lemforder still OK for front strut mounts?

[fo3]

I've had a suspension knock I haven't been able to get rid of after replacing all ball joints in suspension and steering. I've decided it has to be strut mounts even though I can't make it knock by pushing down and rocking my car and there's no visible cracking or movement in the mount.

My choices are lemforder for $49ea*, meyle hd (local at $200 pr), or cheapo corteco for $40

Anyway, are lemforder still good? I've heard mixed things like changed production to China or Taiwan.

I've been researching this for the last day and also come across people saying the melye hd strut mounts are not that great (lasting ~20,000kms) so they don't seem worth double the price either. $300 for OEM is a bit out of budget as I need to buy a lot of other things and the AU$ is fairly low valued right now.

*That's pelican prices, I know they're $40 elsewhere but I'm going to have to pay $45+ freight so I might as well make an order there for the cushion springs, and a few bits and pieces like ATE brake lines, fuel door hinge, sender gaskets and some otherstuff no one else has). They kind of have me over the barrel due to largest range, no problems getting dealer parts ordered in, and the cheapest freight costs for me - and being on the west coast it's a lot quicker.
BavAuto used to good for me as well but they just closed business.

[shogun]

I switched to Febi Bilstein for steering links, center tie rod etc (also because for the E32 750 options of still available center tie rod is limited), installed 2 years ago, nothing to complain, reasonable price, but per year I only drive abt. 5000 km with the 750, so not a real hard endurance test.

[fo3]

Thanks, I've tried that place you mentioned in message and got no results other than lemforder.
I've had no luck with part# 31331139437 for febi-bilstein brand either.

In the UK and on ebay there are other options (vaico, sachs) I tried to get the sachs for $55ea but they wanted $140 shipping!
Even schmiedmann only has BMW ones for ~$150 or a home brand generic choice - no mid range brand options there.

After searching more today I haven't found any more choices, still stuck with what I found at my first 3 stores that have reasonable shipping. IE, BMW branded $150, meyle hd for $100, lemforder $49, corteco $40(I've read lemforder are made in the same place as these ones now)

E: Might try see if I can find someone in the UK to get the sachs ones and forward them on to me. If not, I've got to settle on the lemforder ones I think.

[shogun]

Here from USA Lemfoerder 31331139437, per piece $43.04, shipping to AUS $53.50 for 2 https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-525i-53...1&isGTR=1#shId

[fo3]

Yeah, If I get lemforder it will be from fcp euro. They've marked them down further to US$38 and their shipping is US$52
Plus they seems to have got some other parts in stock they didn't have a day or so ago (all the spring cushion mounts). So I can get them, the fuel door hinge, sender gasket, all the o rings I need to refresh my heater core, air box spring clip and rad bracket.
About the only thing I wanted they don't have is ATE brake lines - I'll just have to get a local something.
E: I just hope if I order from the east coast again it doesn't go in limbo in Kentucky before going to: alaska, japan and china roundabout way to singapore.
But seems pelican had put their shipping costs for a box up from ~45 to now ~$80 anyway

[bluptgm3]

Have you tried ECS Tuning, they generally have good mix of brands plus OE.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fo3]

Have you tried ECS Tuning, they generally have good mix of brands plus OE.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, They're $60 shipping and not too bad.
I've been doing this for a while... Freight starts at about $80 for most places in USA and Europe, averages $100. There's a reason why I use pelican and fcp euro - they were the cheapest at $45-50 (and sometimes bavauto for their homebranded but good stuff it was worth paying more for shipping sometimes because their homebrand stuff was good and low cost. RIP).
Been there, done that and priced out shipping cost for a shopping cart on every major site for a couple of years.

I'm just after the answer to the question is lemforder still decent? If yes, I know where to find it. If no, then I need new places to shop I guess but something new that no one has ever heard of. Something with another brand and not $80+ shipping.

[fo3]

About the only thing I wanted they don't have is ATE brake lines - I'll just have to get a local something.

Quoting myself here for brevity, shame that fcp don't have many options for brake hoses, oem at ~$120pr or low cost corteco brand for $24. Good thing about pelican was more choice at mid range brands - like Ate for $37.
I've been looking at local options and they're all around $65 for no name brands...

I might be tempted to get a 'bespoke' set from goodridge in the UK as shipping is cheap (main reason why I'm so eager for UK shopping sites so much). I shop online a lot but never click 'buy' after seeing the shipping costs. But just then I came across a mention of goodridge in an m5 forum. $100 for a pair delivered is only $35 more than the local yum-cha (trade, industry and automotive is so backwards in Australia, hardly ever an online price or search result). I don't mind paying some more for product but inflated "can't be bothered" shipping prices some places have are stupid.
Anyone here ever gone flashy with goodridge brake hoses in their vanilla e34? Cheaper than OEM rubber

[ross1]

The struts themselves could be your knock. Unless the mount is visibly moving I'd be suspecting the strut.

[fo3]

It could be a faulty strut but the mounts are older so I'll start there. IE take it apart and have a look see. I want to do the brake hoses, spring mount cushions and all the other stuff that was skipped when the strut was last changed.
\E: If it's a strut then that's probably something I can get locally (no matter what price, as shipping them is ~$150 anyway due to size and weight). I need to be prepared for order in items (most local things are order in for such an old car - most things from my dealer is 3 weeks from germany or 1 week from sydney at best)

[moroza]

In the last two years I've seen Lemförder parts made in Germany, Brazil, USA, Slovakia, China, and Taiwan. The Chinese ones (subframe mounts) were visibly lower quality, so even if you don't care about the bigger picture of Chinese production (you should), I'd say you're right to seek satisfactory answers to the question of where suchandsuch is made.

I got Sachs front strut mounts from FCP last May. They were the v.3 that fit later 525i (not sure about your 1991, but if you get shocks to match, it doesn't matter and the v.3 is a better design) and were made in the USA. So far so good.

[de Witt]

E: I just hope if I order from the east coast again it doesn't go in limbo in Kentucky before going to: alaska, japan and china roundabout way to singapore.
But seems pelican had put their shipping costs for a box up from ~45 to now ~$80 anyway

Unlikely, Louisville is the major UPS cargo hub and Anchorage is a major FedEx/UPS hub.

[fo3]

Unlikely, Louisville is the major UPS cargo hub and Anchorage is a major FedEx/UPS hub.

That's a shame. I guess my order will take over 2 weeks then. I found the fastest shipping for me was buying from the west coast and using USPS (8 days) and that explains it as it goes straight to singapore or east coast australia.

In the last two years I've seen Lemförder parts made in Germany, Brazil, USA, Slovakia, China, and Taiwan. The Chinese ones (subframe mounts) were visibly lower quality, so even if you don't care about the bigger picture of Chinese production (you should), I'd say you're right to seek satisfactory answers to the question of where suchandsuch is made.

I got Sachs front strut mounts from FCP last May. They were the v.3 that fit later 525i (not sure about your 1991, but if you get shocks to match, it doesn't matter and the v.3 is a better design) and were made in the USA. So far so good.

Can you fit them to early e34 axles though? It was a pain to get the old part struts 18months ago, and now a pain to get the mounts. If you can fit later struts and mounts to the axle I might do that if my strut is bad and the lemforder mounts aren't any good

[moroza]

Can you fit them to early e34 axles though? It was a pain to get the old part struts 18months ago, and now a pain to get the mounts. If you can fit later struts and mounts to the axle I might do that if my strut is bad and the lemforder mounts aren't any good

Yes, as long as the shock inserts match the mounts. All* E34 front strut mounts have the same fitment to the body and to the springs (also E30, E28, and E32 springs). The three different mounts have three different shapes of shock pin**, but all three styles of shock inserts have the same fitment to the strut housing. If you need shocks anyway, buy a matching mount/shock set, and it will fit any E34*.

The two-piece v.3 31331139452 (with stock spring perch 31331128524) is shared with E30, more readily available, cheaper, a better design, and the spring perch can be substituted with 31336764093 from an E90 for a ~6mm drop (some sites quote 12mm; I measured 5-7).

*525iX and EDC may be different.

**The difference between v.2 and v.3 can be compensated by a simple adapter ring that often comes with aftermarket shocks.

[fo3]

I've been looking at the FAQ and real OEM, various sites some more and I think I may have a problem. I thought I had this all figured out and written down somewhere when I went through suspension and brakes 18 months ago.
But anyway, my car should be v2. But it might have v3 mounts fitted by a PO already.
What's making me think it could have had v3 parts fitted is the fact that the dustcaps are smaller for v3 as mentioned on realoem and the FAQ.
I bought the v2 dustcaps on a USA parts order ages ago but never fitted them as they were way too big. At the time I thought I'd mistakenly ordered v1 dustcovers, but v1 and v2 should be the same.

Apparently it's only the v3 mounts that have smaller dustcaps, and that might mean I have v3 already. Maybe the noise is there because v2 struts were fitted (I certainly didn't get or use any adapters for v3 struts in the v2 bilstein b4s)

E: Anyway, I will see how it goes with my v2 struts and my ordered v2 lemforder strut mounts as I will easily be able to see the differences when I swap them over.