Caliper question
 

Hi, I bought rebuilt calipers for my rear wheels at the local parts shop, and discovered an anomaly: my old calipers have a sheet metal piece attached to each caliper cylinder, with little tabs that limit how far in toward the center the pads can go (see first picture). One of the rebuilt (Bendix) calipers has that same feature, and one doesn't. Should I be concerned about the one that just has the cylinder and rubber visible (second picture), with no sheet metal covering it?

Kurt

Were the Originals you turned in as cores also Bendix?

The pads are held in place by the pins, not those shields. I am surprised the rebuilt ones dont have them. Its important when buying parts like that to compare your originals with the new part at the store. Are you saying that one of the new ones has the shield & the other new one doesnt? If so I would take them back & make sure you get 2 identical ones. Alt, if you have the old ones, you could take the shield of one of them & fit it to the remanufac one thats missing it.

Yes. The boxes of both say they were remanufactured by Duralast, but there other differences, too: one is grey, and the other is shiny gold. I guess it just seems to me that the shield may have a function beyond acting as a stop for positioning the pad during installation. It might act as a dust or heat shield? I see that the caliper pictures on Fastlane show both situations: with and without.

Kurt

The metal plate is the heat shield. It'll protect the rubber dust cap from heat and prolong it's life.

Whether it should be there may depend on the brand of the re-man. Per the FSM, the Bendix has a heat shield, the Teves and Girling do not. You may have gotten two different types of re-mans. There's a note in the FSM that says calipers from different manufacturers may be installed on the rear axle, so it might be your choice to proceed or return one and try for a matched set.

Regardless, if you go with the Bendix, make sure the heat shield is firmly seated into the piston. That little cut out on the piston corresponds to a clock position. If it's wrong, the heat shield won't fit and the pads won't fit...etc. Voice of experience rebuilding the calipers from the PO on my 300CD.

Just for the record ATE calipers for a 123 also have heat shields

Just to keep the record accurate, some don't. Especially when they are on the rear axle.

To wit:
http://catalog.peachparts.com/ShopByVehicle.epc?q=&yearid=1982@@1982&makeid=63@@MERCEDES+BENZ@@X&modelid=6190%3AED%7C10000135%3AMB C%7C1504@@300D&catid=241658@@Brake&subcatid=241674@@Brake+Caliper&applicationid=W0133-1606210&mode=PA

Both my w123's have heat shields on the rear calipers (ATE). Maybe they have been deleted more recently.