can i get a good deal on the parts from somewhere and what should i be charged by the dealer, brake shop?

 

i'm in california

 

Call Evosport and see what price they'd give you. They do fantastic jobs. Tell them Ricky sent you by.

 

Brembo rotors from tirerack.com
Mintex/Textar pads/sensors from performanceproducts.com

Total cost of parts inclusive of shipping - around $450.
Total cost of labor - some pizza, beer and good relations with a car loving neighbor...

This is the first time I am doing an aftermarket parts/DIY brake job on the ML (yep, I too am fed up of paying $1200 for the brake job at the dealership)...so I can't comment on their performance, but based on some research on the internet, I thought, this was the best aftermarket combination closet match to OEM parts..

Anyone has any opinion on these rotors/pads?

I have had a bad experience with tirerack...I am sure, someone has a similar story with them.

I ordered my rotors on May 7th (that's when the brake sensor lamp first came on)...they were on back order...I was told, they should be in in about 2 weeks time - May 21st...I call on May 25th, and I am told 2 more weeks...June 13th...I am just hoping they don't push it further down...since I just got a boat and with the towing...driving with worn rotors/pads is not the best idea...

If they can't deliver on June 13th, I will be looking elsewhere, does anyone know of any other place to get the Brembo rotors?

 

hit any of these three (listed in order of my personal preference):

www.autohausaz.com
www.autopartswarehouse.com
(free shipping at $50 price point)
http://parts.mbz.org (free shipping at $75)

Don't forget to get the MBZ brake paste as well, one pack per wheel.

All of them are within a couple bucks of each other and provide pretty much the same inventory, too.

Good luck and enjoy stopping the ride,
Greg

 

one more question, should i go with after market cross drilled and slotted or go with the "O.E."?
THE GUYS AT BRAKE WORLD WANTED TO CHARGE ME 700$ SHIPPED FOR THE BRMBOS AND THE ROTEX GOLD.....

 

If you're happy with the brake performance, just go with plain rotors. Slotted rotors will accelerate the wear on your pads, and drilled rotors are more prone to cracking and breaking. Besides costing more.

 

Greg - Do you speak from experience? I have exactly the setup SEXY mentioned - Brembo, slotted and cross drilled with Rotex Gold pads.

I got my setup from brakeworld.com at considerably less than $700. It did not come with sensors, but the old ones were in fine condition, so I reused them.

I cannot yet say that they work any better, but they work at least as well and look cool. If they accelerate the wear, well then, perhaps the fact that the Rotex are kevlar will make it all work out the same in the long run(?) Whatever, it is so easy a job to replace them (DIY) that I do not care if they wear faster. And as far as the rotors are concerned, have you looked at them? They are each about 30-40 lbs and beefy as hell.

Cross drilling is labor intensive and thus the end product cost more. Whether it matters, well I can say that if it is only cosmetic, then there is an improvement because there sure isn't a compromise in performance.

 

www.germanstar.net

that's where I got my brakes.. mintex pads and brembo OEM rotors..

 

Not in the sense that I've had it happen on a car I owned, but yes, from experience. I've never seen a plain rotor crack, but I've seen stress fractures in drilled rotors. That said, if you're not particularly hard on brakes and you have a quality setup -- which it sounds like you do -- it probably won't ever be an issue for you, either. And since friction = heat and excess heat = loss of braking performance, anything that helps to cool the rotors/pads will improve braking performance, which is the whole point with drilled rotors.

My initial point was that if one is happy with their brake performance, etc., then there's no reason to buy drilled rotors. If, however, you're looking to increase performance, particularly if you're going with a big brake kit, then by all means. Or if you want the cosmetic effect of drilled rotors.

And no, I'm not a hypocrite. I had to replace my rear rotors due to warping and I figured for the slight cost increase I'd put on drilled rotors, purely for the cosmetic appeal. (If you look over in the 210 forum you'll find the pictorial post I put up on changing pads/rotors.) Since I'm not hard on brakes, don't shoot mountain roads or head to the track, it's unlikely I'll ever see one crack, but you never know. And if it happens, it happens.

Take care and enjoy stopping at the end of the ride,
Greg

 

thanks for all the comments guys, i spoke with the guys at EVOSPORT yesterday and they said that brembo does not make a crss drlled and sltted rotor for the ML430. is this true?

 

Brembo may not do the cross drilling and slotting, but you can by them. I got mine from brakeworld.com along with the Rotex pads.

Many of the 430's brake systems squeak. Mine seemed as though there was no solution and it really drove me nuts. After trying 2 seperate model of OEM style pads (Pagid and ATE) with no success, I figured I'd try the slotted rotors and dust-less pads to see if it had an effect. So far so good. Only the rears squeak now because they are still OEM.

 

Where exactly is this brake paste suppposed to be applied? During my last brake job, I applied brake lube to all the areas where the calipers are moving on the pins and brackets, but whats with the "paste". I bought some MB paste for 3 bucks in a mini ketchup packet thinking it was some mysterious MB wonder brake paste and it is just marked lube just like the big 4oz tube I've had for the past few years costing 6 bucks. Am I missing something or is there an adhesive that goes on the pad backing to hold it to the caliper to prevent it from riding the rotor?

 

PS, I bought senors but my pads came with them. If any one needs front and rear OEM MB sensors for an ML, PM me. Thanks.

 

Hello, do you still have the brake sensors that would work with my 99 ML320? How much do you want for them, front and rear.

 

My Brake sensor light flickers from time to time on my '00.

I got a quote from a reliable shop of $450 for the rear pads .... Ouch!!

With supervison, I switched the front pads on my '99 Volvo V70 to dust free about 4 years ago.

How hard is it to do the rear pads and is there a DIY step by step out there somewhere???

Thanks,

 

Nevermind.

The brakes are done.