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  #1  
Old 08-20-2004, 08:07 PM
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95 W124 Brakes

Hi, today I got the "Brake Pad Indicator" light coming on the dash whenever I press the brakes.


How much longer can I drive before I have no meat on the brake pads. I will replace the brakes ASAP but I am driving tonight 350 km trip and I have no time to spare! Do you think the pads will hold for another 700km? Mostly hwy driving.

What brand of pads should I go with? OEM ? Pagid?

I have searched, but came with many diff. answers. especially about the life of the brake pad after the brake pad wear light comes on the dash

THanks

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  #2  
Old 08-20-2004, 09:03 PM
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Dont' worry about it - there's plenty of pad left, especially for highway driving.
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  #3  
Old 08-23-2004, 11:08 PM
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Since the brake pad wear sensor came on I did 600km on the car and I will replace the brake pads tomorrow. I just did brake pads on our 02 Buick today and it was a breeze, however I was little surprised when I called for the price quotes. A GM dealer wants $137 for front brake pads for a bloody buick while the MB dealer wants $73 for set of W124 front brake pads. Now why the hell is the GM crap so $$$?? while the MB is cheaper????

PS. any tips when changing front pads on a W124?. I already read the DIY on the W124 front brake pad replacement
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  #4  
Old 08-24-2004, 12:25 AM
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The DIY article is very good.

Make sure the little boots on the sliding pins for the floating caliper are good. IF cracked or torn, replace or the floating side will stick. Also check for sideways movement on the pins, the floating side must move only directly in and out. Sideways movement means the pins and bushings must be replaced. You'd notice, the pads will wear to a taper and the brakes will be terrible if this is happening.

Make sure the senor is seated completely in the new pad (or it will rub the rotor and give a false indication) and that the little springs on the new pads stay under the floating caliper part when you pull it back down, or they will screech terribly.

The MB pads are softer, a bit smaller, and only last about half as long. Work much better, though!

Break the new pads in with very gentle stops for the first hundred miles or so, or they will groan.

Peter
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  #5  
Old 08-24-2004, 08:26 AM
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Hey Peter, you were saying that MB brake pads are softer smaller and will not last as long as aftermarket stuff? If so should I go with an aftermarket brake pads mated to the OEM discs? I don't shop on fastlane and I wouldn't know where in Canada to buy the brake pads, Toronto area. I have one place where they sell aftermarket so I might check that out
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  #6  
Old 08-24-2004, 09:37 AM
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I think Peter meant that the MB pads are softer and smaller than the buick pads. MB uses a softer compound that performs well but wears faster and creates more black dust due to the amount of synthetic graphite in the pads.

If you go to fastlane at the top of the page, you can find very good prices on all brake components. Typically on Mercedes, the min pad thickness if 2 mm and the wear sensor is supposed to come on with 3 mm left.
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  #7  
Old 08-24-2004, 01:22 PM
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Make sure you get a set of brake pad wear indicator sensors as the old ones would be (atleast) worn through half way.
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  #8  
Old 08-24-2004, 05:24 PM
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...and note that rotor prices for the W124 are reasonable as well...

...because they aren't designed to be turned after they wear to a certain thickness, which generally works out to about every third pad change.

I find that with normal (non-aggressive) braking, the pads should be good for another 15K miles after the indicator light comes on.
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  #9  
Old 08-24-2004, 06:41 PM
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I did indeed mean that OEM Buick pads will be somewhat harder and larger (with less braking power) as they are in intended, I guess, to last longer that the original owner keeps the car.

American car pads are HUGE compared to Benz pads, but the brakes are better on the Benz.

I would avoid most aftermarket pads, they have a reputation for terrible noise (screeching). The harder ones will wear the rotors faster and require more pedal effort as well.

Pagids are fine, that's what I used and I like them very much.

Peter
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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
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  #10  
Old 08-25-2004, 08:43 PM
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Today I picked up set of front and rear brake pads for the E300. First thing that I realized is that the 95 E300's have the floating calipers, they are different from the 95 E320's, 420's right? Once I loosened the 2 bolts holding the caliper to the bracket I took out the brake pads. I realized that the pads still have about 8mm of the lining left. After a closer inspection I found out that the brake wear sensor was actually rubbing against the outer rim of the rotor. The rim is actually pretty tall and that indicates that the rotors should be changed. I know I should consult the min rotor thickness but the rotor seems worn. BTW the PO said that the rotors are original.

Anyways to make my boring story short I will get some new OEM rotors and put them on with the new brake pads. As for the rear brakes, the pads still have a lot of meat left and the rotors are in good shape.

Now my questions:

1. The dealer did not provide any brake paste, anti-squeal paste, do I need it?

2. I bought brake cleaner, is it a good idea to spray the caliper and the surroundings to clean the brake dust?

3. To take off the rotors I just undo the 2 big bolts that hold the caliper bracket and the allen nut that hold the rotor to the hub ?

4. Do I break-in the new rotors/pads

5. The inside of the caliper piston has some surface rust, is there anything that I can do?
6. Phew! I think thats it for now

BTW: the MB brake pad that I bought are made by Pagid, the current pads have the MB emblem on it and are made by Textar

I think I will wash the rims inside out when the wheels are off.

Last edited by E300D; 12-07-2005 at 08:32 AM.
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  #11  
Old 08-25-2004, 09:10 PM
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Your rotors are WAY under thickness. If they are indeed original, someone has been putting pads on them WAY too long!

You can use anti-sieze, any brand, on the sides of the backing plate and the back of the backing plate where it touches the caliper or piston.

Some surface rust on the piston or caliper can be ignored, but you do want to clean the surfaces where the ends of the backing plate on the pads hit the calipers -- buildup of rust, brake dust, and grit here can cause the pads to squeal.

You only need to take out one bolt to change the pads, leave the other one it (on the caliper slides, not the mounting bolts!). Just swing the floating part of the caliper out of the way to change the rotor, you don't need to take the caliper off if I remember correctly. Change the little rubber boots on the slide pins if they are torn or cracked.

You will need to bang on the rotor at the outer edge to lever it off the hub, it will be stuck. Use a tiny bit of antisieze on the hub face under the new one after removing the surface rust.

Make sure the little springs on the top of the pads seat corretly on the caliper, they tend to go sideways and into the slot instead of a across it. The brakes will rattle a squeal if this happens.

Make sure the new sensor wires stay coiled up and inside the little plastic box, or they will rub through and give false pad light flashes.

Pagid are fine, so are Testar. I use both.

Break in by only making gentle stops for about 150k or so, else they will groan badly on stopping.

This is a fairly painless job.

Peter
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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!
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  #12  
Old 08-25-2004, 11:11 PM
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Thanks for the reply psfred,
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  #13  
Old 08-25-2004, 11:21 PM
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"break in by only making gentle stops for about 150k or so, else they will groan badly on stopping"

Just realized that last summer when we had the brake pads replaced in our 190E, after I took it from the shop (yes, why did i not do it myself), I took the car and made same very hard stops. Shortly after, I blamed the rotors for the shuddering and groaning. I guess I messed them up when I did the harsh braking just after I took the car from the mech.


Another story popped in my head. Once I broke off one of the rear caliper bolts on a C230, I went to a shop and they did the following:

1. Heat up the caliper and remove the bolt with vise grip
2. Change one broken spring in the parking brake.

All of that cost me $120 CAN ?? only for labour!!! I think it was too much.
But o well, its over now. Also the same mech who did the job told me once that the 190 2.3 and the 2.6 have indentical suspension. Same springs, spring loads etc

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