Thanks, Larry.
I guess they're floating; I'm not sure what that means. The bolts that mount them to the steering knuckle go through steel bushings, which in turn sit inside rubber sleeves lubed with silicone gel. I replaced the rubber, thoroughly cleaned up the bolts, and lubed everything.
I hope you're right and they'll be OK. I will first rule out wrong parts. Then I will trust your experience and instinct.
I'm still wondering if you're supposed to really heat up new pads, or go easy on them, or if tit depends on the mfr. The parts store guy said he's got 34 yrs. experience as a mechanic and you need to work them hard to "seat" them. He said he's never heard anything different.

Do you still have an operable 600k+ mile Merc Diesel?
I need to put some miles on mine or I will be leaving it to my heirs even if I live to 80. It only has 102k miles.

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Now you're suckin' Diesel!

'88 300SEL
'92 300D 2.5 Turbo
'96 Lincoln Town Car. The Jazzmobile.