W204 C63 aftermarket control arms

[EspritSE]

Has anyone fitted aftermarket upper front control arms to their W204 C63?

I have just ordered a front left lower arm from Mercedes at a cost of £328, I need this right away as the ball joint is done. I will change the front right lower in a couple of months once my bank balance has recovered . I believe the lower arm is a dealer only item as it is stronger than standard, I can see it is stamped with AMG and has a number on it beginning 204.

I would like to change the upper arms on both sides just now and I believe you can buy the upper arms as aftermarket. The upper arm is stamped with a number beginning 203 which makes me suspect it may be common to W203 and possibly other models. The online epc I have looked at quotes the part number as 2043306511. Looking for this part number only comes up with OEM control arms.

Ideally I would like to buy a suitable arm from the likes of Febi, Lemforder, Moog, Meyle HD.

 

[ray_hennig]

2043306511

My usual MB original parts supplier (here) lists only the genuine MB part, at about 180€.

And they list no aftermarket alternatives. They always do when they are available (Febi, etc. - so not necessarily to be trusted, particularly on a 63).

AutoDoc lists nothing.

So it sounds as if MB is the only option.

RayH

 

[EspritSE]

Thanks Ray,

I wrote my original post whilst still at work and did not have access to the MB epc on my home laptop.

I compared the part number for the front left upper control arm with the W203 C32 and the W204 C63 and they had the same part number A2043304311. The C32 page also gave all the superseded numbers which are A2033303511 then A2033303911 then A2043304311. So any arm which is compatible with any of these numbers will fit a 2010 C63.

I fitted aftermarket arms to my C32 around 7 years ago with no problems. The upper arms do not require the strengthened strut that the MB only lower arm for the C63 uses.

I purchased Quinton Hazell left and right upper front arms from ebay today for my 2010 C63, £69.99 for the pair delivered. The compatibility checker on ebay (for what it's worth) gave the thumbs up. I picked up the lower control arm from MB today and the assistant told me the upper arms were around £150 each plus VAT, so £360 for the pair.

The Quinton Hazell numbers are QSJ3297S (left) and QSJ3298S (right).

Just to confuse matters when looking for control arms is the different terminology used. MB calls the control arms front lower (MB only) and front upper. Some manufacturers call them both lower so, front lower = MB upper and rear lower = MB lower.

I hope this rather confusing post is of help to anyone looking for aftermarket arms. If I have any problems with the QH arms I will update.

Nigel

 

[Jobsworth]

Only thing I can tell you off the top of my head, the w203 C32 caster arm is the same as a regular W203 arm, but the bush (that doesn’t come with the genuine arm, iirc) is different. The AMG bush is firmer.
The camber arm is the same afaik

 

[EspritSE]

Only thing I can tell you off the top of my head, the w203 C32 caster arm is the same as a regular W203 arm, but the bush (that doesn’t come with the genuine arm, iirc) is different. The AMG bush is firmer.
The camber arm is the same afaik

Hello Jobsworth,

Your knowledge is better than mine as I am not sure which arm is caster and which is camber.
As far as the C63 goes the bush for the upper arm has a bushing number of A2043331114 this is taken from the Merc EPC. I checked a W204 C180 CDi BlueEFFICIENCY and the upper bush has the same MB part number as the AMG.