New Years Day wrenching - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

brandlj · #1 01-01-2011, 10:29 PM

Hi all,
Happy New Year!
I spent a very enjoyable Holiday doing some much needed repair to the 86 300sdl. The first thing I did today was replace my rear brake hoses. I replaced the front hoses a few months ago and decided to complete the project. A very easy replacement except I could not get my wheel bolts off. They had rusted to the hub. Much fun ensued and I finally resorted to using my Air wrench and I finally broke them free. After I cleaned the threads I used some anti-seize on the bolts when I put the wheels back on. Of course I DID NOT use my air wrench to tighten the bolts after the install. My rear hoses were the original hoses made by Pirelli, and dated 1986. Ouch!!! I should have replaced them years ago.
While I was under the car I found my rear two exhaust hangers missing and the one up by the differential hanging on by a thread. I replaced all three and the muffler now sits the way God and Daimler Benz designed it to.
I then turned my attention to the sinking brake pedal I was getting at stoplights the past 3 weeks. I installed a brand new master cylinder. It was not difficult at all and I did NOT bench bleed it. I installed it and left the brake lines a little loose and poured brake fluid into the reservoir VERY SLOWLY and sure enough the master cylinder bled itself. Once I got the level to where it needed to be I tightened the lines and then bled the system. I did not get very much air into the system because all it took was three to four manual bleeds of each brake caliper and I was all set. Of course I started Right rear, then Left rear, then right front and then left front. My brakes are great now!
Of course the new pads and rotors 3 weeks ago also are helping.
I celebrated the rest of the afternoon by washing it and it looks great, ready for Church on Sunday!
Thanks to my wife for letting me wrench on New Years Day!

vstech · #2 01-01-2011, 10:37 PM

Good job! enjoy your work!
did you completely flush all the lines, or just bleed out the air?
did you clean out the reservoir before you put it on the new MC or did it come with a new reservoir?
1986! wow, great hoses! I bet you are having much better stopping powers now with everything new! keep the fluid flushed every other year, and it'll stay that way!
how do all your caliper piston seals look? did you clean the pad travel areas on the calipers when you changed your pads?

I spent all day at the pull a part yard getting new brake upgrade parts for my 124 wagon! pulled entire spindle/strut/lower control arms out... my arms are spent! I can't wait for the new 12" rotors, and 4 piston calipers to go in! yehaw!

brandlj · #3 01-01-2011, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

Good job! enjoy your work!
did you completely flush all the lines, or just bleed out the air?
did you clean out the reservoir before you put it on the new MC or did it come with a new reservoir?
1986! wow, great hoses! I bet you are having much better stopping powers now with everything new! keep the fluid flushed every other year, and it'll stay that way!
how do all your caliper piston seals look? did you clean the pad travel areas on the calipers when you changed your pads?

I spent all day at the pull a part yard getting new brake upgrade parts for my 124 wagon! pulled entire spindle/strut/lower control arms out... my arms are spent! I can't wait for the new 12" rotors, and 4 piston calipers to go in! yehaw!

I flushed the lines completely when I put the new front calipers and pads and rotors 3 weeks ago. I cleaned the inside of the reservoir prior to re-installing it on my new master cylinder. By the way, the master cylinder had a date code of 1986, so it was the original. Not bad for 24 years. I routinely flush my brake fluid yearly since I live in a very Damp and HOT area of the country.
I used ATE brake pads, new sensors, and Meyle brake lines front and rear. The calipers were ATE. My Booster and master cylinder are Girling. Now... my new master cylinder is an Italian one, made in Italy, Metrelli I think???
I hope I did not make a mistake in purchasing this, It looks high quality and fit perfectly. Only time will tell.
I spend a lot of time at the pull apart yard also. It is amazing what you can find. A lot of my finds go on E-Bay and this then supports my Benz habit.
I find lots of BMW, Mercedes and Volvo parts, some I keep, others are sold. Good Luck on your brake project!

Skid Row Joe · #4 01-01-2011, 11:05 PM

I loved working on my '83 300SD - usually by myself in my double garage here at home. I will never forget bleeding my brakes by myself with my own brake bleeder! Sometimes, (I've said it before here.....) I cannot believe some of the projects I've completed myself on that car, over 305K miles and 8 years, having never done them before! You had a very good day! I will see you in church tomorrow!

brandlj · #5 01-02-2011, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

I loved working on my '83 300SD - usually by myself in my double garage here at home. I will never forget bleeding my brakes by myself with my own brake bleeder! Sometimes, (I've said it before here.....) I cannot believe some of the projects I've completed myself on that car, over 305K miles and 8 years, having never done them before! You had a very good day! I will see you in church tomorrow!

It is a pleasure working on a car that can still be repaired by the average DIY person. It is amazing how over-built these cars are. I also wrench on my wife's 2003 Honda Odyssey, my daughter's 2000 Camry and my 67 Beetle.
I look at my 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and it is so computerized that it is positively scary. With newer cars, if a component fails, unplug it and put a new one in. Hardly and diagnostic work can be performed at home. It must be hooked up to the Manufacturer's specific computer, running the latest version of software.
It was 27 degrees this AM and the Benz ran and STOPPED flawlessly.

Next project before it warms up this spring is new A/C compressor, expansion valve and drier. I think this may be a little more challenging. I have found a repair shop locally that has a brand new A/C evacuation vacuum pump and charging machine. They told me that if I do all of the bullwork, they will charge me $90 to vacuum and charge. That sounds pretty good to me.

vstech · #6 01-02-2011, 11:47 AM

what are you planning with the a/c? be sure to call roy and see if the bundle with comp/dryer/txv/oil is still available! he gave me a fantastic deal on my kit. are you going to keep it R12 or upgrade/downgrade? to 134?

brandlj · #7 01-02-2011, 12:11 PM

My car was already converted to R134 and I will continue down that route. I purchased my whole kit from another vendor as a bundle back in September but have not had the chance to perform the work yet. It was an after summer deal and it was agreat price for a rebuilt Nippondenso compressor, the expansion valve set up for 134A and the R134A drier and oil.

Consensus is that I remove the compressor and the suction and discharge hoses as one big unit , then flush all of the lines with the drier out and the expansion valve out and then reinstall with new seals. Vacuum and charge and all done! I expect this to be an 8 hour job for me, as I am not very fast.

vstech · #8 01-02-2011, 12:21 PM

that sounds right. what are you flushing with? are you replacing the rubber hoses with 134 barrier equipped hoses? do you have access to dry nitrogen or CO2? that's best to flush the solvent out with. it's a good idea to flush the system out with dry gas, N2 or CO2 to get as much humidity out as you can.
start a thread in the spring when you are ready, and I'll be there to assist with the cleanup!