123 Brake Caliper Rebuild
 

I have a 1983 123 300d sedan coming out of winter storage with a bad caliper. Looks like one piston is hanging up. A local Mercedes mechanic has advised me that:
1) They're not easy to rebuild
2) ATE are much better than Bendix

Looking around for rebuilt replacements, I come up with "A1 Cardone" as the main source for rebuilds. Some are specified as being ATE, others as Bendix, some are not specified.

So my questions are:
a) Does anybody sell rebuild kits? Are these harder to rebuild than Girling calipers?
b) Does Cardone sell good products?
c) Are ATE really better than Bendix?
d) What are the Cardone calipers that aren't specified by who the maker is?

Thanks
SEO

I think Cardone reman calipers are fine. They only reman ATE or Bendix and the part number from Cardone specifies which brand.

I bought ATE remans from Cardone. Do a search here for the part number:
http://cardone.com/english/club/

I recently put Cardone rebuilt Bendix calipers on my 300CD. They work just fine, and saved me the hassle of rebuilding the old calipers. Purchased them from Kragen, came out to about $49.00 each after core deposit refund.

"Rebuilding" is a bit of an exaggeration. All you can really do is clean the caliper up and replace the seals and dust boots. And that might be all that's needed; you cannot know until you remove the pistons and check the condition of the piston and bore. If either is scored or pitted, overhaul is not an option.

I "rebuilt" all four calipers on my '82 300D. I found the job to be relatively easy and have had no problems as a result. I suspect that a lot of caliper problems result from contamination of the piston due to torn dust boots. If the caliper will clean up well, there is no reason that a new seal kit won't put it back in business.

How to Tell?
 

How do you tell an ATE from a Bendix? I've taken the road wheel off, and can see the caliper from both sides. On the end of the cylinder, outboard, there is a recess in the casting, and within that recess there is what maybe looks like what looks like a "streaming banner" type of trademark. Therre's also a number stamped in the casting, 142218. On the inboad side there's a mercedes 3-point star on the casting. Does any of that give an indication.
Thanks.
SEO

If they are ATE it will have "ate" in a script font stamped in it.

Similar to the Ate logo on this packaging:

ATE has a flat, spring-steel anti-ratte clip. The pad retention pins will not have hitch or cotter pins. Will sometimes be marked with "ATE" in a flowing, cursive style.

Bendix has a wire-type anti-rattle clip. Pins will be secured by hitch or cotter pins. Sometimes marked with "Bendix" in block letters with a banner beneath.

Thanks
 

Thanks, all, for your kindly given and accurate advice. As it turns out, I have Bendix Calipers, but the car is getting rusty, and I'll repair them and not upgrade to ATE. At the Cardone website them have pictures of the two makes that show their distinguishing features very well.
Again, thanks
SEO