Lemforder pitman arms not avaliable?

[paulmer]

Last week I tried to order some pitman arms (aka dogbones) from Autohaus AZ, and received this response:

We regret to inform you that our stock for Trailing Arm Bushing; Rear Pitman Arm part number 33321126476OE has been depleted. We have checked with several of our direct importers and found that this part is now on back order with no expected delivery date.

They only have Karlyn ones for sale. I know that brand has a poor reputation, but these parts are so easy to replace, is it such a bad idea to use them?

[shogun]

BMW took them out of the ETK, but they are still available made by Lemfoerder, 33321125665 Old partnumber 33321123463
based on my search there are
Febi Bilstein 05747 (dogbone only without new bolt and washer, have to use old ones)
Febi Bilstein ProKit Art.-Nr.: 26766 (complete set)
Lemförder 1064302
Topran 500 158
TRW JTS286
Meyle 3160604225
KRAFT 4302570
MAXGEAR 72-0113
JP Group 1450200300
Triscan 8500 11604
Mapco 49788
Corteco 49400232
Monroe L11610
Vaico V20-7043

rockauto has the LEMFÖRDER 1064302 for $33.79/piece, if that is too expensive, go for Febi, TRW, Corteco, Monroe, VAICO V20-7043, VAICO V207043
Pelicanparts has the Lemforder, rockauto has a selection https://www.rockauto.com/en/partsear...um=33321125665

[moroza]

Yep, new part number 33321125665. FCP has Lemförder brand for $35 each with lifetime warranty, made in Germany as of a year ago. CRP Rein also makes them (in Italy), but my experience with those was that they were very stiff out of the box, and squeaked badly within a year.

[paulmer]

Great. I was able to order Lemfoerder from ECS Tuning, but it just so happened that they were delivered when I was out of town, and some low life stole my package. ECS tried to reorder them, and then I was told, they are backordered with no ETA on delivery. I guess I'll have to go with Meyle, the only brand ECS now sells for E32/E34...

[shogun]

FEP EURO have the Lemforder on stock 33321125665 Price each: $36.02

[m60power]

Yeah, the old part number 33321126476 (discontinued in 2013) and the new part number 33321125665 are both on back order at ECS tuning for the Lemforder brand. I just ordered a pair of the new Lemforder part number dog bones from FCP Euro. They were a reasonable price at ~$36 each.

[shogun]

Just recently I read some comments on a German E34 forum about quality of the Lemforder parts:Lemförder macht quasi nur noch die Verpackung. Damals war bei den echten Teilen die Eule drauf. Jetzt bei den neuen Teilen nur noch ein großes L. Und die Qualität ist echt Müll.
translated: Lemförder nowadays basically only does the packaging. Back then, the real parts had an owl logo on it. Now only a big L is on the new parts. And the quality is really rubbish.

I have no personal experience with the L parts quality nowadays, maybe other members have and can comment about present situation.
For the front upper and lower arm, center tie rod and tie rods I presently use Febi Bilstein,TRW, Vaico, nothing to complain and prices are reasonable. On a German price comparison site all these brands are marked as Premium brand.
One can select in the search under quality between: premium.......low price
For example for the upper left thrust arm under premium products there are listed w/o ranking: Meyle HD, RUVILLE, VAICO, Febi Bilstein, Delphi, TRW, Lemförder

[m60power]

Thanks for the insight shogun! That's unfortunate the Lemforder quality has gone down. I've also heard the same from other folks too. Apparently some of their parts are now manufactured in China, which doesn't necessarily mean the quality will go down but it's often not a good sign. In the past I have personally found that the Lemforder brand parts always had a noticeably better materials and manufacturing quality compared to other brands of suspension and bushing components for the E34 / E32; but recently I've heard more and more that is not the case. I hope the rear dog bones I ordered are of good quality and don't fail early

[Sansouci]

Just bought a set of pitman arms from FCP Euro. Package is marked made in Germany and also "aftermarket parts." I can only tell the quality after I drive them 10,000 miles.

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[moroza]

I just bought a set of Lemf. ones from ECS. Old ones were yellow zinc and made in Germany. New ones painted black, made in Malaysia, and cost a couple of bucks more than they used to. I'm sure that extra money is for reaping the benefits of Malaysia's long and illustrious history of automotive and industrial manufacturing quality.

[Sansouci]

The newer design from Lem doesn't have the rubber boot surrounding the joint. Not sure what this means for longevity.

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[m60power]

I just bought a set of Lemf. ones from ECS. Old ones were yellow zinc and made in Germany. New ones painted black, made in Malaysia, and cost a couple of bucks more than they used to. I'm sure that extra money is for reaping the benefits of Malaysia's long and illustrious history of automotive and industrial manufacturing quality.

Hahaha

I've also noticed new(er) production of many parts are going away from yellow zinc chromate conversion plating, to either clear plated finish or painted coatings... Not ideal for corrosion prevention.