2013 E63, few questions
The pads are now down close to 3mm, time to change?
Dealer is asking for 1300 for all 4, reasonable?
Should i go OEM or aftermarket?

thanks in advance

 

there are cheaper (just as good) pads out there... these are low dust EBCs

EBC Brakes DP31939C Redstuff Ceramic Low Dust Brake Pad (FRONT) $92
EBC Brakes DP32117C Ceramic Brake Pad (REAR) $141

so you can pick these up for < $250 and either install yourself or find an indy shop to do it for WAY cheaper

 

Pad changes are usually a pretty easy job, though I haven't done one on my E63 yet.
How much can you source the parts for? $1300 seems pretty harsh.

 

Wow that's over a thousand labor for a 2 hour job, that's more than my attorney gets

 

had my local buddy do mine (E55)

parts were like $200 and labor was $50

 

What's the basic procedure for replacing them yourself? I've never done brakes before

 

i'm pretty sure you can find the procedures somewhere on the site in a DIY

 

Jack car up, put it on jack stands, remove wheels, loosen calliper bolts, slide calliper off the rotor, remove pads, push calliper back, install new pads, lube slide pins, reinstall callipers, torque calliper bolts to some number, reinstall wheels, torque lug nuts to some number.

Then do a few 60->0 stops on a deserted road to ensure everything's okay and to bed in the brakes. The car should stop straight and not pull to either side or shudder.

With brakes being such a huge safety thing, I'd have a shop do them. That way if anything goes wrong you've got someone to yell at

 

i've heard the sensors need to be replaced too
they've just raised their price to 2200 today

 

That is total BS.

 

that's crazy - do you have an independent Mercedes shop near you? i.e. someone who works on Mercedes but NOT the dealer?

they'll be 1/2 that price easily... bring your pads and probably 1/4 of the dealer price

find a friend who's done it before, maybe get away with a case of beer and a learning experience

 

Wait they're trying to charge you an EXTRA 900$ for Mercedes brake pad sensors when pelican parts sells the brake pad sensors (which aren't that hard to install) for your 2013 E63 Sedan for $13 for the rear OEM Mercedes sensor (only 1 for the back brakes and 1 per the front brakes is needed which is what Mercedes does) and $8 for the front Bowa branded sensor for the front right which only 1 is needed also. The Bowa one seems to meet all factory requirements.

So basically they're charging you $879 mark up and labor to install 2 sensors that are the size of a triple A battery that all it does is push into the brake pad and then hook up into the factory harness plug literally plug and play...Dealer ship or stealership?

EDIT: Is that price for front and rear pads only? Or front rear pads + front and rear rotors?

 

ok - i reused my sensors too

 

im at 34K miles and am hearing squealing from my brakes, i think the rears....for the most part are u guys changing your fronts before your backs or vice versa

 

front and back pads only, now plus sensors, 2200

 

I haven't done my E63. I've changed at least 50 pads on all types of cars and it is basically the same for all of them. Remove the cap on the brake fluid reservoir ( put some towels around it in case there is excess fluid in the system). Take off wheel, Remove the bolts (usually two) holding the caliper to the hub. Remove caliper, you may need to gently tap on the caliper or in sever cases carefully insert a screwdriver between the pads and the disk and pry the pistons back into their bores a little bit if there is a ridge on the outer edge of the rotor. Remove the outside brake pad remembering how it fit in the caliper and find it's twin in the new pads. Using a c-clamp on the old pad push the pad until the back of the pad is flush with the caliper. Remove pad and replace with it's twin from the new pads. Install the the outer pad in the caliper. install the caliper over the rotor and install one of the bolts holding the caliper to the hub and tighten until you have engaged a few threads. install the other bolt holding the caliper to the hub then tighten both bolts to their respective torque values. The steps are the same for each wheel. After all the new pads have been installed correct the fluid level if necessary and install cap. Start the car and pump the brakes a couple of times to seat the new pads. Replace the wheels and you should be good to go. Examine your rotors when you take off your wheels for any deep groves, if deep grooves are present you may want to remove the rotor and take it to an auto parts store and see if the rotor can be turned. If they can't you'll have to replace the rotors. To get the longest life from your new pads avoid heavy braking for the first 500 miles. The sensors on most cars only need to be replaced if the pads got so thin they trigger the brake light on the dash.

 

Thanks LJ, I coupled your post to a YouTube video and you're of course spot on. I may just give this a try ...

 

all safety measures of course, level ground, stands, chocks etc.

 

It would be good to know the torque value for the main bolts. Hopefully the pistons are not too difficult to push back in. Pushing in couple of caked and rust pistons years ago with rental tools on a really old car was a PITA...I can't imagine having to push in 20 of them on this car if all the pistons are in the same caked condition.

 

A step I forgot to add. I think MB uses two retaining pins on the 6 pot calipers. They need to be driven out using a drift pin so that the pads can be removed. Also you may want to use two c-clamps to force the pistons back in their bores. Make sure both sides of the pad are pushed back equally a little at a time. Don't let the caliper dangle by the hoses and wires, tie them up with wire or coat hangers.

 

I had a 69 Vette that had this problem until I replaced the calipers with ones that had stainless steel bores. On newer cars this isn't a problem any more.

 

on all the mercedes and audi's i've done my pads on, i have never had to remove the calipers... that is only necessary if you are changing the rotors too...

not sure about the e63 as i havent had to do it yet, but on my e55 had to disconnect the sbc for calipers to unlock (didnt have to do this on my c63)

for just pad change:
-remove pad retaining pins
-pull out old pads
-compress the caliper piston slowly to not damage any seals
-put lube on back of new pads
-slide in caliper and reinstall retaining pins...

as others mentioned , then go out and do about 8 hard stops from 60mph to 0 and then your pads are bedded

should cost about $200-300 depending on the pads you choose last time i did it

 

This makes sense with MB using retaining pins and the dealers pricing even more ridiculous. It's 5am and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet what is the sbc you referenced to in your post.

 

sbc is Sensotronic Brake Control.... it basically is a high pressure resevior that stores enough brake fluid for a couple of braking events and then can send braking pressure in different amount to individual wheels as it uses sensors at each wheel to detect need for more or less braking, whereas normal braking system would send equal amounts of pressure to each wheel....

i believe they phased out SBC on most mercedes models after 2006 as it was problematic, so our cars dont have it, but my e55 did and you had to disconnect the sbc before pad change or it could pinch your finger off

 

Be warned that some German car makers (talking to you, Audi!) require their scan tool to do a brake pad change, but I have no idea if MBZ has done such a thing.

Also be warned that you should crack the bleed nipples before compressing the caliper pistons. You can damage brake system components on some cars if you don't do this.

Sad to see practically zero experience here in changing E63 pads. All the advice above is just generalized steps and can be lacking some majorly important points. Interesting suggestion to "lube slide pins."