Meyle HD vs Lemforder Thrust arm

[RyansBMW]

Hey guys,

About to refresh the front suspension again and need some input. We all know the HD thrust arm bushing is superior to the OEM liquid filled bushing on the Lemforder arm. My question is how does the HD ball joint on the HD arm compare to OEM?

Basically I'm trying to decide between the OEM arm with HD bushing, or just buy the HD thrust arms with HD ball joints and HD bushings.

Thanks.

[Stück]

I install the HD arms in most of my customers cars, I've probably done 6-8 pairs by now. Never had any come back and the first was easily 5+ years ago.

[ViolinARC]

The Lemforder failed within the first month for me. This time around I pressed out the stoopid failed oil filled TAB's and replaced with PowerFlex. I am extremely happy with the results so far. I would recommend getting a blank thrust arm and installing ANY urethane bushing as a big improvement in general. Unforch, no experience with the Meyle HD thrust arms but I have had their lower front control arm ball joints fail...

I do experience NVH on a very specific stretch of interstate (CA I-85) but had the same experience before replacement...just FYI.

[RyansBMW]

Thanks for the insight. Years ago I bought the Lemforder/HD combo from EAC and they lasted ~110k miles. I think Ill try the complete HD arm this time around and see how they do. FCPEuro has that lifetime warranty so I won't be risking too much here.

[jp5Touring]

I have all the Meyle HD e39 suspension parts everything else is Lemforder. Except Thayer Motorsport rear links.

Been about a year on them and I'm very happy with results.
I purchased all the Meyle HD parts from FCP Euro. I think they had the largest selection of HD parts.
Meyle HD Not Meyle parts their is a difference.

[cnn]

...Years ago I bought the Lemforder/HD combo from EAC and they lasted ~110k miles...

I installed the same (Lemforder arm with HD bushing by EACTuning 8 years ago at 100K. I am now at 165K, still good.
I am glad I don't have to deal with leaking hydraulic bushing BS (from Lemforder).

QUESTION: if one wants the Rubber bushing, what choices do we have now that EACTuning is no longer in business.

[RyansBMW]

Turner offers lemforder arms with HD bushings. FCP has the complete meyle HD arms

[cnn]

Thanks.

I notice FCPEuro now lists TRW thrust arm for $50!

[nikh23]

Thanks.

I notice FCPEuro now lists TRW thrust arm for $50!

I decided to go with the TRW arms for nearly half the cost of the Lemforders. With FCP's warranty definitely can't go wrong. Will be installing them this weekend.

[sienayr]

In 2020, is Lemforder arm with Meyle HD bushing still preferred because of ball joint quality issues with Meyle, or are the ball joints that come with the full Meyle HD thrust arm decent enough these days to just get the Meyle HD arms?

[f355spider]

In 2020, is Lemforder arm with Meyle HD bushing still preferred because of ball joint quality issues with Meyle, or are the ball joints that come with the full Meyle HD thrust arm decent enough these days to just get the Meyle HD arms?

I got 170,000 miles out the Lemforder arm with Meyle HD bushing from EAC Tuning as well. I recently refreshed my entire front suspension with Lemforder parts, with the exception of the steering center link (I used TRW) and went with the Meyle HD thrust arms. There seems to be enough consensus that the Meyle HD thrusts arms (ball joint) are okay, so took a chance.

BTW, the TRW arms are probably worth considering for those on a budget. My shop DUDMD Tuning, say they have installed a lot of them over the years, and they work great with no customer complaints. They even use them on their own E38 and E39.

[sienayr]

BTW, the TRW arms are probably worth considering for those on a budget. My shop DUDMD Tuning, say they have installed a lot of them over the years, and they work great with no customer complaints. They even use them on their own E38 and E39.

Are the TRW bushings solid or liquid filled?

I have my wife trained well, I'm like her race engineer, she has been describing the vibrations in the car on the highway, complete with details of speed and such. As I don't drive the car as much any more, she politely reminded me yesterday that the vibrations are still there, so I guess I better take care of it! The TABs were last replaced at 75K miles and we're at 186K so they're due no doubt.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Man, if you trained her properly, she would have fixed it by now, got you a lollipop and a beer, and moved on to changing the oil in your motorcycle....

[Dking078]

Not if it's been made in China. Germany Okay.

Otherwise Monoballs all the way now.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Not if it's been made in China. Germany Okay.

Otherwise Monoballs all the way now.

I gotta jack the front end up on my green wagon and inspect some stuff. I took the car out on a long fast highway stomp to see some friends, drives great Still, but I did notice something, like what might be wear on the control arm bushings, maybe a worn ball joint, maybe the ball joints on the tie rods, might be the ball joints on the sway bar links. But I have been thinking about ordering the Monoballs for the tension struts. How about the bushings on the control arms? I gotta go check if those use the same bushings. Then while I’m at it, I’ll go ahead and toss in the BC Racing coilovers that I got.

[Dking078]

I gotta jack the front end up on my green wagon and inspect some stuff. I took the car out on a long fast highway stomp to see some friends, drives great Still, but I did notice something, like what might be wear on the control arm bushings, maybe a worn ball joint, maybe the ball joints on the tie rods, might be the ball joints on the sway bar links. But I have been thinking about ordering the Monoballs for the tension struts. How about the bushings on the control arms? I gotta go check if those use the same bushings. Then while I’m at it, I’ll go ahead and toss in the BC Racing coilovers that I got.

It could be a worthwhile upgrade. The tension arms did firm up the front end as well as some NVH, but paired with my Koni sports, it evened out with my rear stiffness.

Way better than doing TAB's for the 5th time. (i used Mooseheads)

[E39 Newbie]

I got 170,000 miles out the Lemforder arm with Meyle HD bushing from EAC Tuning as well. I recently refreshed my entire front suspension with Lemforder parts, with the exception of the steering center link (TRW) and went with the Meyle HD thrust arms. There seems to be enough consensus that the Meyle HD thrusts arms (ball joint) are okay, so took a chance.

BTW, the TRW arms are probably worth considering for those on a budget. My shop DUDMD Tuning, say they have installed a lot of them over the years, and they work great with no customer complaints. They even use them on their own E38 and E39.

When I rebuilt the front end of my project, I guess it's been almost 2 years now, I used TRW arms. They appear to be liquid filled, too. No problems, the car drives and handles great, and they were substantially less expensive.

[computiNATEor]

FWIW, TRW makes a ton of parts for newer BMWs. I’m going to be using TRW parts wherever I can over Lemforder for anything and everything when I refresh the control arms and tie rods up front. Same time as headers, probably early next year.

[philly98540]

Yeah, it seems that Lemforder has abandoned quality in their recipe. Parts dying as fast as cheapie parts in some cases. Maybe TRW or Meyle HD are the new leaders? Time will tell.

[sienayr]

I went with TRW for upper tension struts and Lemmies for the lower control arms. We shall see!

[RosieE39]

FWIW, TRW makes a ton of parts for newer BMWs. I’m going to be using TRW parts wherever I can over Lemforder for anything and everything when I refresh the control arms and tie rods up front. Same time as headers, probably early next year.

TRW & Lemforder are both owned by ZF (As well as Sachs & Boge)

https://aftermarket.zf.com/us/en/aft...s/our-brands/#

[StephenVA]

TRW & Lemforder are both owned by ZF (As well as Sachs & Boge)

https://aftermarket.zf.com/us/en/aft...s/our-brands/#

The question is sourcing not packaging. Is the TRW and Lemforder BMW thrust arm for E39s the same part? Order both and find out. Parts source can change by the month depending on volume and cost variables. Welcome to worldwide sourcing. Example, I ordered and installed front wheel bearings that were to be FAG packaged in Timken boxes (30% less), based on others who had ordered them and posted on line. When opened upon delivery, they were not. The volume picked up so Tinken started to make the product themselves. Do they work? Yes.

[Twistytee]

^^^^I did the same thing with the front wheel bearings and got the Timkens from Rockauto. They’re definitely Timken bearings but worked out well. I don’t have experience with non-Lemforder control arms but I bought the Meyle HD rear sway bar links and they were of low quality. The ball joint boots failed immediately and I replaced with Lemmys. Same thing happened with the front links but the whole upper ball joint failed.