[Tambohamilton]

New around here, but registered in case anyone else has the misfortune to come across the same Lemforder branded strut top mounts as I have recently...

Here's the issue; the bearing outer race is cracked:


And their solution is to include this blatant misinformation with the parts:


Seriously, a cracked bearing which feels rough is just as good as an undamaged one?? Yeah, right. [No, it isn't!! Not ever!]

I bought a pair of these mounts from a business seller on eBay.co.uk. I've bought a number of parts from the seller before, with no problems whatsoever. Their conduct has been nothing but professional so far with these, other than dispatching damaged goods in the first place. I'll name and shame them if they can't or won't offer a decent explanation. I've sent the parts back, and will report when they receive them and respond.

It has crossed my mind that the parts may not be genuine Lemforder, but it seems unlikely. The bearings were Koyo branded, and the alignment pin was a screw-in type. The paper with the excuses had Lemforder logos, though could realistically have been printed anywhere by anyone.

Anyone else seen this? I hope it's not just me who finds it totally crazy, especially if the parts are genuine!

[TheeGovernor]

I bought Lemforder strut mounts and they came with the same warning. Mine did not appear cracked though.

[The Nightman]

I bought Lemforder strut mounts for Sport models from FCP and they also included that warning but there were no actual cracks though

[401FlaGATOR]

I bought strut mounts last minute at AutoZone and they were Monroe:

https://www.carid.com/2009-bmw-3-ser...253846552.html

The ball bearings on these units are encased within
a plastic cover so you don't see the grease and bearings..They are very smooth, much less effort to steer, almost too much, wondering if there might be something to what they say about that defect, maybe it's the secret sauce to that Teutonic steering feel!

[Tambohamilton]

Update: Got a full refund today, no questions asked.

I still find it utterly insane though, that bearings broken by a manufacturing/assembly process are being palmed off as acceptable. I really urge anyone who sees parts with this warning to check the parts they receive very carefully and send them back if there's the slightest visible defect, or if the bearing is rough. Bearings are high precision items (even cheap, basic ones), so a visible defect is a huge flaw really.

The pictured one that I received had a very visible crack, but on the other the crack was on the other side of the bearing, and more difficult to spot. Both bearings rotated smoothly by hand, but I guarantee that they wouldn't last as long as ones with undamaged bearings.

I ended up getting KYB mounts, because they were reasonably priced and in 5 mins on Google I couldn't find any bad reports of KYB parts. They have an aluminium housing...so my 330d is basically a race car now, right!? Oh, and the bearings weren't cracked!

[Jagtem]

Interesting. I've got a pair of these in the garage waiting to be installed along with a bunch of other suspension bits. I'll have to take a look and see if they've got the same "defect". I bought from FCP, so at least if they fail I'm covered. Would still be a big pain in the ass.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by Jagtem

Would still be a big pain in the ass.

Yeah, I wasn't willing to take the chance. Or at least I fancied my chances better with a non-OE part which wasn't broken.

Let us know if you find any cracks in yours too

[Volasko]

You're going to make me open up my brand new box now and check.....


Edit: Damn I have cracks in both of my mounts!

[Tambohamilton]

Question is; if you do have cracked bearings, what will you do? Fit them anyhow and hope for the best, or send them back?

[!LEFTCOAST!]

Just checked a new pair I have that appear to be crack free

[Jagtem]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Let us know if you find any cracks in yours too

Checked today. Looks like I've got a small crack in one of them. I'm probably just gonna install them. I'll trust the manufacturer if they say it's fine. I can't see that bearing being under a ton of load in a way that would worsen it structurally. Right?

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by !LEFTCOAST!

Just checked a new pair I have that appear to be crack free

Lucky you!

Originally Posted by Jagtem

Checked today. Looks like I've got a small crack in one of them. I'm probably just gonna install them. I'll trust the manufacturer if they say it's fine. I can't see that bearing being under a ton of load in a way that would worsen it structurally. Right?

They *only* carry the entire weight of the front of your car.... Sure, the bearing is specced to do the job within it's capacity, but it was never specced to be cracked at the time. Of course it's up to you, but with them being a bit more than a 5 minute job to swap out, there was no way I was fitting them in my car! If you do fit them, I'd make sure to take pics of the cracks before you install, so if/when they fail you can prove they were defective beforehand. Good luck!

[consider it done]

How do you think they get the extra ball inside ??? crack the race. A caged bearing simply wont work.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by consider it done

How do you think they get the extra ball inside ??? crack the race. A caged bearing simply wont work.

No. This is a caged bearing for starters. Full compliment bearings are filled through a fill groove ground into the inner and outer races.

According to the sheet, the cracks occur when lemforder assemble the bearing into the mount too.

[consider it done]

Bearing is cracked on purpose, definitely not during install. Where do those fill grooves disappear to ? This is old info.

[Tambohamilton]

These don't need fill grooves (or cracks); they're caged bearings which can be filled by putting all the balls in on one side, then distributing them and adding the cage.

If you look closely at a full compliment bearing, you will be able to see fill grooves. They may be (partially) obscured by seals or shields, but they are there!

If these bearings were supposed to be cracked, why are they sometimes also rough (as mentioned on the sheet)? They're surely supposed to turn freely - that's the point of a bearing!

[consider it done]

Remove a cage from a bearing and completely fill it with balls and post a pic. The bearing will be rough because the outer race is cracked. This bearing does not spin like a wheel bearing, just rotates ever so slightly. Think of how the force is applied ,axial not radial. Wish it was a Timken.

[6266335]

That doesn't sit well with me. That's odd, it's a Koyo bearing which have been great.

I would not install it with a cracked outer race.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by consider it done

Remove a cage from a bearing and completely fill it with balls and post a pic. The bearing will be rough because the outer race is cracked. This bearing does not spin like a wheel bearing, just rotates ever so slightly. Think of how the force is applied ,axial not radial. Wish it was a Timken.

...but this is not a full compliment bearing; it has a cage; it is not full of balls; there is no reason for the outer race to be intentionally cracked.

I agree, since the bearing doesn't do a full revolution ever, a full compliment bearing would be a good call. But it's not the case here.

The outer race is cracked purely due to bad assembly by Lemforder.

None of the full compliment bearings we use at work are cracked or rough. They all have fill grooves.

Timken do make good bearings, yeah. Never had a bad koyo bearing either though, other than these.

[consider it done]

Installed 2 last month with yellow sport koni's and swift springs. No cage on these. If you can"t learn I can't teach you.

[Tambohamilton]

Can anyone with one of these mounts post a pic with the grease wiped away from the bearing please? If this is a FC bearing, I want to see it for myself.

@consider it done, can you find any articles about the manufacture of these (or other FC) bearings, which mentions cracking of the outer race? Again; if it's a thing, I want to see it. I'm aware of a few applications where parts are deliberately broken apart in manufacturing rather than cut etc, but never seen or heard of it for a rolling bearing.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by consider it done

Installed 2 last month with yellow sport koni's and swift springs. No cage on these. If you can"t learn I can't teach you.

Fished my old mounts out of the scrap bin today - you're right, they're FC. My bad. And although that basically means they assemble the bearings using magic, I still really doubt we should just accept cracked bearings. There are plenty (including my old ones) which aren't cracked, so it's definitely possible, and the cracks certainly can't be helping.