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  #16  
Old 02-09-2003, 08:17 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by blackmercedes

Also, 400E/E420 cars driven primarily in city traffic will use front pads at an alarming rate. That said, using a set from 25K to 38K is pretty shocking.
I don't think I've EVER gotten more than 30k miles out of my front pads, with 50/50 highway/city driving. I used to be shocked by this, but no more. It's the price you pay for extraordinary brakes. Stu Ritter talks about being able to actually rotate tires on the rims if you do too many panic stops with a 400E.

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  #17  
Old 02-09-2003, 08:39 AM
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As someone previously mentioned, brake pads are (usually) an easy DIY replacement on Mercedes.
One caution - harder aftermarket pads will probably stop just fine but may cause more rotor wear and/or brake noise. I try to use
OE or factory brand pads on these cars, even getting them from the dealer, if no one else has them. Most people hate sqealing brakes!

Happy Motoring, Mark
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  #18  
Old 02-09-2003, 09:47 AM
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Actually, my english is unclear. Duck said he reaplced the pads at 25,000 km's. Then, at 38K the pads are worn again.

That is only 13,000 km's for a set to be worn down, which is about 8000 miles.

Any 400E owners wearing pads hrough in 8000 miles? (no track use)
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  #19  
Old 02-09-2003, 12:16 PM
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I apologize for the confusion...

At 38,000km, only the alternator was replaced. My original set of brake pads that came with my car new were replaced at 25,000km. This week, at 45,400km (when I went in for my 48,000km scheduled maintenance service), I was told that I had 15% left on my front brake pads, which are still waiting to be replaced. So I am guessin' that I am using brake pads at a rate of 25,000km/set.

I have been looking at the FastLane and posts on this forum...it seems a set of Balo front discs and PBR Metal Master pads will provide me with at least the same braking performance as my OE front brakes. I am goin' to order the Balo's, PBR's, pad sensors, and pad paste, and find a reliable independent shop to change them. I hope other than for labour, they won't charge me for any "other" stuff...
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  #20  
Old 02-09-2003, 02:13 PM
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Here's a quote from a recent post on a different but related thread:
*************************************************
Your Mechanic is right about all what he said to you. If you decide to go with low dust pads, I gurantee you they will fade in no time and won't stop the car just as good. Not to mention the squeal that will evolve as a result of fading. You will end up replacing them soon and resurface your disks. Stay away from Kleen wheels. Let me explain why? The distant between the disk and the wheel is very crucial for brake heat dissipation and that is why wheels are torqued. So, imagine putting Kleen wheels in the middle. You are basically blocking heating from escaping. This heat is WHAT WILL WORP YOUR WHEELS. Big $$$$$$$ to replace. I suggest to live with the dust. Just clean them once a week. It is much safer when you stop the car. I only buy PAGID brake pads. They are by far the best. The same applies to ATE, however, I believe they are one short step behind.
Good luck.
Meza
Test Engineer

PS. Rememeber that the people who designed and tested the car know better.
***************************************************


Opinions differ but I agree with Meza. I don't second guess MB engineers when it comes to brake components. Spending a few minutes/week cleaning brake dust, and replacing pads every 2 years, is a small price to may for top-notch braking, especially in an emergency.

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  #21  
Old 02-09-2003, 10:57 PM
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in most people's hurried lives I think that over use of brakes is a common practice. When I was on Show Circuit I drove 50 K per year and got at least 70K from pads,lookig for holes in the traffic pattern and early slow braking adds up to long pad and rotor life..........
William Rogers......
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  #22  
Old 02-09-2003, 11:31 PM
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I think you need a second opinion from a good independent. Have your tried Eddie Lai (sp?) at Performances in Vancourver, B.C. ?

It's funny that you have exhaust, and brake issues, because a friend just called and his wife brought their C240 to the "stealership" and they said the same thing (cracked exhaust, big $$$, and big $$$ for a brake job).

Best of luck,
:-) neil
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  #23  
Old 02-10-2003, 12:25 PM
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the first and last time i went to this richmond, bc dealership
i almost traded my car. all parts needed to be replaced.
i was then being led to the showroom for the trade off. luckily,
i snapped out of it and asked for a complete inspection of my
car instead.

after paying the customary 1.5 hours fee, got me a hardcopy
of the report. went to my favorite independent shop and
went ahead in repairing 2 or 3 items on the long list given to me.

btw, i went to this dealership for a tranny fluid change.
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  #24  
Old 02-10-2003, 02:43 PM
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My priority on braking are: performance, noise, dust and scorching rotors. The 2000 E430 had the front pad replaced as follow:

OE pad: Good performance, no noise, dusty and easy on rotors.
10K miles with Pagid: similar performance as OE, no noise, a little less dust and easy on rotors.
22K miles with ATE: similar performance as OE, no noise, a lot more dust and very hard on rotors.

I bought 2 set of front rotors: PBR Deluxe and Textar. I will try PBR first next month at about 35K miles to see how it works. If the stopping performance is getting worse, I will replace it with Textar. I am trying to find the best compromise in braking performance for W210 E430 according to my priority. So far, Pagid is better than the other two and ATE is the worse.

I bought all parts online and have my trusty mechanic install them, the labor for replacing brake pad is only $30 USD, resurface or change rotors is another $10 USD. Rotors is inexpensive, I rather replace it when the lips show significant wear than risk rotors cracking and/or wrapping.

I agree with William about anticipate traffic flow in acceleration and braking, but my wife just likes to drive her way, there is not much I can do other than buying the right brake pad for the car.

After all these pads replacement, the total cost of 3 years: 3 set front pads, 1 set rear pad and 1 set of front rotors includes labor will be about $400 USD compares with $3200 for gasoline (35K miles with 19 MPG at $1.75 in California).

In summary, even I get less than 15K miles front brake pad, its cost is only 1/8 the cost of gas, which is not expensive at all. The other high cost are: depreciation and insurance which are much more than maintaining the car.
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  #25  
Old 02-10-2003, 05:13 PM
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If you're not yet confident enough to DIY, then FIND A GOOD INDEPENDENT MB MECHANIC, as soon as possible. I know there are a lot of great techs that work at MB dealers, and a couple of them post here, but dealer parts prices and their 'replace instead of repair' policies will eat you alive!

Mike
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  #26  
Old 02-10-2003, 10:06 PM
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You should soon get ahead of the repair curve on your new ride. I always budjet funds for these eventualities when I buy used. Part of the reason is that in many cases my standards are higher than thse of some of the folks that work on these cars.

I am a huge believer in PM. This means doing all the necessary things on a realistic schedule. If you do become a DIY'er make sure you always use new parts. A new part is always better than a used part regardless of the source.

Before you get to down on your situation ask yourself why there are so many folks involved in sourcing parts and repairing these vehicles. It's because they are worth fixing and maintaining! And like all of man's inventions, they need attention from time to time. Just as you do. I think I read somwhere recently that 81% of Mercedes cars built since 1973 are still on the road. Keep this in mind.

If I made a list of all the repairs my cars required over the years, I think the same items would keep showing up over and over again. The good news is that on a well maintained car almost everything that needs doing will be relatively routine.

It's also a good idea to establish an annual budjet for maintenance. For my cars it is about $800 per year for each car. Some years I spend more on one and less on the others. But it ends up being pretty close and there are really no suprises.

Good luck and keep your chin up.
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  #27  
Old 03-09-2003, 03:32 AM
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Wink

Quote:
Originally posted by DuckMuck
I apologize for the confusion...

At 38,000km, only the alternator was replaced. My original set of brake pads that came with my car new were replaced at 25,000km. This week, at 45,400km (when I went in for my 48,000km scheduled maintenance service), I was told that I had 15% left on my front brake pads, which are still waiting to be replaced. So I am guessin' that I am using brake pads at a rate of 25,000km/set.

I have been looking at the FastLane and posts on this forum...it seems a set of Balo front discs and PBR Metal Master pads will provide me with at least the same braking performance as my OE front brakes. I am goin' to order the Balo's, PBR's, pad sensors, and pad paste, and find a reliable independent shop to change them. I hope other than for labour, they won't charge me for any "other" stuff...
DuckMuck:
You better try ATE or Zimmermann Brake Rotors (Both also made is Germany). They are OEM brake supplier for Mercedes. Balo brake rotor is also made in Germany as well, but some people use on their BMW E36. They complained noise.
On the brake pad, you can try Jurid or Taxtar. Both are good brake pads.

One more tihing, keep oil change on time that is important for your car as well.

www.hopefungautoparts.com
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  #28  
Old 03-09-2003, 01:48 PM
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For the reliability of my 400E, hadn't I done all the repairs for my 400E by myself, I would have gone broke.

I use a tracking sheet to record all the maintenance record for every car I own, it has been 1.5 years since I bought my 400E, it has been pampered and driven only 20K kms, I have almost 5 pages of records for my 400E. I have owned my Ford Explorer for 3 years, it is the working horse with 60k kms driven, it has only 2 pages and most of them are routine services, last time I did repair for the Ford was 2 years ago for an IAC valve.

I too have a mixed feeling, this car drives like a dream on the highway, and feels rock solid after 11 years of use, but is that enough to compromise all the troubles? Reading all the enthusiastic posts from members, I still believe Mercedes can't be that bad, maybe I just took over an abused one from the previous owner.
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  #29  
Old 03-10-2003, 08:16 AM
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Also, no reason to be afraid to change distributor caps and rotors on the 124 E420. one of the less difficult things I have done to my car. Just follow the procedure on the DYI page.
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  #30  
Old 03-10-2003, 09:45 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by jeff-abalone
DuckMuck:
You better try ATE or Zimmermann Brake Rotors (Both also made is Germany). They are OEM brake supplier for Mercedes. Balo brake rotor is also made in Germany as well, but some people use on their BMW E36. They complained noise.
On the brake pad, you can try Jurid or Taxtar. Both are good brake pads.

One more tihing, keep oil change on time that is important for your car as well.

www.hopefungautoparts.com
Wow...nice link! I never thought such a place existed in the Lower Mainland...thank you!

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