Just when I thought my luck could not get any worse it has. I came home from driving my 300SEL and smelled hot brakes again... tracked it down to the same wheel (right rear) that was sticking about 7 months ago. We replaced the pads and it has been fine ever since. Not overheated once until today. It was probably borderline getting ready to ignite. So, I am thinking OK, I will replace it, probably like what, $20? Wrong, try $86 for the cheapest one I can find to as much as nearly $200 for one?!.... all of this after working on my Lexus today and find out that the solenoid on the steering rack is probably bad and thats going to cost Lord knows how much.

Oh well, the end of a perfect day.

WHY are these calipers so expensive? It may not be much to someone rich, but thats alot of money for me. Joys of a poor person owning a Mercedes, even if it is a nice car. Time to buy American I guess since parts are cheaper. Sorry, but I had to rant and blow off some steam... not been a good day.

Rear calipers are cheap, order a pair from Phil before you cook it and end up buying rotors and wheel beerings. Although if it got that hot you probably already did, I would repack the wheel bearing on that side.

If your tight on funds order the rebuild kits for $15 and do it yourself.

I just ordered front rotors and pads for my Silverado and they cost about the same as they did on the SDL. Mercedes brakes are pretty reasonable.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Thanks. Well, they were not at the point of smoking, but it had a very strong hot brakes smell. Strange thing was it didnt seem like the brakes were sticking (holding the car back), but the smell was clearly coming from that wheel.

Strange thing is I just gave this car a fresh oil change and fixed a leaky hose, then this happened within 3 hours. Whats the old saying, fix one thing, then something else breaks?

Yeah, the pads are very cheap... even MB pads.... just $85 for calipers is not what I needed to hear after having to shell out about $300 on the Lexus steering. Everything happens at once, but thats life I suppose.


I like that rebuild kit idea, but wonder what kind of pain in the neck that is to do and if any special tools are required?

You've already pulled the wheel and your sure its the caliper and not something going on with the parking brakes correct? Daw two doesn't have a used caliper on the cheap? I thought he had some 126 parts cars at his disposal. Shipping is only $11 USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate box.

If you've never rebuilt a caliper before this is probably not the time to learn if you want the car on the road relatively easily. Rebuilding is not always easy and can be quite a pain if things don't go right. The caliper or the piston can be damaged from rust beyond rebuilding and you don't know till you get things apart. The quick and relatively inexpensive route is a decent used caliper which is around $20 or less from any bone yard. If you go get it yourself just check and be sure the piston retracts freely when you apply pressure to it.

Thanks.... there is a junk yard about 2 miles out the road that has a W126, but I think its an older model than mine... not sure if they are all the same or not.

Knowing my luck they will all be bad. I have to visit junk yards anyway to see if I can find a used steering rack solenoid for my Lexus... a new one is $500!

How about this... would this work? Seems cheap ($51, which is not all that cheap, but lower than others I have found), I wonder if its all I would need? It says unloaded brake caliper. I am not concerned about high quality... as long as I can get my car to where I can drive it.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/A1C4/19778.oap?year=1988&make=Mercedes-Benz&model=300SEL&vi=1194207&partType=03345&parentPartType=C0066



Lastly, are there instructions anywhere as to how to change the rear calipers on these cars?

Thanks

Yes that should work fine, unloaded means no pads, pins, clips, or hoses. You need to use the ones off your old caliper, look in the DIY section there should be all the info you need to get it done. Good Luck!

Thanks. I will check that out. I will have to do it in the dark tomorrow after I get home using only an electric light, so.... wish me luck.

I replaced both of my 300SD's rear calipers in June with "NuGeon" remans that I found for about $67 apiece....they've been working great so far and appeared to be very well done...even came with new hardware! (pins and clip) I decided to do both because one caliper had a piston that was stuck like a rock, and the other caliper was iffy too. (You're supposed to do them in pairs anyways)

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
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'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Thanks. Well, I know you normally do things in pairs, but for now I am going to have to try to get by with replacing only the one that is sticking for now, as I cant afford both, not with this HUGE repair bill on my Lexus coming up. Hopefully there are no complications from replacing only the one caliper. The other one is not sticking... yet.

Too bad I am not wealthy. I would love to change them both.

I checked the DIY and cant find anything on how to replace the caliper on a W126... will have to figure it out myself.

We replaced just one on my dad's SD a couple months ago when doing pads....one of the front calipers had a piston locked solid (REAL solid).....so I dug out an old crusty looking caliper I'd pulled from a junkyard car years ago.....cleaned it up, installed it, and what do you know, it works perfectly! So far so good on that car.

We've got it easy now because we just acquired an entire W126 parts car in decent shape for $300. Endless parts!

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Well, there is an older W126 out the road in a salvage yard, but not sure if it even still has the caliper or if its any good.

There is another nice W126 (300SD) about a mile from here at a car lot for sale.... hmmm. j/k. lol.

Virtually everything you need to know is in this:

http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W126RearBrakes

Thanks! Thats a neat little link. Maybe I can find a youngster to change mine. lol.

It shows how to replace the pads and rotor, but I dont see it mentioning the actual caliper replacement, but I guess you basically unscrew the line to the caliper and then put in the new pads?

The problem trying to rebuild those calipers is trying to find the casing half gaskets, the rest are easy to find.

You probably have a stuck caliper, but it wouldn't hurt to check out the rear hoses. They could potentially collapse inside causing pressure to not want to release back the way it came. Take off the hose and try to blow through it. If you can barely blow through it, replace it.

__________________
-tp


1990 300SE "Corinne"- 145k daily driver - street modified differential - PARTING OUT OR SELLING SOON - PORTLAND OR. AREA - PM ME FOR DETAILS
1988 560SEL "Gunther"- 190K passes anything except a gas station
1997 S420 - 265k just bought it with a rebuilt trans. Lovely condition