Parking Brake Shoe Replacement: Drum will not budge - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

azurite300E · #1 05-30-2008, 09:59 AM

I need to replace the parking brake shoes in my W124, and in order to remove the rear brake disc/drums I removed the caliper and then the single 5mm Allen holding screw as outlined in the instructions, but the disc/drum still does not come out. I read somewhere that this is a common problem and that one needs to hit the drum squarely with a 4-pound iron hammer (not a rubber mallet) in order to loosen them.

Has anybody ever tried this, or maybe had a different solution to the problem? I would rather try a less "violent" approach first, if one does exist.

Thanks.

david s poole · #2 05-30-2008, 10:27 AM

you will find that the centre has rusted on.hit with hammer until it breaks loose.then you may have to loosen up the cables at the main adjustment so the drum/rotor will come off.[sometimes there is a lip on the drum part and the shoes catch on it as you try to pull off].

azurite300E · #3 05-30-2008, 10:34 AM

Great, thanks for the info, but could you please be a bit more specific as to where one needs to hit the drum, or are there any areas to avoid. And how hard should I really hit it?

Thanks again.

pmckechnie · #4 05-30-2008, 04:56 PM

Hit it right where the lug bolts go in. Hit it hard. Hit it in several places around the hub. It will POP and then come right off.

Arthur Dalton · #5 05-30-2008, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmckechnie

Hit it right where the lug bolts go in. Hit it hard. Hit it in several places around the hub. It will POP and then come right off.

Correct...what you are doing is actually bouncing it off the hub..
Some BP Blaster helps

Martineau Gauda · #6 05-30-2008, 05:59 PM

I use an air hammer with a wide flat round - head punch, short bursts between the hub area and the screw holes after spray of pb plaster. I do this from the front of the rotor.

It came right off with the intense vibration. I clean the hub area up well with wire brush or 600 grit sandpaper to remove rust and put a very thin coating of high temp anti-sieze only on the rotor mating surface.

Good Luck

Martineau Gauda · #7 05-30-2008, 08:48 PM

It may be safer to leave one of the lug nuts in a little so that the rotor does not fall off abruptly and cause serious personal pain.

Hope this helps

azurite300E · #8 05-31-2008, 09:08 AM

Thanks for all the replies, I'll try to get the job done this weekend and report back.

ds190 · #9 05-31-2008, 09:56 AM

Not having air tools, I use a rubber mallet and smack the back of the rotor at the edge, after allowing PB to soak on the center hub. Then turn the rotor 90 degrees and smack hard again. And keep rotating around until it breaks free. I also sand off the rust on the hub and put a light smear of antisieze around the center hub. It's much easier the next time.

Hatterasguy · #10 05-31-2008, 01:44 PM

On my W126 their is an adjustment for the parking brake which is just a mini drum brake system. The shoes or whats left of them may have worn a lip in the rotor and could be holding it a bit. So turn the star adjustment in reverse to pull them in.

Than get a torch out and torch the rotor hat, than smack with hammer. A little heat will pop it free.

If you plan on reusing the rotor, use a block of wood or rubber hammer.

DRICHFL · #11 05-31-2008, 05:37 PM

Try this 8" pulley remover on the rotors.

You can get this from Harbor Freight Tools for less then 11 bucks.

A must for removing gears, sprockets, bearings, pulleys, and much more.

* Rugged heat-treated carbon steel
* Highly polished chrome finish
* Hex end size: 18mm

Screw diameter: 5/8"; Reach: 10-3/16"

ITEM 40970-1VGA

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speace · #12 05-31-2008, 07:27 PM

I sometimes put 3 lug bolts in loosely, lay a 2x4 across the face of the hub, (touching only the 3 bolts) and then use two c-clamps to pull the rotor off.

I don't let the clamps force the rotor off, but use it to put tension on it. Once tensioned, a good tap with a hammer on the hub pops it right off.

Oh, and yeah, put PB Blaster, or WD40 around the hub and just inside each hole...

azurite300E · #13 06-04-2008, 11:13 AM

Yesterday finally had a chance to pull one of the disc/drums, on the right side. I put some WD40 on the center and let it soak for about 30 minutes while doing some other work. Afterwards I hit it with the hammer a couple of times around the hub and it came out quite easily.

But after going through the PITA chore of installing the new shoes with those almost impossible to install springs (don't have the MB "special tools" the service manual call for), I found out that the drum will no longer fit over the new shoes. I loosened the control cable all the way and turned the star adjuster so it is completely closed, but still the drum will not fit over the shoes. In any case it looks as the shoes are pretty much closed as far as they could possibly go.

Then I compared the old shoe with the new one by stacking them one on top of the other, and when one aligns the ends of the shoes, the center portion (metal part) sticks out much further on the new then the old one, and this seems to be the cause of the misfit. Please see pictures bellow. You can notice in the first picture that the old shoe (top) has the MB star imprinted, so this is clearly an OEM part.

I double checked the part number of the new shoes, and 124-420-0720 (Meyle Art. No. 014-042-0202) seems to be the correct part for either of the W124 cars, including the 300E. Furthermore thinking I might have a wrong size drum, I also checked the part number, and it is also correct for a 300E car: 201-423-1212, OEM MB Star part. Drum was cleaned with metal brush and all residues of worn shoes and oxide are pretty much gone now.

I'm waiting for a response from the seller from which the new brake shoes where ordered, but in the mean time I would appreciate any ideas and suggestions.

azurite300E · #14 06-04-2008, 12:06 PM

This is how the new parking shoes look installed on the right hand side. I've not tried to install them on the left side yet. Notice that the shoes appear to be as closed as possible, as both the star adjuster and the spreader (not sure if it's called that way) are fully closed, and still the drum part of the brake disc will not fit over them. Brake disc is MB OEM 201-423-1212, which is exactly what it should be for a 300E.

These brake shoes (Meyle Cat. No. 014-042-0202 / 124-420-0720) where purchased new from *************** a few weeks ago.

Chadahar · #15 06-04-2008, 02:17 PM

I'm in the midst of doing the brakes on my 1989 560 SEC so this is interesting to me.
Just a thought, could you possibly have them in upside down (read rights on the left and lefts on the right or are then symmetrical?? My new ones are in the box and I haven't looked at them yet.