Jacking up a W212 to change brake pads
 

Do any of you folks know of a way to jack up the wheels of a W212 to do a brake job without having a professional lift in your garage? Thanks for any and all replies.
Mylo

I was wondering about this today too. I jacked up the car to test fit a set of wheels, and noticed there is no room to put the stand. There's only that small space to place the actual jack lift, but not additional space to place a jack stand. I removed that square piece from the sideskirt hoping it would be the stand point, but it wasn't it and really seemed to have no purpose.

That's a Good Question...
 

I'm looking at doing a Brake Inspection myself and I'd like to know what the best method is too! I guess everyone that's faced this situation had the luxury of access to a professional lift...really??? :confused:

Changing your front brake pads
 

After giving the problem some serious thought the only reasonable and safe solution I could come up with is as follows; firstly use as high quality jack and locate it under where the tire changing jack is supposed to go. Secondly, locate a jack stand under where the disc brake assembly bolts to the chassis. Lastly, get a bottle jack and place it under where the jack meets the chassis. Given M-B makes it nearly impossible to locate where the proper places where jack stands belong, it's the best idea I can think of. I DO NOT recommend anyone else do what I have outlined, just sharing my thoughts.
Mylo

I use jack point stands. They work great.
http://www.jackpointjackstands.com

Very cool concept. I may get myself one of these. Did you only get one?

EDIT: Damn these things cost a few hundred.

I bought them to use on my Porsche 911 but I also use them on my wife's
2014 E350 cab. I bought a pair. They will last forever. I have been working on cars all my life grew up in a Junk Yard. This is the safest system I have found. I don't see a need to get all 4 wheels off the ground. I didn't get to 73 years old by letting a car fall on me! You also will need a jack that will fit the Jack Point Stands so that may raise your cost even higher. Read their information about jack specs carefully. Working under a car on stands is not something to save money on. Safety first. Have Fun I love working on cars:)

StevefromMN:
Did you buy the regular or low profile jack stands? I have a MB E350 2010 and I would like to know which jack stands would be best suited for my car. Thanks.
Mylo

The square piece is to make room for the jack that comes with the car. Especially with Airmatic springs, as the smart German engineers forgot to include the disable switch, the air will come out from the spring when you jack it up. This is because the stupid air spring system is alive and as it sees car height go up it takes air out from the spring. When you lower the car back down it goes way lower than it was before jacking and the jack will hit the skirt of the car without removing that square cover.

I bought the low profile ones, the only difference is in the top piece
so that I could get it under my 2012 911 S which is low. It doesn't make any difference on the Mercedes but you will need the special adapters to fit your square holes where the jack goes. I think they are another $37 or so.
Check with the Jack Point people to make sure it will all work on your car.

Do you jack one corner of the E350 at a time and if you do does the other wheel on the same side also rise off the ground?

On my 2011 E350 there is a rectangular plastic. I would say its under the radiator, in the middle of the car. You can jack the car up by that, and then put stands. Rears its harder to explain, I wish I knew how to post pics here, I would share where I put stands on the rear. And be careful with the original Mercedes Jack, its a peace of S**T. Over the years I owned 3 diff Mercedes, about 4 times, my car almost fell down. side to side or front to back. Oem jack is flimsy and very dangerous.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...9bf9a0a92a.jpg

pretty sure you mean this,
that pic is a W211 but they share the same engine with the 10-11 W212

Any pics that any of you have would be greatly appreciated. The brakes on these cars are a piece of cake to do, but jacking the car up safely and putting it on stands is like solving a crazy puzzle. I absolutely hate that Mercedes does not provide this information. I have owned their cars since 1987 and my dad since 1969 and this is a big disappointment that they are almost forcing people to go to the dealer for what I believe is overpriced service on the brakes. If they only charged about $100 in labor that would be fair. To change both front sets of brakes by myself (once the car is safety lifted on jacks) takes about 1 hour total and I am far from a serious mechanic.

front you can jack it up by the jacking point do fronts but rear do 1 at a time. i learn it the hard way. Almost drop the car on the oem jack..

To jack the car up from the rear, put the jack under the differential. Make sure to use a good thick piece of wood between the jack and differential. Once up, put the jack stands under the jack points at the side of the car. Did this for years on my C55 AMG. Never had a problem. The instructions above to jack up the front of the car under the front cross member are correct and worked for me for years on my C55. Haven't had to have two or four corners up at one time on my '14 E350 yet.

I just replaced the front pads last weekend. Used the jack that comes with the car and raised the car high enough to fit the front tire under the car next to the jack for holding the car up in case the jack would fail (very unlikely if you use it correctly. Obviously did one side at the time.

I take my car to a Mercedes Indy even during warranty for brakes. The dealer is nuts for the price of a pad and rotor change.

I've used the OEM jack about 3 or 4 times. One time it did slip on me as I was lowering it. Not a fan of the curved base on the jack. Would prefer a more solid, flat base.

I bought a low profile floor jack from Harbor Freight to use with my lowered EVO. I just center it on the frame of my E350 and lift whole side of the car. It lifts it plenty high for Jack stands. Can do all 4 corners easily.

Some Jacking Options
 

Here are a couple of interesting videos related to jacking your Benz:



And one more:

Curved base is for a reason. You need to position the jack curved base under the jacking point on the car correctly. If you do it will not slip.

Honestly I thought it was in the right position. Not sure but it could have been because of the epoxy finish on my garage floor. The jack stayed in place (see photo) while raising the car and while removing, plugging, and reinstalling the tire. However, while lowering the car, I recall that the car started to move towards me very slowly. The jack was slipping under the car and it tilted until the crank end touched the ground (see photo). The wheel was barely touching also. Thankfully the wheel was on or else it could have been a disaster.

Lifting a w212
 

Hi everyone! So I have a w212 which I need to get serviced (we call a car wash as service here in Pakistan). So the service places have a hydraulic lift to raise the vehicles to clean the undercarriage. The lifts are very generic and aren't specially designed. The part the comes in contact with the vehicles are 2 long beams running in the length of the car. Since mercs have undercarriage covers and complexities and what not. Is it safe for my car to be serviced at these places and this lift is okay for my car or not?

Thanks

Like this:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f3993a5b8f.png


or this:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...c749c8d2ca.png

The first one, no issue. The second, could cause issue and care should be taken. The runners MUST be long enough to engage both the front and rear jack pads. In addition care, so the runners do not contact anything else.