There is a difference in labor between following MB repair manual and taking shortcut.

In MB's repair manual, I remember there are more than 30 pages for rebuilding PS pump, I believe it can take up to 6 hours.

The shortcut is to only remove the frontal half of the PS pump, and change the frontal main seal and some inside seals, it takes less, but I would still think 4 hours is the minimum for such a job.

I did my pump by myself a year ago, I took shortcut, it took me, a DIYer, 8 hours, part cost is something like $20.

It sounds like the dealer is answering by the book. You should find an independent that you can trust. Rotors can definately go in 20k miles of normal driving. If their two years old I would replace them. THis is brakes were talking about and you want them to function properly. Those rotors should be about $50 a pop. The dealer will probably try and sell the at list for over $100. Independents can usually cut your repair bill in half. Reluctantly let them do the steering pump and have someone else do the brakes.

Haasman is right! Don't use atf. I fixed my ps leaking by flushing the old fluid and using Valvoline max life; 1.5 qts. Also, ck the lid seal. The brakes.....if the wife secretly cart races around the block @100mph or they were simply improperly installed by previous techs are hard to swallow as wore out. Having got a lot of info about my 380, prior to finding this site, most MB dealer service stations assume your too rich to bother. Fact is, most MB drivers are v. frugal and seek other opinions. les:eek:

To play it really safe, use MB power steering fluid only ...

Good to review experiences of fellow 400E owners. My experiences are very similar
1. PS pump - rebuilt/sealed approx 50K ago...5 hrs labor..tech advised installing new/rebuilt vs. reseal original makes little difference..they will all re-leak in the 40 to 60K range...Sure enough, I've got aslight leak right on schedule..Tech advised MB has not modified the part to fix the issue.

2. Brakes - I regularly get 3 sets of OEM bads per set of front OEM discs.. I do mostly Atlanta highway driving...that means lots of stop and go and frequent 80 MPH bursts and sudden 80 - 0 stops... I get about 25K per set of front pads.

Question? - '92 400E owners - Disc warping - the OEM's seem to warp badly. Previous threads state that MB changed the brake config on the '93 model to correct issue. What remedies have you '92 owners found assuming you experience the same.

As far as your "dealer" experience - On cars the age of ours, I highly recommend you find a trustworthy independant. In my area, there are at least 3 large MB dealers with good shops. They LOVE to see us old model guys come in... All they see is $$$$$$$ signs.. There are also a half dozen independant shops that offer dealer level service at a lower cost.

Good luck
JC

re: Pads/Rotors on my 1990 300TE
 

On my current set of front rotors, I got 18,000 miles out of the last set of pads. I was told by my mechanic that this was remarkable, and I should only expect 12,000 miles from pads in city driving.
I was disappointed with my front rotors. I have those fancy rotors that have those grooves in them to help with cooling. After 37,000 miles, the grooves are completely gone from the right front rotor. I had noticed some "grinding" from this rotor, and I went to have the pads changed at that time. The grinding was from road grit/dirt. The grooves in the left front rotor are nearly gone, very faint. I would say the original groove depth was 2mm, judging from the lip on the edge of the rotor, where the pad doesn't rub at all.

After reading some of these posts, I'm not as disappointed with my rotors. They will probably last a while longer, say 50,000 miles.

I do try to take it easy on the brakes, coasting as I approach a stop. No need to maintain speed all the way up to the light, and then brake hard.
:cool: