e550SF

Long time lurker. My brakes on my 2007 E550 is squeaking super loud. It is mainly coming from the front driver's side.

I have been doing a lot of research from this forum and people recommend Akebono brake pads from Tirerack. However, Tirerack do not carry those brake pads for W211 E550 anymore. Where is the best place to purchase them and which Akebono brake pads do you guys recommend? Do I need to buy brake sensors for each brake pad I change?

Also, what rotors do you guys recommend?

kajtek1

I put Akebono a week ago even I had 50% of pads left.
Have chromed Lorinser monoblocks and prefer them clean than black-dusted.
No noise and for years I am putting pads with no silencing paste.
Just make sure everything is clean.
Did not change rotors. In our driving rotors have expectation for 400,000 miles.

a100steaksauce

Im running akebono pads I love them. The only time they might squeak is after it rains.

Very low dust.

homeofstone

I run Akebono pads on my e500. I purchased them from my local Advance Auto Parts.

e550SF

I have about 100k on the rotors. Do they need to be replaced?

Is this the right Akebono for W211 E550? Looks like it includes the brake sensors also?

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sk...3-1851728.html

kajtek1

100k on the rotors is not saying much.
As I said I can make 400k on rotors easy, but my step mother will wear out 8 sets in this time.
Each rotor has stamped min thickens on it, or you can check WIS.
I bought Akebono on Amazon for $57 per axle for my 320.

cetialpha5

Do you have the 4matic or the base? You can look up the part at:

http://showmetheparts.com/akebono/

4matic says EUR1123 which Advance auto carries for $104 and if you use coupon code TRT41, you can get $40 off, codes change all the time so check retailmenot for the latest coupon code, that price takes you down to $65. Amazon sells them for $70. Base is EUR847 which they have for $90 and you might be able to find a code to save $25 off $75 which makes it $65, but Amazon has them for $62. You'd have to wait for them to be shipped though.

2MERKS

Thats a good deal especially when the hawk is right around the corner!

e550SF

Thank you guys for your help. I ordered the Akebono from Amazon for $61 shipped (fronts).

Do I need brake sensors? I have about 100k miles on them.

kajtek1

You need new pad sensors only if you grind the old ones.
That usually means driving for couple of weeks with the light on.

e550SF

Thanks.

Which mechanic do you usually go to in the Bay Area?

kajtek1

The one that works on my driveway, aka the guy from mirror.
This way I drive the cars without big problems, nor expenses.

cetialpha5

If the light isn't on, you can reuse them. Certain pads come with a set of senors, I guess it depends which ones you got. I believe the light comes on when they're worn away, that's why you can reuse them, no light means they're not worn away yet.

e550SF

Nice, I wish I have a garage to work on my car.

Thanks. I will keep you guys updated if the new Akebono pads will remove that painful squeal. I should be getting them next week.

kajtek1

I am not allowed to work on cars in the garage. Too many stains.
For years I had gravel on my driveway what was very convenient for messing up with oil, but lately I put pinkish pavers and now I am screw.
In the mean time Akebonos I put on wife car made about 500 miles. No squeal.

FLINTY55

These work great for stains... http://www.autozone.com/shop-and-gar...ay/475418_0_0/

kajtek1

Good luck catching 2l spill with it.
My stepmom is using Coke for removing oil stains from driveway.
Pepsi works as well.
I just use 150psi garden hose to remove all the oil residue and California sun bleach the stain in a season or 2.

wjcandee

Partsgeek.com has a great catalog and usually the best prices on everything. They ship promptly when you select warehouse A, which also usually has the lowest prices on the same part. I suspect the other warehouses are contracted with them.

If you want OE parts, Huskerparts.com is a Mercedes dealer in Nebraska that sells parts online for less than through its parts counter, and only charges $11.50 for shipping almost anything by UPS Ground. Their prices routinely destroy everyone selling OE parts. I mean I bought OE struts, shocks and springs from them, and shipping was $11.50 from Nebraska to NY. (About 4 days.) Often, the part in the MB box from Husker is cheaper than the OEM part from partsgeek.com.

Amazon is also becoming a good source, provided that Amazon is the vendor. Other sellers may be selling counterfeit stuff, which you won't get from PartsGeek.

I like the Textar rotors and pads, but I put Akebono pads on the front recently, and appreciate the absence of brake dust.

e550SF

A little update on the squeaky brakes. I finally had time to deal with the pads over the weekend. Decided to DIY. I took my sweet time and cleaned the caliper and slide pin with a lot of brake cleaner. Then I added a lot of CRC quiet disc brake quiet on the back of the brake pad and CRC synthetic grease on the slide pin and calipers. It took about 1.5 hours all together. Very easy.

2 days in a row and no squeaks.

Are we suppose to reuse the OEM shims from the used pads and transfer them to the Akebono brake pads?

Long Islander

I have Akebono on my other car and they're great. No noise and no dust.

I'm thinking about changing the fronts on my E350 myself just to reduce brake dust. Are there DIY instructions on this forum?

kajtek1

Brakes on those cars are pretty easy - just remember about protection from accidental SBC activation.
I need to bring small update.
After few thousands miles, the Akebonos on W211 do make slight whistling.
That happens only below 5 mph when you just roll toward red light.
Not annoying enough to redo the pads and I hope it will go with time.
And again - I did not use any silencer.

e550SF

The W211 is probably the easiest car to change brake pads. All you need is to mask off the 2 caliper pin area with masking tape. Then you use a small screw driver and a hammer and slowly hammer the pins out.

Once the pins are out, use a brake spreader like this:


Once the pads are loosen, remove the old pads. Clean the pins, brackets with brake cleaner. Put some brake lubricant on the back of the new pads. Grease the pins.

Try these:

On the back of the pads:


On the pins:


I installed my pads for over 1 month and 1500 miles and no squeal still

e550SF

Here is a youtube video DIY:

Long Islander

Thanks for the tips. I've found that if you follow proper break-in procedures, you don't get any squeaking from the brakes. You can find break-in instructions here:

http://www.powerstop.com/brake-pad-break-in-procedure/

tonyt77

I bought them off Ebay for around $110 for all 4 wheels