When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Any of you change your own pads/rotors? I have a 2014 G550 and the dealer says it's time for new rear pads. I was thinking of tackling the job myself and maybe changing rotors as well. Any of you tackled this job yourselves? Looking for advice on parts, labor, etc...
Im pretty handy and do a lot of DIY projects around the house. I've installed a lift kit on an FJ Cruiser and done a few mechanical jobs on it as well, but I've never changed brakes especially in a G Wagen!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Brakes are one of those jobs that when I am in the right mindset it's a great thing to tackle.
I was on the fence about doing my fronts before my trip to Seattle, but just reading this made me bight the bullet. Just ordered front rotors and pads, they'll be here tomorrow from FCPEURO.com
Brakes are pretty straight forward.
There are a ton of great tutorials on YouTube, just out of curiosity I searched and found this great video... guy has a great accent too lol
Get a nice heavy rubber mallet, you will need to likely "persuade" the rotor off. You can use a hammer, but be prepared to walk away with a headache and **** off your neighbors. https://amzn.to/2EbqoVz
You will want to open the brake fluid reservoir before you do anything to the brakes, this allows the fluid to escape the lines when you apply back pressure on the pads to loosen them.
Also you will need some open ended wrenches to open the bleeder nipple and a bit of hose to attach to it to assure no air goes in when you bleed them.
I usually have my wife help with the pumping of the brakes.
My order comes in tomorrow, have some pretty big meetings until Wednesday late afternoon. Either going to tackle after my last meeting or Thursday morning. I'll take some pics for you as well.
Brakes are one of those jobs that when I am in the right mindset it's a great thing to tackle.
I was on the fence about doing my fronts before my trip to Seattle, but just reading this made me bight the bullet. Just ordered front rotors and pads, they'll be here tomorrow from FCPEURO.com
Brakes are pretty straight forward.
There are a ton of great tutorials on YouTube, just out of curiosity I searched and found this great video... guy has a great accent too lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-fTiyyRweU
A few tools you should have (Everything with links are previous purchases I've made and are all 5 stars in my book):
Gloves & a rag or two. It's a dirty job.
Floor Jack, get the heaviest duty one you can at a parts store or home depot/LOWES
Impact Screwdriver ( You will need this to break the screw loose on the rotor itself) https://amzn.to/34f3tmW
Get a nice heavy rubber mallet, you will need to likely "persuade" the rotor off. You can use a hammer, but be prepared to walk away with a headache and **** off your neighbors. https://amzn.to/2EbqoVz
You will want to open the brake fluid reservoir before you do anything to the brakes, this allows the fluid to escape the lines when you apply back pressure on the pads to loosen them.
Also you will need some open ended wrenches to open the bleeder nipple and a bit of hose to attach to it to assure no air goes in when you bleed them.
I usually have my wife help with the pumping of the brakes.
My order comes in tomorrow, have some pretty big meetings until Wednesday late afternoon. Either going to tackle after my last meeting or Thursday morning. I'll take some pics for you as well.
Wow! This is a fantastic reply!!! Thank you so much. Pics of your brake job would be awesome. I'm going to work and will be gone a few weeks so I'll probably tackle this next month. Again, thanks so much for such a thorough response.
Out of curiosity, OEM parts or ceramic brake pads? Looks like the ceramics are cheaper but people keep telling me they are better than OEM pads.
Last edited by DownwardDawg; Aug 17, 2020 at 12:56 PM.
Mine are starting to squeal up front and I don't want to not do them and realize I needed to on my trek up the PCH.
I just snagged these from FCPEURO, which is where I buy most everything for both of my AMGs due to the lifetime warranty they offer, and I don't need to remember where I bought a part.
Mine are starting to squeal up front and I don't want to not do them and realize I needed to on my trek up the PCH.
I just snagged these from FCPEURO, which is where I buy most everything for both of my AMGs due to the lifetime warranty they offer, and I don't need to remember where I bought a part.
These had pretty good dust reviews from everything I read. albeit my truck is far from a garage queen, I do hate unnecessary brake dust.
I'll let you know how they hold up
Once again thanks a bunch. Yeah, my truck is certainly not a garage queen either. It's my EDD in fact. I deer hunt out of it and my hunting lease is slick, muddy clay in the winter with lots of hills. My son and I have a blast
in the G out there. The fun part is driving back through town when my truck is covered in mud. People don't "get it".
Yeah the ceramic ones. I should clarify and say that if they are for the rear calipers then it won't matter as much.
Front calipers I would not recommend trading brake dust for decreased brake feel, especially if you are towing.
Thanks for the insight!
I just went out to double check and my rotors are toast! So when I get the new OEM rotors and the ceramic brakes I think I'll be in a whole new ballpark.
I will be towing a motorcycle trailer for a bike I am picking up just outside of Seattle after I get settled in my new house, but no serious towing yet. Have been looking at some 25+' boats, but think I'll miss the season this year in the PNW.
Thankfully my father in law has a nice yacht, in Victoria... Which I hope opens up to the US one day.
I'll give feedback with some images of my rotors in this thread and in my build thread once I get them installed and some miles on the truck this week.
Yeah I went through like 4 brands of different pads before I found one that I liked on my complete brake overhaul on my GLK (rip). My lil car isn't has heavy as your Gs, but I live in a mountainous area and I don't engine brake. You will feel them not have the initial bite like aggressive pads do. If you just use it as a commuter car then the ceramic pads are perfectly fine.
My experience with OEM vs Akebono Ceramics was exactlly the same on my Volvo. OE pads had a better initial bite but dusted a lot. They also didn't last *that* long compared. The Akebono Ceramics have a more mild initial bite but the absolute braking force I felt was about the same. They dusted way way way less compared to the OE pads though, and lasted much longer.
Man my front rotors were trash. 3hrs later and I have brakes and rotors replaced. Pretty easy, a bit different than that video on my '08 G55, definitely an older model two piston caliper.
I'll do a write up in my other thread, I'd rate it about 4 out of 10 in difficulty. Doing it during a heatwave in LA... it's about a 7 out of 10.
Man my front rotors were trash. 3hrs later and I have brakes and rotors replaced. Pretty easy, a bit different than that video on my '08 G55, definitely an older model two piston caliper.
I'll do a write up in my other thread, I'd rate it about 4 out of 10 in difficulty. Doing it during a heatwave in LA... it's about a 7 out of 10.
Sweet!!!!!! Thanks man. I'm looking forward to tackling this job.
I did my Gs rear axle when I bought it, BMW M cars, etc...they are the same as brakes on a Honda Civic or Camry (although the Mercedes abs the M cars are bigger in size) the process is the same.
I did my Gs rear axle when I bought it, BMW M cars, etc...they are the same as brakes on a Honda Civic or Camry (although the Mercedes abs the M cars are bigger in size) the process is the same.
Dont waste your time at a dealer or mechanic.
Thank you friend. You guys have encouraged me. I appreciate it. I will purchase the tools I need then the parts. Will tackle it when I get back from next work assignment.
I did my Gs rear axle when I bought it, BMW M cars, etc...they are the same as brakes on a Honda Civic or Camry (although the Mercedes abs the M cars are bigger in size) the process is the same.
Dont waste your time at a dealer or mechanic.
To me wasting time would be doing it myself, and I pay people to do things that get hands dirty!
almostordinary - let us know how the brake pads work in regards to reduced brake dust. I am waiting for Centric to make more pads for the G as they are out of stock and their Posiquiets really cut back on dust on others so they should work on the G as well.
To me wasting time would be doing it myself, and I pay people to do things that get hands dirty!
almostordinary - let us know how the brake pads work in regards to reduced brake dust. I am waiting for Centric to make more pads for the G as they are out of stock and their Posiquiets really cut back on dust on others so they should work on the G as well.
Bob, you are missing out on some good bonding time with your car.
Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely repairs/services I pay for, as they aren’t worth the time or the headache. However, imo, brakes aren’t one of them.
Bob, you are missing out on some good bonding time with your car.
Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely repairs/services I pay for, as they aren’t worth the time or the headache. However, imo, brakes aren’t one of them.
I agree. It makes me feel so much closer to my truck when I perform work on it.
I had an electrical issue shortly after I purchased my G. Drivers seat would not move, heat wouldn't work on the seat, the light at bottom rear of driver seat would work, and I was getting a scary message telling me SRS malfunction. Get to dealer.
Well, I'm an electrician by trade so I started digging around and knew that I had a loose wiring connection/short somewhere under the seat. The dealer looked at it and told me they would have to replace the entire wiring harness and connector and it would cost thousands!!! They told me they did that on another model Mercedes and with all the labor it cost almost $8,000!!!!!! I took it home and decided to get aggressive and do it myself. My battery was weak so I took the opportunity to purchase a new battery to install myself. I pulled the old battery and got in there with my meter and started looking for shorts or loose connections. Sure enough, I found that there was a short on a ground wire in the big "plug" under the seat. I jumped the wires across the connector and everything worked perfectly. That allowed me to move the seat all the way up and get to the connector and wires much better. I ended up trimming both sides of the ground wire and splicing with a good wire splice. No issues since.
I guess I should start my own G thread also and learn how to post pics so my experience can help others.
Before I retired I basically drove a desk so I never got my hand dirty and my free time now is spent doing outdoor stuff; however, I do like to work on my vehicles doing cosmetic mods...I bond when I drive!
Ian's (almostordinary) walkthrough is pretty spot on, as well as the suggested tools.
Doing brake jobs on the G is pretty easy, with the exception if you have stuck bolts and/or frozen calipers. I did my rear brakes with OEM replacement brake rotors and Akebono pads on the rear earlier this year. The job will still take a few hours going slowly but nothing technically difficult about it. I'll be doing the fronts sometime next year as the pads wear down. I would say, due to the size of the G, if you haven't attempted brakes in the past, it's probably not a good vehicle to start on (jacking up the G so wheels are off the ground does take a lot of height) as most won't have access to a lift.
Rear Brakes - all purchased from FCPEuro with a lifetime guarantee.
$250 for the rear brake rotors
$70 for the rear Akebono pads
$15 for a L of brake fluid
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
