experiences on door carriers bmw oem vs after market (done)
 

just like the title states, looking for someone that has actually used aftermarket and bmw oem inner door carriers.Can you list the pros and cons. if I get 1 at the bmw its 200.00 can after market around 80.00
by the way my front passenger door carrier is broke. and I`m looking at uro aftermarket part

I got mine pass outer one on ebay for $30. Working fine, installed fine. Not sure on the brand of it however not uro, id skip them just from going by reviews on other parts i know that they make dont work well.

ebay brand - purchased for $25. had a funny "feeling" from the start. started sticking within a couple months, completely broke after 4 months.

OEM - purchased for $120 on ebay. butter smooth.

Bought one on ebay (polish), not happy with it at all. The cable was too short which i had to fix and now it squeaks every time I open the door. The other 3 are oem and of course very good.

BMW X5 4.8iS 2005

I have experience with OE, FEBI which is marked Made in Germany, and SWAG, which is a repackaged FEBI.

They all break, and break often.

URO mechanical parts are risky/no good. The only URO part that I would recommend is the aluminum water pump pulley and aluminum power steering pulley that can replace the O.E. Plastic pulleys.

I replaced both front carriers with URO ones about a year and half ago. So far so good. They were purchased from Autohaus. I remember having a little trouble getting the outer handle to line up correctly. I was able to get alignment close by leaving the one hex bolt lose and actuating the handle several times, before tightening everything up.

I purchased one from Ebay, was a tight fit with the cable, but was good for a few weeks.
The cable then frayed at the little ball end and the door wouldn't open.
Bit the bullet and bought one from BMW, no problems in over a year now.

I also didn't want to pay so much for a BMW one, took a chance, but ending up paying twice.

Wish I had have bought genuine the first time.

thx for all your answers ,I guess i will bite the bullet and go oem bmw. might be cheaper and less headache in the long run. plus get it in a day or 2

oem bmw, paid $120 Canadian from my local dealership

I have only used the OEM, tricky 'angles' to install, but its worked fine for over two years .........

[QUOTE=puddinboo;1071530]just like the title states, looking for someone that has actually used aftermarket and bmw oem inner door carriers.Can you list the pros and cons. if I get 1 at the bmw its 200.00 can after market around 80.00
by the way my front passenger door carrier is broke. and I`m looking at uro aftermarket part[/QUOTE\




just installed drivers front carrier from bavauto for around 40$ not include shipping nd stuff...
install was couple weeks ago no squeaking or anything comes with extra allen bolt incase you drop one in the door like i did haha.
overall i am pleased

Btw - taking the little double "cap" on the door off and lubricating the carrier moving parts AFTER install and probably once or twice a year, really helps the operation and long term life of the new carrier - I used a touch of 3-in-1 on mine recently since it was getting sticky (installed it 3 years ago) and its been great ever since.

^ good info

i did notice that the OEM carrier was prelubbed with grease, while the ebay carrier didn't have such lube.. might be the reason for early sticking / failure?

IMHO Lube both versions regardless on how they come. Caliper grease and any Silicone based brush on lube will do is perfect. WD-40 through the access hole is better than ignoring it. The wear on doors carrier pivot points is unbelievable for the usage. Piss poor designed pot metal, but we all own an X5 with one (four actually).

Uh OH, I mentioned design of the door carriers. Stand by for a FLOOD of posters with pain stories.....:rofl:

well I picked up the carrier today from bmw and getting ready to install it on the weekend.
that 1 allen key screw looks like a pain to get at inside the door. other than that looks straight forward. there is grease on this carrier but I will put some more on . I will use the clear caliper grease I always use.

Perfect!

Good luck hope all goes well.

thank you for all your thoughts on this. by the way imo way over engineered part lol .
the outer cap that covers that 8mm bolt looks like its going to be a pain to get off without breaking the plastic tabs.

got er installed hardest part is line up that friggin 4mm hex bolt. taking the carrier out is simple installing not so much. but shes working 100% nice and smooth, heres a pic of the broken carrier, self explanatory

Surprise they are still using pot metal to make door carrier. They could have gone to some type of composite plastic.

yeah the plastic would have more give and not as brittle.