SL/R230: 2003 SL500 Rear Brake Job
09-11-2012, 09:20 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
2003 SL500 Rear Brake Job
Hello All
Here are some photos from my recent rear brake job. I ordered stock rotors, MB brake paste, and wear sensors from oediscountparts.com and Akebono pads from rockauto.com. Rockauto does, incidentally, have both front and rear pads (EUR 847 and EUR 986), but you have to search by manufacturer name. They do not come up when you search by make and model. My 2003 SL500 has single piston calipers on the rear, and it has only 2 brake pad wear sensors, on the RH side front and rear. You may want to confirm that you do not have dual piston calipers on the rear in your model before you order the pads, or you may run into a problem. This may be why the rear wheel Akebono pad number does not come up - my car has a 6/02 build date, and after this they may have switched to a dual piston caliper.
Anyway, I cracked the cap on the fluid reservoir and placed a towel around it before I began. I did not disconnect the SBC plug, but I did work alone and put the keys inside to avoid priming the system. I did not run into any issues, and I still have all of my fingers.
So, I put the rear on jack stands and removed the wheel. I removed the spring clip in photo 375, then used a c-clamp to move the rear pad and piston away from the rotor.
Next, I removed the caliper from the bracket to get to the pads. Photo 376 shows the two allen bolts that are covered with the caps circled in photo 379. You have to remove the caps to access the allen bolts, and they are on the back of the bracket. I think they are 7mm, but they may be smaller. Sorry I can't remember. The bolts have shoulders on them and slide in their housing to allow the caliper to move, so you have to make sure when you reinstall them that they are pushed in a bit to make reseating them easier. I set mine on a paint can so as to not let them hang by the hydraulic line.
Photo 377 shows the piston with the pad removed. I used the old pad with a C-clamp to compress it as far as it would go. FYI - one of the pads has a spring clip that fits inside of the piston. I used the other pad as my flat surface to compress the piston so I didn't pull the piston back out if I removed the pad with the spring clip in it.
Photo 378 shows the 2 18mm bolts you need to remove to get the caliper bracket off in order to remove the rotor. These bolts are at the red arrows. The yellow arrows show where the 2 allen bolts you removed earlier to remove the caliper attach. You cannot see these - I held my camera so I could shoot the rear of the wheel hub so I could get an idea of what to feel for.
Photo 379 also shows the old pads. They had not worn through to the sensor, so I guess I could have reused it, but for $6, I just replaced it.
Photo 380 shows the hub after you get the rotor off. Mine were seized after (presumably) 10 years - the rotors were pretty grooved as well. I used a combination of PB Blaster and a 3lb sledge hammer to hammer the rotor "on", and it eventually busted free. I beat the living daylights out of it - maybe 10 blows after allowing the PB Blaster to work for 30 minutes. I rotated the rotor between blows so I didn't hit the same spot twice (or more) in a row, and my hubs were fine. I didn't care about the rotors because I was replacing them anyway. Make sure you hit either the "hat" of the rotor (the part that contacts the hub), or if you hit the outside, hit it in the area that is open from the dust shield. Other than jacking the car and placing it on jack stands, this was the most time consuming part of the whole operation. I coated the hub and where the rotor contacts the hub with Permatex anti-seize compound before installing the new rotor.
I pasted the backs of the pads with MB brake paste. Blue loctite goes on the bolt that holds the rotor on as well as the caliper bracket bolts. Install the rotor, put on the bracket, seat the pads in the caliper, bolt it back on, replace the spring clip, put the wheel back on, and you are done. Wash your hands and grab a beer.
Here are some photos from my recent rear brake job. I ordered stock rotors, MB brake paste, and wear sensors from oediscountparts.com and Akebono pads from rockauto.com. Rockauto does, incidentally, have both front and rear pads (EUR 847 and EUR 986), but you have to search by manufacturer name. They do not come up when you search by make and model. My 2003 SL500 has single piston calipers on the rear, and it has only 2 brake pad wear sensors, on the RH side front and rear. You may want to confirm that you do not have dual piston calipers on the rear in your model before you order the pads, or you may run into a problem. This may be why the rear wheel Akebono pad number does not come up - my car has a 6/02 build date, and after this they may have switched to a dual piston caliper.
Anyway, I cracked the cap on the fluid reservoir and placed a towel around it before I began. I did not disconnect the SBC plug, but I did work alone and put the keys inside to avoid priming the system. I did not run into any issues, and I still have all of my fingers.
So, I put the rear on jack stands and removed the wheel. I removed the spring clip in photo 375, then used a c-clamp to move the rear pad and piston away from the rotor.
Next, I removed the caliper from the bracket to get to the pads. Photo 376 shows the two allen bolts that are covered with the caps circled in photo 379. You have to remove the caps to access the allen bolts, and they are on the back of the bracket. I think they are 7mm, but they may be smaller. Sorry I can't remember. The bolts have shoulders on them and slide in their housing to allow the caliper to move, so you have to make sure when you reinstall them that they are pushed in a bit to make reseating them easier. I set mine on a paint can so as to not let them hang by the hydraulic line.
Photo 377 shows the piston with the pad removed. I used the old pad with a C-clamp to compress it as far as it would go. FYI - one of the pads has a spring clip that fits inside of the piston. I used the other pad as my flat surface to compress the piston so I didn't pull the piston back out if I removed the pad with the spring clip in it.
Photo 378 shows the 2 18mm bolts you need to remove to get the caliper bracket off in order to remove the rotor. These bolts are at the red arrows. The yellow arrows show where the 2 allen bolts you removed earlier to remove the caliper attach. You cannot see these - I held my camera so I could shoot the rear of the wheel hub so I could get an idea of what to feel for.
Photo 379 also shows the old pads. They had not worn through to the sensor, so I guess I could have reused it, but for $6, I just replaced it.
Photo 380 shows the hub after you get the rotor off. Mine were seized after (presumably) 10 years - the rotors were pretty grooved as well. I used a combination of PB Blaster and a 3lb sledge hammer to hammer the rotor "on", and it eventually busted free. I beat the living daylights out of it - maybe 10 blows after allowing the PB Blaster to work for 30 minutes. I rotated the rotor between blows so I didn't hit the same spot twice (or more) in a row, and my hubs were fine. I didn't care about the rotors because I was replacing them anyway. Make sure you hit either the "hat" of the rotor (the part that contacts the hub), or if you hit the outside, hit it in the area that is open from the dust shield. Other than jacking the car and placing it on jack stands, this was the most time consuming part of the whole operation. I coated the hub and where the rotor contacts the hub with Permatex anti-seize compound before installing the new rotor.
I pasted the backs of the pads with MB brake paste. Blue loctite goes on the bolt that holds the rotor on as well as the caliper bracket bolts. Install the rotor, put on the bracket, seat the pads in the caliper, bolt it back on, replace the spring clip, put the wheel back on, and you are done. Wash your hands and grab a beer.
Last edited by jnice72; 09-11-2012 at 09:22 PM. Reason: duplicated a sentence - removed.
