Dear Forum:

I have just taken possession of my first Mercedes. It's a 1988 300CE. I've owned and rebuilt BMWs & Porsches, so I'm acquainted with German cars from the 1980's. But just let me check in with people who know more than me about W124s.

The brakes worked on the car when it was delivered to me, but the fluid was a dark brown. It looked the color of Maple syrup. I can't remember seeing that before. I suctioned the fluid out of the reservoir to the low mark and added new fluid and then did it again. Then I bled the system, according to the Chilton Service Manual.

When I bleed brakes alone, I use a 2X2 stick. I break open the bleeder and push down the peddle with the stick & hold the peddle down by jamming the other end of the stick against the front of the driver's seat. I close the bleeder and remove the stick....again and again.

It works, but takes a while and in this case, kept me from realizing that I had lost peddle resistance somewhere along the way. Yesterday I was getting fluid out of the bleeders, but the peddle had little resistance and very poor braking by the time I was done.

Today, I enlisted my trusty & faithful wife to press the peddle. By today, the rear calipers were only expelling air with every push of the peddle.

It appears that I have very weak braking from the front calipers...just enough to slowly move the car in my garage. I have no leaks visible from the back of the firewall; no fluid loss into the passenger compartment. The reservoir has always been filled with new fluid during the bleeding process.

So, I think the master brake cylinder has failed. Can anyone think of another possible explanation? Any special Mercedes considerations that I need to know as I prepare to swap in a new cylinder?

Your wisdom is appreciated.

Sincerely, Steve L