemforder is favored very highly around here but what are your feelings on Meyle?

ps. how do i know what suspension parts (front and rear) are shot? when i work on the car i want to do it all and get it over with so i wanna buy all the parts i need and non that i dont

thanks in advance!!!!!!!

[shogun]

What to repair and hot to find out? Read Bruno's page
http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main.htm

Meyle is in my opinion now in some respect even better with their new HD line. http://www.meyle.com/html/uploads/techtips/ControlArmBushing_BMW_12.04_en.pdf
If you have a press, just byt the bushes and press them in. The metal pieces do not wear out at for example the upper control arm.

Go thru this list, has the Meyle # and OEM numbers
http://www.wulfgaertner.de/Home/application.asp?lan=en&images=off&ma=16&de=0&mo=14201774121&ba=14201769649&

I just bought a lot from my source in Germany.

[BMW4LIFE]

ive read brunos page before...its very informitive but like with anything in like i would like to get a second opinion before i drop the amex...money is tight around the holidays...

as far as just the bushing goes...ive talked to a couple people and they told me that with those many miles just drop the extra $ to get the new arm cause chances are high that the ball joints are either shot or soon to be

im checking out the bma website as i type this right now...

ps. does anyone have a problem with oil leaks? if so did you fix it? how much?

thanks!

[markus]

i just replaced my tierods, control arms, thrust arms, center link and idler arm and swaybar links with meyle stuff from steve haygood for $411 shipped. Its been about 2 months now and no problems. They are all meyle parts. They were all packaged well and made in germany stamped on them. We will see how they hold up. Its a lot better than what was on there.

[stilljester]

it seems the lemforder is favored very highly around here but what are your feelings on Meyle?

Meyle IMO is a quality part supplier - I've run thier replacement suspension parts in my E36 for over 20k miles and the front end is still as tight as the day I installed them. Obviously there is little doubt as to Lemforder 's quality but as far as quality per cost of the part I feel Meyle is hard to beat. I just installed entire new front end on my E34 touring so I'll let you know how the parts hold up - but I doubt I'll have any issue.

I think many of the early failures of front end parts might be contributed to improper torque-ing and not loading the suspension correct prior to tightening.

[markus]

Meyle IMO is a quality part supplier - I've run thier replacement suspension parts in my E36 for over 20k miles and the front end is still as tight as the day I installed them. Obviously there is little doubt as to Lemforder 's quality but as far as quality per cost of the part I feel Meyle is hard to beat. I just installed entire new front end on my E34 touring so I'll let you know how the parts hold up - but I doubt I'll have any issue.

I think many of the early failures of front end parts might be contributed to improper torque-ing and not loading the suspension correct prior to tightening.


+1 on the last part. I think people have shops install these parts and they dont know what they are doing.

[Scott C]

Well,

I would still suggest Lemforder parts depending on the mix of $ vs longevity you desire. I had Meyle and the boots turned to brittleness in less than 2 years and I ended up losing the joints as grease went out and water went in. So I did the job again with Lemforder and it has been 3.5 years now and they are holding up. Maybe use the new silicone boots?

Risk vs Reward....

Good luck
Scott

[rickm]

I've used Lemforder for a while, never had any problems. When I had my Volvo I bought some Meyle parts once, the shop I used considered them junky. We revisited this the other day and he said the Meyle parts seemed to be getting better now.

[Bill R.]

my own car , that way i don't have to do it again for quite a while.... on customers cars if they buy meyle i install them but i do let them know that in my experience its worth paying the extra for the lemforder parts.

[BMW4LIFE]

okay well let me ask ya'll this then...i have 138k on the car...my buddy is a huge bmw guy and he tells me that the e34 tranny is done by 150k...now if thats false i would put the lemforders on and ride the beast for as long as it goes but if the tranny is gonna go out there is no point for me to spend the extra dough on the parts =/

and another thing...should i flush my tranny? it slightly kicks when im driving and the car is cold...but once the car is warmed up its super smooth...

okay one more thing i promise:D ...i need to change a gasket ( cause oil leaks through the plugs) what is that gasket called and how much is the labor?

thanks again people you guys are truely amazing...i do have to say even better than my mechanic!!! ;D

[Jeff in MN]

ps. does anyone have a problem with oil leaks? if so did you fix it? how much?

thanks!

The oil pan of my m30. Did not have the time to do jack the engine and do the whole m30 oil pan gasket replacement. Here's what I did and so far no more leaky.
1) Pull he car on to ramps to get some working room.
2) Used a fine tooth hack saw blade to trim the old gasket flush with the oil pan. Most of you have seen where after many years of tighting, the gasket is squishing out from the between the pan and the block.
3) Meticulously clean the area over and over. I used a putty knife covered with a rag to slipp between the pan and the balancer. Occasionally I sprayed the rag with brake cleaner to cut oil and get to clean metal.
4) Final rinse with brake cleaner.
5) Now apply permatex (blue) gasket sealer to the edge. This is delicate work, but I used a piece of heavy coat hanger with a slight bend in it to work the sealer into the joint as best I could.

Did this in September and so far no more drips on the garage floor. In the spring I will probably do the gasket for real.