Hello, the local non-dealer Mercedes shop I trade with, pointed out my front brakes are warped and worn out.

They want to help me out and replace front/back with original Mercedes rotors and pads for $3,000

I accept that challenge, will obtain the parts, and do the work.

I obtained all of those Mercedes original parts for $600 from FCP Euro, lifetime warranty.

Do the back slave cylinders need a special tool to compress them? Example, a “C”clamp that rotates while compressing?
A friend is warning about damaging the electronic parking brake somehow, he’s not providing and specific examples.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Johnny

 

prices are insane if you let them rob you

for example its possible to buy genuine disks with sensible discount of 30% of retail - but they hate to offer to joe mug at the counter - discs and pads £300 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132499112714?
not so much help for you, but a main dealer via UK ebay will sell me a Pair of rear discs (vented 320mm) for £136 - the local stealership wants £175 each - or I can go aftermarket to OEM quality for £99 or rubbish for £69

rear has discs - with an electrically actuated "brake shoe" park brake hiding inside the rear disc hub - you don't need to touch the park brake
there is a school of thought you should crack open the bleed nipple to push back the brake pistons - rather than forcing it back through the ABS module - BMW Techs like to claim this is what kills their designed to fail modules
German manus also like to change the brake fluid every two years - claiming same system reliability lies - what they mean is if we rob you every year for pointless work it eases the pain of offering a discount when stealing 2k at a later date for a module they deliberately designed to fail

 

I didn't even get Mercedes OEM parts--just got good German aftermarket pads and rotors. I don't think it cost even $300. The pistons easily compressed back into the caliper with a regular compression tool.

 

Every 2 years is a bit much but brake fluid does degrade over time because it sucks moisture in.
It's hygroscopic.
If you then drive in the mountains or on a circuit the water will start to cook and the brake pedal will be spongy.

 

Thanks Botus.

Those AMG parts look and sound like a nice upgrade.

The original replacements is a great start for now to get back to normal operation at reasonable price.

With all of the feedback, the swap out of rotors and pads is sounding fairly straight forward.

I’ve been hearing a lot, it’s an effective way to release pressure by opening the bleeder screw when compressing the slave pistons.
Would most folks agree, or push the brake fluid back through to the reservoir?

It’s crazy that shops charge excessively for a 15 year old car. It’s just an old car. Well, a pretty cool old car…

Johnny

 

....inside the rear disc is a shoe park brake with manual adjusters.... and you have a separate electronic calibration process of the park brake module - you are meant to do after work

you might need to back off the adjusters (one per wheel) to get the discs off (due to rust ridge inside) either way when back on, I'd operate the electronic park kicking the disc round a few times to seat the shoes and manually adjust up the mechanical star wheel (part 160 below) till they just bite then back off a click or two till the disc spins nicely - you can reach in with long thin flat blade screw driver and tweak it around via a wheel bolt hole (the adjuster is at 3 O clock-ish)

if you have high end diagnostics the calibration is via OBD port - and you just tell the module to apply and it pretends to judge how much force its pulling on the cable - I guess really just judging how much it needs pulling up the cable slop and applying them

you'll need a silly torx tool to get the baby bolt that just seats the discs (part 110 below) they are made of warm chocolate - smack its face hard before trying or you'll round it off - they do nothing in reality - so you can get robbed buying two new or just nip up with some lube during refit - the wheels actually hold the disc on properly at both ends

also wipe the crud off and take a photo of the disc pad wear sensor (part 140 below) its a bit of mind f--- working out how it seats - oh yes. I think you need to buy these, I don't think they come with the new pads

umm, not done my rears yet - this shows its a sliding joke caliper - the sliding pins need lube and the dust seals often fail - might be worth having those too

rear



front - note at least three brake systems available, tractor parts - sport with 320mm vented rears - AMD mental front set-up

does the S600 get 4 front calipers ? picture below suggest it does - never knew that ?

 

if you think..... as the pads all round wear, the level drops in the reservoir under the bonnet. obviously its designed to go from full up to worn pads all round and still have enough fluid to operate safely
as no one does car maint properly - plus you seldom wear all 4 corners out at the same time - few ever / need to top up the reservoir....

but if they did, just pushing the pads back can over fill the reservoir - and if unlucky spray out a vent hole and damage the paint by squirting fluid about unnoticed. ( I find it strange on vice grip garage he loves to pour / drip that filth everywhere and never cleans it up - brake fluid is evil - first its a paint stripper and second its etches metals - obviously destroying the looks and causing rust...).

Anyway if you crack the bleed nipple and evacuate the excess fluid you avoid the need to double check if the reservoir is overflowing (or later try to reduce contaminating the fluid). Of course after completing, you need to check and adjust the reservoir level.

Also worth noting: on some systems (ford transit for one), to actually get the pads back due to a one way check valve - the only way to get the pistons back on those without opening the nipple is to pop the piston seals - after applying phenomenal force and destroying the calipers.


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