Aftermarket wishbones / lower suspension arms

[Paul H]

A quick question...

I've read numerous horror stories about aftermarket wishbones lasting perhaps a year, and wondered if anyone can advise regarding reputable brands. My Pug 106 had an advisory on a ball joint the other month, and seeing as it has 100K on the clock, I figure that the other side probably isn't far behind so was going to replace both lower arms, as this will also do the job of refreshing the front bushes.

The available brands I've seen are (cheapest to most expensive) Starline, OCAP, MOOG & Lemforder, with varying prices. I know the old adage of you get what you pay for (and I don't mind spending more for a better lasting part) but are the more expensive ones actually worth it, or simply the same as the cheaper ones, but in more expensive packaging?

[e30ben]

Lemforder is an original supplier to Bmw

TRW is another well known OE supplier.

I wouldn’t have a problem with either, meyle where good once but not so much anymore.

[stealthstylz]

I fitted a pair of the cheapest front suspension arms I could get from work (13 quid a side iirc) on my 5" drop, 35 series tyre Saxo and then absolutely thrashed it mercilessly for 40,000 miles in 12 months and they're still fine now.

[asdajnr]

A common contributor to early failure of bushes in replacement suspension is torquing up bolts when suspension is at full sag whilst jacked up.

I always weight the hub with the vehicles weight then nip bolts up.

[ChasR]

It's not so easy anymore.

As an example

-Lemforder, Dayco, Brembo and one or two other brands supplier less-than-OEM quality shall we say to a European Car Parts Motor factor. Basically, they asked and they got a yes.

Where have I been caught in in the past here?
-I got a Lemforder upper arm for my 147. I torqued it up to the factor spec and it still developed play within 1 year. When I went to Ned at Autolusso for an intercooler hose and I mentioned an OE quality part dying he laughed in my face. "It's from them, it will be curse word" were his exact words. I thought he was talking curse word for a long time but I'll admit something, I've had less things go wrong

-For my Mondeo 2.5T 5 pot, well, the same model which was my mum's, then went on to two friends, he bought a Dayco cambelt.

Compared to the INA belt and the genuine Ford (well, Volvo) belt I got, the Dayco one was more flexible and it even felt stretchier. Would I or him have trusted that mickey mouse belt for 30k, let alone the manufacturer's 125k belt interval? No way!

I've been caught out by MisterAuto as well, where I had a substandard cooler sent out for my M3 via them, only for them to relist it as soon as I sent it back... That was for an NRF cooler, where they tend to supply OEM parts ; the cooler was even stamped BMW!

I've also had the odd pattern part last too, which was oddly a 106/Saxo arm as well! I've also had plenty fail...

IMHO, there are only a few things you can do.

-Go direct to the dealer ; part quality can sometimes change here but at least it's less likely to be affected. Alot of them are not as crazy on the price
-Go to a reputable motor factor. They are a dying trade and there are cowboys still out there, yes. But they are still few and far between. Some however are pricier than the dealers these days IME.
-Go to a reputable online place. Parts in Motion have been good as have Doctor Car Parts for me. Rock Auto do sell decent stuff.

Their Lemforder/MOOG stuff looks very different to what the aforementioned Euro supplier supplies these days.

-Go with a trusted upgrade on the bushes, but only via certain brands. SuperPro/Flex are about the only company I've seen offer a truly OEM alternative poly wise, with zero NVH increase. Yes, they're pricey but development is never a free man's game in the long term. They are about one of the few suppliers approved in Australia, and I think also one of the few Poly folks allowed for TuV approval.

TRW don't seem to have bucked the trend for going cheap just yet, and Delphi oddly I've always found reasonable.

[kevins]

I had some drop links and a front arm from euro car parts for my daughters KA, they were some brand I had never heard of probably their own brand, after 2 years 8000 miles it was making knocking noises the ball joints in one of the drop links and the wishbone had failed, fitted TRW parts, ball joints were certainly larger so lets hope they last.

[Paul Y]

Sometimes the manufacturers parts are the same price or cheaper than those from a 3rd party.

Got 2X front struts for the super Fiesta - £82 from Ford for the pair which was about the same as 3rd party and, as they had lasted 207K miles, should be good for the next 15 years.

P.

[kevins]

I find the Ford pricing strange, I bought most of the bushes for the KA from Ford and they were only about 150% of the pattern parts, the wishbone though was well over £200 and the drop links were around £100 a side, difficult to justify on a £800 car! If the wishbones were nearer £100 and the drop links £50 they would probably sell loads more.

[retroscort]

Oct 22, 2020 19:55:31 GMT asdajnr said:

A common contributor to early failure of bushes in replacement suspension is torquing up bolts when suspension is at full sag whilst jacked up.

I always weight the hub with the vehicles weight then nip bolts up.

Very good advice, most amateurs (and too many professionals) don't ever do this, it does make a difference.

I work in the parts industry, most of the cheaper parts (and some brand names) are exactly the same stuff coming from factories in eastern Europe and turkey, just repackaged. The quality is generally okay.

[Paul H]

Thank you chaps - very helpful. Have since ordered a pair from Parts in Motion - found it rather telling that I'd heard of all their brands & knew them to be major suppliers to OEMs unlike those offered by some other parts places...

Thank you also for the reminder regarding tightening up bushes with the weight on the suspension.

[Laters]

I fitted a pair of Moog lower arms to our 106 from ECP about 4 years ago with no issues.

Wanted a pair of lower arms and lower ball joints for our Honda.
Went to Honda who were happy to supply the lower arms, for silly money that is, but would only sell the lower ball joint as part of a assembly which would make a already expensive job stupid.
Got some Moog lower ball joints from ecp & fitted them, quite why Honda UK wont sell just the ball joint is beyond me.
As the lower arms from ECP were also a silly price for brand I didn't know got some cheapo ones online.
They looked the same but the taper where the ball joint fits was all wrong allowing the ball joint too far through.
They got sent back & got a refund.
ECP had a offer on which made the Moog lower arms for the Honda the same price I paid for the cheapo ones.
So far so good but will see how they go.

[ChasR]

I also work with OEMs.

In some cases only one manufacturer will be able to match the spec of what the manufacturer wants. Not from a cost point but an engineering one. This is despite dealing with big names.

I've also seen parts from countries mentioned above used. As they are so cheap, they'll accept x amount will be scrapped before an engine will leave a factory. Madness and wasteful, but in a speed and cost driven society, it's kind of driven on some parts. Obvious, when supply becomes a problem, you end up with a bigger problem than before.

For me, I simply cannot be asked to fit chod now. My sister's Saab reminded me of that. Thanks to curse word parts, it probably added on a week of aggravation which simply wasn't needed. On that I had no choice however; some parts are just curse word now in the absence of the manufacturer.

This of course can give the supplier the upper hand if they know this for pretty obvious reasons.

I've seen this on a number of parts now, even on some service items.