Grr - brake caliper woes

[ramonajim]

Katz the Free Man (78 300SD that we were given who wonderfully fills the roles of Father-in-Law hauler and back up daily driver since my Miata is down with a toasted clutch) started making seriously unhappy dragging brake noises earlier this week.

Confirmed the driver's side front caliper is frozen solid. Nobody local has replacements in stock. Order one from Napa, gets in today, I blow off afternoon's work stuff and pick it up.

Go to put it on, no joy. Right part, but.... the two halves of the caliper aren't parallel. Out of whack enough that ain't no way it's gonna go on (outside half is hitting the hub).

Lay the old and new alongside each other, and sure enough - there's no measurable difference in the side-to-side gap at the top, but there's 0.21" difference at the bottom of the gap.

Grr. Grumble. Fuss.

Only way I can see this happening is if the mating surfaces between the two halves were "cleaned up" during the re-man process and one (or both) weren't jigged properly leaving the mating surfaces askew.

Napa has ordered a replacement..... best bet is I'm parts-less until Tuesday.

Did I say grrr?

[Diesel911]

I don't know if it is true or not but I read they send Boat loads of stuff to be reguilt overseas.
Of course that does not mean some one in the US could not have done the same; it is just less frequent.

About 2 Years ago someone over on Benzworld got a Mercedes Caliper that was 1/2 a Caliper for a Vented Rotor and 1/2 for a Solid Rotor.

[lorainfurniture]

Why don't you rebuild you caliper yourself? I did mine on my 300e, and on my wife's Infiniti without any trouble. If the rubber is still decent you can clean and reuse all of it.

[ramonajim]

Originally Posted by lorainfurniture

Why don't you rebuild you caliper yourself? I did mine on my 300e, and on my wife's Infiniti without any trouble. If the rubber is still decent you can clean and reuse all of it.

Rubber is non-existent!

[Simpler=Better]

In emergency *cough* cheap *cough* situations you can always block off the front brakes with a short piece of brake line crimped closed and threaded into the MC. Of course, you lose 60% of your braking power when you do that, but it does allow the car to be driven with brake components flapping in the wind

[HuskyMan]

IMHO, NAPA parts may not always be the best bet for a Mercedes Benz. Other cars, yes, but for a Mercedes Benz you may do better either at the dealership or this web site.

[ramonajim]

So, NAPA ordered a replacement caliper, it came in today. Same doesn't fit issue.

I put the original and rebuilt calipers on the bench and stared at them for a good long while, measuring what I could, looking for tiny differences that would be a problem. Stumped.

Back out to the car, this time I go at it from underneath.

Major "what a dumbarse I am!!" moment. I'd been looking for tiny differences and missed the giant glaring difference.

rebuilt caliper (ATE) looks like this:



Original caliper (Bendix) looks like this:



Nobody open today (Napa, Autozone, Advance, yes I even tried (shudder) Pep boys) has or can even order a rebuilt Bendix. Nor can they order a seal kit. Same story from each one - the manufacturer is out of stock and has no planned restock date.

Pelican doesn't list the Bendix version either. Guess I'm calling them Monday, and if no luck there, my friendly local Mercedes dealer.

A bit hesitant to hit up a pick & pull for a caliper.... anybody wanna influence me on that front (one way or the other)?

Any other ideas for sourcing a caliper or a rebuild kit?

[Pooka]

Check out Rock Auto. They show to have several Bendix calipers for your car.

Mostly for the rear, but I see a few fronts on there as well.

Prices run about $45, but then there is shipping.

[lorainfurniture]

Try searching on eBay for "300sd caliper kit". Is your car a w116?

Take your caliper apart so you know what you are looking at

[ramonajim]

Originally Posted by Pooka

Check out Rock Auto. They show to have several Bendix calipers for your car.

Mostly for the rear, but I see a few fronts on there as well.

Prices run about $45, but then there is shipping.

Thanks for the lead - does look like the have what I need. Order placed!

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

IMHO, NAPA parts may not always be the best bet for a Mercedes Benz. Other cars, yes, but for a Mercedes Benz you may do better either at the dealership or this web site.

X 2 on this.......

[I strongly suspect that;
A replacement bulb I bought from NAPA and installed myself on my '99 E300, fried my rear tailight assembly years ago, necessitating a new MB tailight assembly.

Use genuine MB OEM parts - when you believe it important!