2yrs ago I had replaced some failed Genuine Mercedes sway bar links with a set of Febi sway bar links. I went with Febi because they were significantly cheaper than genuine Mercedes and figured Febi is a good brand. I also bought them from FCP so figured if there is an issue i can just get new ones from the lifetime warranty. This past summer I noticed the passenger side sway bar link boot on the bottom was cracking and looked out of place but other than that no issues. The drivers link looked fine. Now im hearing a metal-on-metal noise from that side. Jacked up the car and removed the wheels, while grabbing the link I was able to easily rotate it. The drivers side still felt solid, is very hard to move.

Never returned anything to FCP before so i emailed them explaining the issue along with photos of the boot. The response was positive, saying to buy a new one, ship the old one back and i will get store credit for the original purchase price.

Aug 11, 2022 I paid $29.99 for the passenger link, today it is $37.29. Shipping the old link back will be what, maybe $8.

To get free shipping this time around for the link I added an oil filter for $12, which is very high since I remember buying them for $6-8 last year.

We shall see if it solves the noise im hearing.






Drivers side looks fine:

 

Not good.
Good thing you got yours from FCPEuro.
I got mine from GermanAutoParts,com about 2 months ago and I replaced front lower and rear arms with Febi, and front upper with Delphi.
Let's see how long mine lasts.

 

Hopefully this inflation is over! Besides that, with the insane prices for virtually all new cars, I think we will see replacement and repair parts be in high demand. I too have noticed prices going up crazily.

Did FCP explicitly say you would get a credit for the original price or the replacement price?

 

Store credit for the price of the original part bought. It would be nice if i could buy a different brand of the same part. I would rather buy the Genuine Mercedes links now.

I was looking at the prices for the front and rear brakes that I bought from FCP. Looks like maybe next year they will need to be replaced. For everything, front and rear pads, rotors and sensors its about $55 more. The Zimmerman rotors went up $10 each. I will say I do really like the Zimmerman rotors, the silver coating all over them looks really nice and they have been working and wearing great. I am very happy with them. Also happy with the ATE semi-metallic rear pads and Ferodo front pads.

Since im dealing with store credit i'll buy the fronts first so I can return the old parts for credit then use the credit for the rears. Then i'll just have the credit for the rear parts to sit on.

 

Still waiting for the new link to get here. The noise is noticably getting worse.

Mostly hear it at low speed. It does not sound like how my previous failed sway bar links sounded. Previously the old worn links sounded like a metallic tinking 2-3 times in a row when going over bumps on the highway. Would be a loud tink followed by 1-2 more quieter tinks, link the joint was bouncing. This time its more of a solid metal sound, reminds me of when you grab ahold of the middle of the cv axle and push and pull it towards the wheel hub.

I also noticed there is no logic to when I hear the noise, ill go over bumps expecting to hear the noise and nothing, trying to replicate it happening is hard. One thing i did notice is if i hit a bump with the left tire and the right tire is not going over a bump I will hear the noise. So the sway bar link makes sense, bump on the left side pulls up on the sway bar which pushes up on the right side link.

Instead of jacking up the car I drove it up my ramps, went underneath and played around with everything. Same as before, the left side link is on there solid and cannot move it around at all by hand. But the right side link I can grab it by the bottom and easily rotate it with my fingers.

 

Just an idea. What I had thought was knocking noises from the drag link was actually coming from the strut. Good luck finding it. But at 250k miles, new struts and drag links fixed all my front-end clunks, particularly when driving over ripples on the road.

 

this is why im trying my best to diagnose the issue. Figure start with the obvious worn part and cross it off the list. i could always remove the link altogether but im not that motivated at this time, can wait for the new link to get here.

I was searching around and found a photo of when the link still looked good. To me for the boot to be squished in im guessing the ball and stud part has moved more to the outside.

 

Finally just got the link and about to install it. looks different from the ones in the car. I noticed it has a T40 now instead of a 6mm hex. The boots look different. label says assembled in Germany.

I always wondered how everyone installs them, writing side out, so the ball looking thing is up top?

 

 

This week I am tracking the front noise maker regardless of good links... I think its the undersized sway bar bushings that get pinched... then the spring bar gains direct metal to metal contact.

Perfect setup:
MB does not sell $10 bushings separately from $200 sway bar

Earlier I've realized that Front+Rear SB Links share the same side-to-side job. So bad front SB bushings call for rear ones as well!

 

There is an open tear in the bottom boot that I never noticed until now. No signs of grease coming out. oddly enough the bottom ball joint isnt making any noise but the top ball joint makes a popping noise when I manipulate it, pull the threaded part in and out. So it is clearly worn and failed.

Side by side they new and old links appear to have not been made the same, there are slight variations. I will say I am not too confident in this new link, we shall see. I really would have liked to get Mercedes branded.









The threaded portion looks a little longer on the old link, i hope its not due to the washer looking part being pushed in. The Amazon links failed by that part being squished into the joint. Also the machining on the new link looks like it could be better. Reminds me of the hex spacer I recently bought for my brake lines and didnt use due to horrible machining.

 

Im always keeping my eyes open for a good price on a replacement front sway bar. I think it will tighten the front up alot. Lately it feels like im driving on a road with deep ruts in it, the car swerves. maybe this new link will tighten it back up. It is definitely failed,.

 

Looks like the sway bar is rubbing against the plastic trim in the wheel well. The bushing looks torn but still in one piece.

The nuts for the links are absurdly tight, have to be really careful to keep the T40 in the hole or else i can see it stripping easily.

 

I'm doing the math on what this link has cost me now.

Original link- $29.99
New link- $37.29
Return shipping- *$10 (guessing)
Est Total- $77.28

Receive $29.99 store credit to use.

The link has now cost me $47.29

FCP is great for the warranty. But from the link lasting a little over 2yrs and seeing how they dont really look the same between the old and new ones I wouldnt say Febi is OE. I am more hesitant in buying the brand again. The old links visually appear better quality. In my opinion.

 

Went for a long drive and the noise is now gone. Problem solved. It did sound pretty bad, like the axle was going to fall off.

I looked inside the bottom joint that had a rip in the rubber boot and amazed to see how little grease is even in there. It looks fairly clean, like there was hardly any grease to begin with. Theres no signs any grease had leaked out. With my previous MB branded links I remember how greasy they were and those boots were torn open all around and had plenty of time to have it all washed out from driving in the rain. I cant imagine not filling the boots full of grease, wonder if they were defective from the factory? And the rip in the boot on on the top with how its installed, clearly didnt drip out. I cant tell what the hair looking stuff is, some type of fiber, its not shiney like metal shavings would be.

 

You are on your second set? Is there a possibility of the fender rubbing, and the damaged links, that something in the suspension or body is misaligned, bent, or twisted, causing unintended stresses and damage in those areas?

 

I’m leaning less on factory defect and more just Febi being a terrible brand.

 

I know when I replaced the sway bar links on my ML, that the bolt on one end of the link is marginally longer than the other.If they're inserted the wrong way around (I think the longer thread goes at the top) then it can alter the geometry of the link which might cause it to wear prematurely.

 

The sway bar links are pushing down on a torsion spring. This is high forces non-stop!


only quarter inch thick marshmallow...

​​​​​The current SB bushing is undersized and vulcanized to SB itself... it gets torned out by rotating motion as shown above.

Good conventional SB "bushings" are more like actual bearings surface where SB spring freely rotate into them without tearing them.
They are both thicker and wider to routinely last 200kMi+


median road reflectors

Reason I am saying this is... I have new SB links and still get the metallic naging sound when I drive over median reflectors.
So I am gonna try to cancel these bushings issue....

 

I dont think I will buy a Febi product again based on this and the things im seeing. The extra money for Mercedes branded parts is worth it. With these links im guessing it has different ypes of metal used. And not seeing much grease has me scratching my head.

On these links the ball joints are offset since the sway bar ends and the bolt hole on the struts are offset from each other though looking at the links and picturing installing them both ways I do not think it makes a difference and they articulate the same either way. Theres really no clear direction on which way to install them, with the wheels pointed forward they fit in perfectly. I looked on Pelican Parts at there article and just installed them the same way they have theres, install the ball joint end that looks offset from the bar on top to the strut.

 

I realized with my W204 there will always be something to replace with its age and mileage plus living in new England right on the ocean doesnt help. I think even though the bushings look cracked I'm not hearing any noise from it and the bushings are still in one piece, sway bar seems to be staying in place.

When I was under the car I couldnt seem to find how the sway bar is bolted on, i can see the bolts that hold in up but couldnt see any nuts up top. The 4matic front axle carrier is all stamped metal. I was just looking at the parts diagram and it doesnt list any part #'s for nuts so im guessing there arent any, they are in the frame which makes it very easy to remove and replace it if needed.

 

Return shipping was $6.03 USPS Ground using Paypal shipping so not bad.

When looking around ebay at used sway bars I noticed many of them have wear in the paint where mine does, on the inside where it looks to be rubbing the plastic wheel well liner. It does seem pretty close in there, maybe the width of a finger. Probably just the bar flexing when turning

 

Now it sounds like there is a noise on the drivers side which im thinking may be that sway bar link. The noise is random, once in awhile. Nothing like what I was hearing on the passenger side.

I wonder if it it is failing, or im just being super sensitive to any noise. I see FCP has the links on sale for a few bucks off so it would be a good time to buy.

FCP has sales on alot of there parts I see.

 

I think its finally time to replace the drivers side sway bar link.

I'm pretty disappointed in these Febi sway bar links. Even the replacement passenger side link has cracking all around the boot. I think most of the issue is lack of grease inside the boots. Can see the boots are completely sunk in.

Nice weather is starting so im beginning to do maintenance on the car again. Changed the oil and filter the other day now im going around removing the wheels and inspecting everything. Give the brakes a cleaning. inspect the cv axle boots i had replaced last fall and they look great. I'm happy to see the corrosionX XD rust inhibitor is still on and survived the harsh winter. Drove thru some pretty harsh blizzard snowy conditions and the coating hasnt washed all off. hardly needed to touch anything up. It does leave a greasy dirty film but its better than rust.

 

I was working on the drivers side earlier so could get a good look at that link. I dont see any signs of grease in it. I think i mentioned it earlier how when I was replacing the original Genuine Mercedes sway bar links the first time those things were covered in grease and made a mess removing. Cant believe these Febi links look dry.

I looked on FCP and the price has gone up. I had paid $36.99 and now its $48.75. Then return shipping to send the failed part back should be around $9. Figure it will cost me around $20 altogether to get a replacement. Add the original price and the price jumps to around $57.

I was reading thru the listing for the sway bar and noticed they say always replace in pairs. I wonder if FCP would have let me buy both links and then return both used links even though the drivers side was still good at the time? With the drivers side now making noises and boot clearly torn do I replace both sides, the passenger side already has torn boots on them.