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Hello Everyone

I would suggest starting off with one of the Craftsman mechanic tool sets sold at sears.

Buy the largest set of mechanics tools you can afford.

Remember every time you do your own work your not paying a mechanic, so you can afford more tools ! and more tools, and more tools !!

Craftsman hand tools all have a lifetime warranty.
If you break it, take it to sears and they give you a new one.

About the brake grease.
When your at the auto parts store, ask for one of the little packets of grease they have for break jobs. Should be around $ .99 They are usually sitting on the counter somewhere.

Have Fun.
Happy Wrenching.

Thanks
RichC

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When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
Jimi Hendrix

Larry, perhaps I didn't express clearly enough what I was trying to convey... I AM 100% about economy and simplification... I am just perplexed about the complexities of brake maintenance as illustrated by ch. 9 of the Haynes manual (not just the changing of the pads, but also the stuff about the disk brake caliper, brake rotor, etc.) and was trying to get confirmation here that no, that power bleeder some say is so important is not really needed (I was comparing it - as a non-essential - to using an oil extractor to do an oil change...) Well, you have now confirmed that...

Rino

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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior.

I am going to Sears tomorrow and was checking out those large sets of tools online and couldn't help noticing that a lot of the stuff included in the sets I will never use on an MB... Others in this thread have suggested a more selective approach about purchasing tools, such as, "get these sockets, get these hex keys, etc." and it really seems to boil down to just a few specific tools that will ever be needed for working on my car... So why waste resources and get a bunch of stuff that is very likely to go unused?

Buying quality stuff (Craftsman) from the start makes sense. Thank you so much for the tip about the $.99 grease packets...

What has yet to be mentioned here are the specific tools needed for a valve adjustment job, specifically...
And also, is Sears the best bet for getting good deals on the individual tools (as opposed to buying a whole set and never using most of the items in it) needed to do maintenance on my 240D, or can you suggest other places where I can fare a little better than that?

Can someone also answer my previous questions about jack stands, please?

Rino

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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior.

Thanks for the clarification.

As far as bleeding go, the MB brakes are no more complex than any other. Although I have a pressure bleeder, there is absolutely no need for one as long as you always have a helper. Once both of my kids went off to college and my wifes schedule rarely coincided with mine I bought one.

The only "magic" about bleeding MB brakes is that on some models you will have to do it with the engine running so that the power assist will help make adequate pressure. I found that necessary if my daughter or wife were helping. Neither one of them were over 5' 4" and just couldn't push the pedal hard enough on my 240D to get the pressure I needed. My 6'4", Varsity Athlete son, on the other hand, had no trouble making pressure with the engine off.

SOOooo...... If you don't have a Linebacker for a neighbor and your assistant is small, run the engine when bleeding brakes, but make sure the assistant understands the importance of not touching anything except the brake pedal while the engine is running.

Good luck,

Thanks, Larry, for the input. However, your new information makes complexities grow even further... I was thinking of a retired, old man to assist me during the brake-bleeding procedure (he doesn't look like a Mr. Olympia...) Besides, if what you were referring to is the vacuum provided by the vacuum pump to the brake booster, the bad news is that the vacuum system is faulty in my car, at least partially. For instance, it does not work on doors... however, it is still capable of shutting off the engine (it is still the action from the vacuum pump that does it, isn't it?)

So, what do you suggest now, given the circumstances?

Rino

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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior.

I would begin by trying a two man brake bleed. Some cars have more need for power boost than others. I KNOW that my 84 240D needed brake booster help, but I don't recall that with my 77. Try it first, then we can go from there.

OK, but what if then the bleeding cannot be done properly on account of that... can some air get into the system and the situation become worse to the point that I get stuck with a car with no working brakes after the procedure?

Rino

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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior.

whoo boy,
brake grease? on the dual piston calipers the MB has, there really isn't anyplace to use it. nothing slides like on a single piston caliper. for maintenance, all you need is 10mm or 8mm wrench for the bleed screw, and a good wire brush to clean all the gunk out of the caliper where the pads go. some pad goop, is good to keep the vibration of the pads down, but it's not necessary. it can get squeeky without it, but if you get good pads, it is not a problem. I have flushed the lines on 3 of my cars, and I have not needed anybody pressing on the pedal, with the cap off the MC, gravity will do a fine job of bleeding and flushing the lines, just be sure to keep it full! I find it best to suck out the fluid from the MC and then fill it with fresh fluid. open the furthest bleed screw, and let it drain until clear fluid dribbles out, then close it, and move on to the next closer and so on.
If you need to remove the calipers, 17mm wrench will remove the two bolts, USE FRESH BLUE LOCKTITE when reassembling! you will need a flare/line wrench to remove the rubber lines, 15mm I think. To remove the rotor, you will need IMPACT 10MM Hex Allen Socket, 1/2" drive if you can find it, and a small allen wrench to loosen the locknut on the spindle. here you will need about 1/2 pint of wheel bearing grease and a wheel bearing packer makes it quick, but your palm will do in a pinch. pack the bearings, and pack a good layer on the inside of the hub.

the only problem with 2.5 ton stamped steel jackstands is they are too short to reach the frame with the tires off the ground. I like the 6 ton stands, they reach well. of course they are large and heavy. I would also get a quality floor jack. the aluminum "racing" type are pretty easy to store and move around, and they are adequate for brake work. My pep boys sold a "set" with an aluminum jack and two jackstands for 79.00 during christmas, similar sets should be available. with small jackstands, you have to place them on lower suspension components to hold up the car. I like to place them on the frame.
I also only like to raise one end of the car at a time. I do always raise the entire end though, not just one side. the antisway bars would be under high stress with only one wheel lifted, so I don't do it.

it sounds like you have the tools covered, but you will need an 8mm wrench too.
For valve adjustments, DO NOT GET CRAFTSMAN wrenches. either buy Diesel Giant's set, or make a set from 3 CHEAP 14 MM wrenches. you will need a torch and a grinder to make the wrenches fit. ebay also sells valve adjustment wrench sets. it CAN be done with un modified wrenches, but it aint simple
keep the questions coming, you're in for a lot of fun!
John

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Rino,

Your concern is legitimate and thoughtful.

Have your helper push as hard as they can with both feet on the brake pedal and position a boxend wrench on the bleedscrew such that it will have travel enough when opened that you can quickly close it. Do it quickly and watch for a good strong stream of fluid. There will be some pressure, so if you do this experiment quickly you will be able to tell if there is enough pressure.

It would not be uncommon for the stream to shoot halfway across the width of the car or more, but as long as it shoots out a few inches rather than dribbling, you should be able to get the job done without getting air in the system.

Good luck,

Just remember when buying your tools that when you buy one of those big sets you get SAE and Metric tools and all you need are the metric. I was looking at the Craftsman tools online and it's a trade off on cost since you get a lot of stuff you don't need in the sets but buying individual costs a lot more per item. If you are questioning wether you need a particular tool get it cheep and if you use it a lot you can upgrade later. Get a Mity vac, the full set for testing all the vac stuff and for bleeding brakes.

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1983 300SD
200000miles

I was referring to the Haynes manual, chapter 9: disk brake pads replacement section, where it instructs to use high melting-poing brake grease on the back and edges of the new pad...

Excellent! It would really be great if it worked that way on my '79 240D...

How do you feel about the Craftsman 3 ton High Lift Jack Stands?
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00950159000&cat=Mechanics+Tools&subcat=Lift+Equipment
They have a lift range to up to 21" (as opposed to 24" for the 6-ton models)... If you think they are sufficiently high, they would be a good compromise for someone like me with very little space for storage. Would just the two jack stands plus the car's jack be sufficient, or is the alluminum jack really important? I wouldn't be lifting the car on stands every other day... And storage space IS an issue for me.

So you advise to only put on stands just one front side of the car at a time, and always the entire end... This obviously applies also to doing tire rotation (how the heck do you do that with just two stands, really?) and bleeding the system, right?

I do have that as part of the small metric set.

Do you know where I can find an example of how to make those wrenches? Perhaps some pictures will be enough for me to get an idea...

Thanks a lot for your advice!

Rino

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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior.

You see, Larry, this is the reason for my thinking about using a power bleeder in the first place... to avoid this sort of complications where there is a chance that the outcome could reveal itself more costly than the $30-40 needed to purchase the power bleeder. It's sort of buying some insurance... If I get stuck with a car I can't use, it's an even greater waste of money, and time... How do you feel about the Mity vac suggested by Phil (thanks, Phil!), that can be used for testing all the vac stuff and for bleeding the brakes (I have no idea about its cost)? I am thinking in terms on investing in the right resources... to minimize potentially costly mistakes. Sometimes spending a bit more in an area means saving a lot more money in the long run...

Rino

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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior.

I wouldn't do that.

It will. it's just slow.


the aluminum jack will fit in the trunk well. and it's light enough to pull out when you need it. I really would only lift the car with a floor jack. other than for changing a tire on the side of the road.



for tire rotation, I jack up one end, pull off the tire, put on the spare, and put the car down, pick up the back, and put on the front tire, roll the back to the front, and continue...

Ebay

anytime, it's what we do here!

John

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I have a Motive bleeder that works very well. I prefer to use a pressure bleeder. I think the Motive costs about $40 or $50, I don't remember. It is a good unit for the money.

Good luck,

Other places I've found for quality, less expensive tools are Northern Tools, Lowe's & Home Depot.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )