The Shoeman

Picked up a 2000 ML430 for really short money for my wife (who currently is in a 2000 E320 4Matic)

It needed some work which is why the price was so low.

The guy's 16 year old son decided he was going to learn how to work on a car when this one was acting up and decided to open the flexible brake line attached to the right rear caliper. This was (according to his father) how he checked the brakes.

Now that I"m the new owner, I'm trying to bleed the brakes. The bleeder screws are NOT a normal size, or they're just either damaged.

The sizes of different box wrenches I've tried are...

5/16" -------------Too large
9/32" -------------Too Small
8mm -------------Too large
7mm -------------Too small


WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? WHAT SIZE SHOULD THE BLEEDER VALVE BE?

The calipers are Brembo's and the front seem to be same size bleeder screw as the rear.

I believe the size of the brakes got larger sometime during the 2000 model year and I have the new larger size.

Any help would be great with getting the correct size wrench so I can get the brakes to work properly.

Sincerely,

Bill

Plutoe

post your VIN!!

The Shoeman

The VIN for my ML 430 is:

4JGAB72E9YA193699

Plutoe

you are missing a digit!!

The Shoeman

I thought I had edited it already. Sorry if it hasn't updated yet.

The VIN should be 4JGAB72E9YA193699

Thank you for your help.

Plutoe

Your bleeders 000 421 27 65, I believe are 10mm with 9 Nm of torque!!

Why not try an adjustable!!

The Shoeman

Thank you Plutoe for the information. I have a strange feeling the bleeder valves have been changed out by the previous owner. 10mm is definitely not the correct size for the bleeders on my vehicle. The 8mm was too large.

I tried vice grips and eventually twisted the bleeder off but only half of it. It snapped off flush with the caliper.

I think the other 3 calipers are going to have the same issue.

Thank you again.