W124 emergency brake adjustment procedure
 

Is the FSM wrong? I have my '87 300D Turbo (W124, OM603) jacked up in my garage so I can adjust the emergency brakes (with the front wheels properly chocked, of course). The FSM (section 42-0540) says to loosen the adjustment screw at the spreader under the car (a 13mm socket on a long extension works great; spray with lubricant first), then adjust the star wheels until the hubs will no longer turn, then back off 5-6 teeth, then re-tighten the adjustment screw until the pedal can be pressed down 4 notches.

All well and good except that the FSM says ":excl: Turn as follows to apply brake shoes: On left side from bottom toward top, on right side from top toward bottom." In fact, I found it to be exactly the opposite! Has anyone else seen this discrepancy or have I simply gotten my lefts and rights confused? :confused:

UPDATE: Did the procedure backwards from what the FSM says, emergency brakes now work great.

Jeremy

Would it matter if the left and right adjusters were swapped? Is there a LHT and RHT?

Swap?
 

Interesting question. I have never had the rear brakes apart and don't have any history on the car. I suppose it could happen if someone tore the whole thing apart and put the wrong pieces in each side. However, EPC shows only one part number (A 201 420 03 73, quantity 2 per vehicle) so I would say they are the same thread left and right.

The FSM for the 123 says to install the adjuster with the wheel end to the front. It may just be that the adjuster was installed 180 degrees off.

Aha!
 

Reading my copy of the W123 FSM, I see your point. That may be exactly what happened; if so, it means that both adjusters were installed backwards. If I ever have the opportunity to remove the brake disk, I'll look a little closer. The W124 parking brake assembly appears to be nearly identical to the W123. Thanks for the insight.

Jeremy

YES it is backwards and the 124 Mercedes Bible repeated the same mistake. I thought it was just me. I'm glad to know I can follow directions still.

Page 78 . . . interesting. Thanks for pointing out the repeated error. Not surprising, once something gets into print, it becomes 'holy writ' (and it's called an "Owner's Bible," so it must be right!). :eek:

I've found the "owner's bible" to be full of errors, not worth the paper it's printed on.

FSM is best, Haynes is a good back-up.

How do I remove the rear discs? How do I remove the center piece attached to the axle?
1991 300D

Remove the caliper and hang it by a wire so there is no pull on the rubber brake hose, then loosen the parking brake cable, then remove one flat-head Allen screw and pull off the disk. You may have to use a padded hammer and tap repeatedly on the disk from behind to get the locating pin and the parking brakes to let go. Others have described on this forum that it can be a frustrating job but it will eventually pop off. Don't hit so hard that you distort the rotor, just have patience and it will come off. Don't drop the rotor when it does pop off; pad the floor underneath with rags or something soft.