How good are ECP track rods?

[saskak]

Hi all,

There is a little play in the inner tie rod joint of my M59 (2007) and needs replacing. I was looking at Eurocarparts for replacements and they seem a reasonable price, but I have never heard of the companies producing the inner tie rods and the track rod ends.

Does anyone know if any of these are more reputable than others or is there any difference?

The list of companies that I can choose from is this: Q-Drive, Starline, OCAP, MOOG, LEMFORDER, TRW
I would probably go for the TRW, as is the only one I know of these. Does anyone have any info on these or have you ever used any of these for track rod ends and inner tie rods?

Many thanks indeed.

Correction: TRW is 4x more expensive than say MOOG, is it 4x better? I doubt it.

[Sol]

Lemforder are good, they are OEM suppliers to a lot of brands. I've used them a lot on BMW parts, including the wishbones, drop links and inner tie rods and track rod ends.

[saskak]

Lemforder are good, they are OEM suppliers to a lot of brands. I've used them a lot on BMW parts, including the wishbones, drop links and inner tie rods and track rod ends.

They are the most expensive as well :-)

[Sol]

Yep. Good quality mind you.

[GraemeT]

Lemforder are good, they are OEM suppliers to a lot of brands. I've used them a lot on BMW parts, including the wishbones, drop links and inner tie rods and track rod ends.

They are the most expensive as well :-)

Depends if they are outrageously expensive or not - my wife keeps telling me 'buy cheap, buy twice' but also that there's a sweet spot in pricing any merchandise where price and quality meet - that's the parts to aim for.

I'm of the mind these days that it's also worth buying from the likes of Eurocarparts as they have a half decent returns policy - ideal if you have a local branch and want to pile in a load of parts for that 'tricky' job and end up not using them - just take 'em back for a refund.

(Trouble is our local branch closed just pre-Covid so we're back to just local factors).

[cancunia]

How did you get on with changing the tie rods? I had a look at the official Service Box procedure and there are at least 2 special tools. I've just had an advisory on mine, no urgency but would like to get it done in the near future.

Thanks

[saskak]

How did you get on with changing the tie rods? I had a look at the official Service Box procedure and there are at least 2 special tools. I've just had an advisory on mine, no urgency but would like to get it done in the near future.

Thanks

I changed them without the proper special tool and it did not seem too difficult at the end. I used the ebay one with a bracket and two bolts that can be tightened. I think I posted a photo of it in another thread (https://www.berlingoforum.com/thread-20536.html). The other special self-tightening tool could not tighten at all, the one that slips over the whole inner tie rod. The biggest problem was the clamp for the boot. It is way too tight to have a tool, as in CV boot crimping tool. I re-used the original clamps, it was just easier to put back together with pliers within the tight space. Not too sure at the end with the ebay tool how much torque I applied, but it should be close to spec, I added like 5-10Nm more to be on the safe side.

[cancunia]

Thanks, I saw that U-Bolt tool yesterday on eBay while I was looking for tools to do the job. Good to know that I can use it if/when needed.