Just an update (not a happy one!). The car was back at the dealer yesterday. Got it today. He said he changed the pads (again) - complained about how mercedes changes the materials in their OE pads without informing them. Well, the squealing has not gone away at all!

Once the brakes are hot, they SQUEAL, LOUDLY, always at low speeds, sometimes even at less than 5mph (when just coming to a stop).

Am taking it back again on monday. Very frustrated!!! Please help with ideas if you can. I didn't make the common errors - went to a dealer so that I get OE pads and rotors, got the pads and rotors changed TOGETHER, and I still have crappy brakes!!

And just to mention it again - my brakes NEVER squealed before.

My 95 S320 had stainless steel shims between the pads and the piston. I put paste on both sides of the shims when I replaced the pads and haven't had any problems. I used Pagid pads. Do you have the shims.

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Tom Savage
Vienna, WV
1984 300D Euro
1995 S320

At least when your brakes squeal the ABS doesn't kick in, like mine.

I too have tried just about everything. I have sanded the rotors and pads both. It ends the squeaking and the ABS shutter problems for a week, then its back. SO I have tried the sanding.

I have used a lot of paste on the backs of the pads and it doesnt seem to help. So paste doesnt work.

The abs, I tightened the rotor bolt, and then torqued the lug bolts to 90 ft lbs and that ened that, but the sqeal is still there.

Someone posted earlier that other cars dont sqeak, so I started paying attention, most every car does, but the benzes just do it louder. Benz's always do everything better =), but thats bad this time.

As far as landrovers go, my brothers never squeals. 91 rover. So I dont know what the problem with that is.

Maybe we should all just upgrade to better than OEM pads or to racing pads. Has anyone tired this?

So whoever finds the solution to mercedes squeaky pads, please let us know =).

Thanks,

Austin

My tech uses Texstar pads on Mercedes. They have a "soft" backing plate so they don't vibrate against the piston. I've never heard a peep out of Texstar pads.

BTW, if you are inclined, changing pads on a Benz is almost as easy as changing a light bulb. See the FAQ on the subject, you will save about $100.

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Mr. BILL

91 300E 120K
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90 BMW 525iA 175K
85 300D 175K (sold)
84 300SD 245K (sold)

You can go to your dealer and buy some brake paste and slap it on the back, and see what happens.

I have no problems with brake squeal on the brake jobs i do, and my service advisor will often give me other techs come-backs for squeal. It's important to wire brush the areas that the brake pad backing plate contacts, also the back side of the pads that the piston or caliper contacts. Then these areas should have a brake pad lubricant applied, I don't recommend the rubbery stuff, use a grease that is designed for this purpose. MB was having a hard time with squeal on some of the ML's, on the V8's particularly, they have a different caliper than the V6. They came out with a recommendation for a different type of brake pad grease for these trucks called Moly-Kote, there is an MB part number for ordering Moly-Kote, but the dealer should have a tube of it. The point being that this is the grease I have been using lately, so maybe the dealer can try using this stuff, instead of what they used previously, which I assume may be "nothing". I won't be able to post the part number for Moly-Kote for over a week, I'll be in MB training for brakes--Oh no wait, transmissions!
On MB pads, there is already a thin aluminum plate on the back that also should help with quieting the pad noise.
I agree with the previous post in regards to "bedding in" the new pads, but it's a cop-out to expect the owner to somehow do this themselves. The best bed-in procedure is to simply take the car out and do a series of hard stops, the brakes should "feel right" when you are done doing. Shouldn't take much more than a mile to do this. Don't brake so hard or so often that the brakes are overheated or fading. Brake just before the point that the ABS activates. At first you won't be able to hardly get to that point, but after a couple stops, you have to be careful to not reach the ABS intervention point, as the brakes will be quite effective.
Gilly

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Update ....

First, thanks everyone for ideas and suggestions.

The car is back. They changed the pads and rotors again. He says they used the think MB paste (he called it glue) this time to reduce vibration. I asked him about shims at the back, and he said they do it only on trucks, cars shouldn't need them, so no shims yet. He also said that the car was pulling to the right earlier on, on hard braking. Now its braking straight. Is that any indication of what might have been wrong earlier (frankly, I didn't notice that earlier, but maybe because I never jammed the brakes).

Anyway, I have driven is about 20 miles, it seems OK (now that I have said it, wait till it squeals again!!). My wife is driving around town today, so by the evening I will know for sure.

just one thing - the brakes feel very soft and mushy - is that a problem? Also, the brake pedal depresses a little more than before. Braking is OK, except that you have to press a little more than before. I am hoping this would get corrected a bit once the pads and rotors "break-in". Let me know if my thinking is wrong.

Well, I shall let you know what happens either ways!

...sounds like they put your old 'non squeaky' brake pads back in...

-fad

Well, I saw the old pads (I had asked them to keep the pads and disks for me to see), but I didn't get them back with me. The first time I went back was after 3-4 days - do you think they would have kept them that long, and not thrown them away? Plus they were totally worn out. How can I check?

anyone tried this stuff:

http://www.lubegard.com/automotive/brake_squeakrelief.html

i might try this on my van when i do the pads / rotors...

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
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Well, so far so good (no squealing yet, been 2 days). Fad's comment (a couple of post above, that they may have put the old pads back!!) got me thinking. I checked the discs thru the wheel holes - they are new. How can I check the pads - I don't want to jack up the car and take the wheels off - is there anyway to check the front pad thickness (using a mirror and a light) on a 190? I saw the old pads, they were down to the wire, less than 10% left.

If you look carefully through the wheels, you should be able to see at least a portion of the pad. If you remember what the old pad's thickness looked like, it will be very obvious if they are new pads. I highly doubt the shop would keep old pads laying around for a few days and then put them back on your car.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

Thanks, Ali. I highly doubt it too. But shall do some sneaking around to see if I can get a good look. The disks are clearly visible so they are much easier to check - the old ones were down to 9.2mm thickness, I believe the min. specs are 10 mm thick for this car (BTW, how thick are the new discs supposed to be).

The car brakes pretty smoothly - the "mushiness" in the pedal has reduced a bit. I noticed the brake fluid was over the max mark - is that a problem?

I was concerned about squeal and dust when I got the pads changed on my C280. I posted a question for some recommendations and finalized on Rotex pads as they were noted to last a long time and have about 25% of the OEM dust. AW, I took it in for the change and they said that the rotors weren’t too bad but, it wouldn’t hurt to change them and it wouldn’t hurt to keep them on. I asked what the ramifications were to not changing them and the Mech said the brakes could squeal...long story short...I didn’t have them change the rotors, just the pads and I haven’t had a real problem. The only squeal I get is if it’s a rainy day and I drive somewhere and then let the car sit, the next time I use the brakes they squeal when backing out or the first stop you come to...it doesn’t happen after the first time. On the good side is I notice almost no dust from them, I used to clean the wheels at least every other day because...well because I'm excessive about a clean car...but now I just clean them when I wash my car, and they really don’t show any signs of brake dust when I do that. I'm happy with them. You might try something other then OEM.

-Brad

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1986 190E 186K (For Sale)
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Most MBs do not have the anti squeel shims like other makes. You should use copper paste, (MB part No 001 989 10
51 but available in any good accessory shop) on the backs of the pads and on the surfaces where the pads contact the caliper