dannieboiz

I know that' there's a long DIY thread to replace the pads here. But I have a few questions of my own.

My LCD screen shows that my brakes is beginning to come loose, but it doesnn't indicate front or rear. How can I tell which one needs to be replaced? or should I do them both?

My car now have 41k miles on it, I talk to european specialist and he quoted me 500 just for the fronts, brake pads, sensor and rotor. He has not even look @ my car but he said that it's recommended that we replace the rotor @ the same time and that the rotor can't be turned. Is that true?

ANyone here just replace their pads and not rotors?

I get wholesale price for parts @ mercedes and I'm thinking about doing it myself, should I get OEM pads or go aftermarket?

Barry45RPM

Rotors can't be turned, but that doesn't mean they should be thrown out with every pad change either. You have to look at them & make a decision based on wear/scoring. 41K is pretty good on original rotors.

paulv

Nowadays, rotors tend to be replaced mainly because they're not as thick as before (reduce weight) so they essentially can't be turned down -- this is true for most cars, not just MB. If you rotors are still within spec, then you can clean them up (not resurface) and not change them, but you need to measure how much the rotor wore down in the 41Kmi so you don't have the rotors out of spec half way through the life of the new pads.

I replaced my rear pads/rotors with Porterfield/Brembo because I wanted to, although the OEM stuff is high quality. I have almost 70Kmi on the fronts and will change them in a couple of months -- the rears went out at about 54Kmi.

Regards,
paul...

Flash Gordon

The earlier comments are excellent, especially Paul. Should you decide to have the dealer replace the pads, my dealer, Ray Catena in Central Jersey, charged me $450 for BOTH front and rear pads at 32K miles. I was planning to do it myself all along, but when the dealer quoted me $450 for both front and back, I accepted. This is the first time in 20 years that I did not do it myself! Hopefully you can get a similar price as mine

dannieboiz

I did a quick calculation and i tseems parts for Roters, pads, sensor and grease comes out to the sub-300's. It just doesn't make sense to pay 700 in labor. I will DIY. Thanks guy....

Now, how would I go about measuring the rotors to figure out if they're still usable?

Randy B

Calipers Like these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-8-Inch-Elect...QQcmdZViewItem

paulv

Using a micrometer/vernier caliper like Randy posted is the way to go, but most importantly, you need to know the max/min thicknesses of the rotors so you can calculate how far the rotor has worn.

I don't have those specs -- maybe someone else here can help. A quick and dirty way is to measure the ridge left on the rotor on its outer edge (this would be the approx max thickness) and the rotor should have its min thickness stamped on the inside. If someone provides the specs, then all you have to do is take one measurement.

Regards,
paul...

dannieboiz

I actually have one right here in the office. Can someone please provide me with the specs?

dannieboiz

Guys, I just got a quote from Fletcher jones and this is my cost after my 20% discounts.... seems quite a bit higher than what people on the forum can get them for.... does this sound about right or should I just get them online?

Front Pads, $120
Front Rotors: $83.20ea
Rear pads: $52
rear Rotors, $40.80ea
Sensors: $4.20each I need 3 on mine.

jposhea3

mb manhattan service advisor casually mentioned my e500 brakes would likely come due in another 2,000 miles (ie at 22,000...) ..that seems early to me, but it *is* NYC driving (stop, go stop, stop stop, go, stop, etc).

That said, the offhand comment they made was brakes and rotors would be like 1300-1500, which strikes me as nutso.

I'll be taking mine to Ray Catena or another dealer when the brake wear light finally does come on (assuming I haven't sold the 03 for that 07 sitting in the dealer's lot)

dannieboiz

I checked my brake just now and it seems that I only need the rear brakes done at this point. What seems strange to me is that usually from my previous experience, when rear brakes are gone, brake lights come on. My brake light isn't on. Just the warning on the MFD.

paulv

Sounds great -- when I did my rear brakes, the Porterfield pads were $120 and the Brembo aftermarket rotors were $76/ea. You may be able to do a little better on the front pads buying online -- the other stuff looks competively priced to online stuff I've seen. BTW, the W211's have only 3 pad sensors -- 2 in front, 1 in rear -- these give you the 50% & 100% wear indicators.

Regards,
paul...