C55 Brake pad replacement
 

My car is telling me there is brake wear. I went to get an estimate and they told me that I would need to replace the pads, sensor and rotors. I haven't had the rotors actually checked yet for wear (I will before I have any work done). But they told me because the rotors are so soft that they recommend replacing them. Do I really need to replace them if they aren't below spec? Also, does the sensor really need to be replaced at the same time?
Yes I searched, quickly but I did. LOL

I hear this "soft rotors" junk all the time. Check the rotors with a digital caliper. If they're good, keep using them, that's what I do.

The wear sensors are little thin pieces of wire that insert into the pad; if the brake sensor is saying replace, that means the wire has broken. The replacements are about $6 or so.

Exactly as Viper has mentioned. Check the rotor with a digital caliper, note that the hat on the rotor is stamped with a min. thickness.
Along with replacing pads if you diy, replacement sets usually do come with a new sensor.

Also, the sensor may be replaced at anytime you feel like.

Just did this job DIY recently, cost was under $200 for rotors, pads and sensors using OEM parts, one of the easier cars to do brakes on, at that price rotors were a no-brainer.

Mercedes pads are typically undersized for the rotor and create a lip around the edge of the rotor. If you don't resurface or replace your rotors the brakes will squeak because of it. A lot of places will not resurface drilled rotors.

Someone needs to open his mind.

Mercedes factory rotors are surface hardened. That provides a good hard rotor that allows for decent wear while offering a bit of vibration and squeal resistance due to the softer core. That hardeness only runs about .015" deep. After that, the rotors are indeed soft.
When you get past that .030" depth of hardening (.015" per side) rotor wear accelerates quickly.

Brake components wear. You do not want pads and rotors that last forever because they'd never stop the car and the noise would be deafening.

Always measure the wear on your rotors and replace them when needed. C55 stuff is cheap. You should be glad our cars don't wear the new $1000+ per side rotors of the new large AMG cars.

As for the wear sensor, those are VERY elementary. Electrics 101 stuff.
The sensors have little pokey bits that are covered in plastic and stuffed into the brake pads. When the pads get worn down enough the sensor is exposed. Being soft plastic, the insulation is quickly eaten away by the spinning rotor. That exposes the little conductive wire and grounds the lead. When that happens it triggers a light on the dash.


I've been throwing Mercedes parts at techs for 15 years and operate my own machine/fabrication shop on the side. Mercedes brakes are something I'm rather familiar with. Who else do you know has stuffed all four corners of S55 brakes on a 1965 Plymouth? :y

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...a1d5821b2c.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...c5b04a3591.jpg

Nice job ! I'm sure that stops the ol' girl better than the stockers...

Good info as i'll likely be needing rotors and pads soon on the C55.

Any more pic's of the Belvedere?

I'm still missing my 67 GTX after all these years.

I'm just getting around to this (obviously I don't drive it much LOL). Where did you find this stuff for under $200? Best I found was $240 for everything, including brake fluid.

Thats crazy lol.

Question for you.

I have slk55 rotors and calipers on my c55.

Is it possible to run larger rotor with these caliper without doing any modifications?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...6063852671.jpg

You can simply use "07 Clk63" (360x32) brackets & Rotors,,

i installed that into my friend's "05 Slk55" last year..:)

-;ZAYED;-

How much bigger are those rotors compared to slk?

They're (20mm) dia. bigger than "Clk/Slk" Rotors,,

04-06 "Clk55/Slk55" comes with (340x32), while 07 "Clk63" uses (360x32)..!

-;ZAYED;-

Price the components for the performance package brakes on the SLK55 and CLK63 cars.

The SLK55 and CLK63 use the same parts.

Yes, they are 360mm. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are more difficult to find than high-performance package AMG cars.

Clk63 Rotors not that expensive these days..:):-

https://www.partsgeek.com/ss/?i=1&ss...778127&x=0&y=0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-W2...pYsWg~&vxp=mtr

-;ZAYED;-

You are seriously missing the point.


CLK63, SLK55, and C55 brakes are ALL THE SAME SIZE. 330 mm diameter. The difference is that the SLK55 and CLK63 rotors are multi-piece.
CLK63 and SLK55 use part number 209-421-01-12. List price is $885 EACH. Dealer cost is $530. Aftermarket rotors are usually one piece and much cheaper.

CLK63 BLACK SERIES, CLK63 with 030 Performance package, and SLK55 with 030 performance package have the 360 mm brake rotors. 219-421-02-12 has a list price of $1020 and dealer cost of $610.00. Please note that it is a
219 number.

I've been selling these parts at a Mercedes dealer longer than those cars have been on the market. As a hot rodder and an experienced brake conversion installer I know a thing or two about the subject.

No my good friend, don't think i missed with something i work with almost every week..:),,

A) Aug/05>>Oct/06 "R171 Slk55":-

*Fronts, 2-piece Rotor, (340x32)

MB: # "171 421 01 12", code "-P30/F98"

Brembo: # "09.9254.33"

*Rears,1-piece Rotor, (330x26)

MB: # "171 423 02 12"

Brembo: # "09.9257.41"

B) Nov/06>>Dec/07 "W209 Clk63":-

*Fronts, 2-piece Rotor, (360x32)

MB: # "209 421 01 12", code "-P98"

Brembo: # "09.9547.33"

*Rears (330x26), 1-piece Rotor

MB: "171 423 02 12"

Brembo #: "09.9257.41"

-;ZAYED;-

These two different stories dont help me much lol.

You both claim to have worked with this stuff before.

20mm is .7 of an inch which means the rotor is not even half inch larger on each side.

Its probably not even worth the upgrade.


ZAYED, do you have the part number for the bracket you used?

IMO; it's nice upgrade compares to the size of Rear Rotors,,

unfortunately; brackets not comes separately, they're with calipers assembly..!!,,

there's a good shop here, made Clk63 brackets for me,,

they're made of (Alloy 7075 Aviation T7/CNH)..:)

-;ZAYED;-


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...dcb6e03c43.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...fafafb7f44.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...4d13afa5ff.jpg

Below, are the Tech. & diagram of each Rotor..;)

04-06 "W209 Clk55/R171 Slk55",,

2-piece Front Rotor, (340x32)
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...700e2decb7.jpg

07 "W209 Clk63",

2-piece Front Rotor, (360x32) https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...72f7a860f3.jpg

08-10 "W209 Clk63 BS",

2-piece Front Rotor, (360x36)https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...a8e9569c50.jpg

04-10 "W209 Clk55-Clk63-Clk63 BS/R171 Slk55",

1-piece Rear Rotor, (330x26) https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...4e7eebb92a.jpg

I suppose the CLK63 VIN I used was from a car with 330 mm rotors.

Do you mean (330mm) Fronts or Rears..?

-;ZAYED;-