So, I have some free time today and I figure it's a good time to rebuild a couple of front brake calipers and slip them on my project '74 280C. I spent about two hours and a half working the pistons out of an old set of calipers I saved from a '71 250C. Use a little compressed air, force them out a 1/16" of an inch, spray them with lube, push them back in, spray them with lube, blow them out, you know the drill. Finally get them out. They look good so I clean them up, buff them out and set them aside.

The housings look a little rough so I go ahead and split them. I clean them out, get the ring groove nice and shiny and give them a quick hone just to remove ALL the rust spots. I renew the o-rings and rejoin the halves. A little blue threadlocker on the bolts, clean the bleeder nice and bright and go to put the kits in them.

Wrong freakin' size kits! The S.O.B.'s are way too large! Now I got both the kits from Fastlane and those guys (Roy and Phil) have NEVER led me astray before. So, rather than rant and rave about parts suppliers, I do a little checking. The kits/calipers listed for a '71 W114 are indeed different than the ones listed for a '72-up.

Anybody got any insight on this?

I was really hoping to do a revolving door kind of rebuild thing on my W114's, rebuild the first set, drop them on the '72, rebuild THOSE, put them on the '74 and then finish up with the '73. Minimal downtime per car and I could rebuild at my leisure. If I pull the wife's car down then I gotta; A: be done before I start or B: let her use MY coupe' 'cause C: Why should she have to drive the "ratty" old sedan when her pretty little coupe' was just fine before I worked on it.

Okay, I can dig the fact there might have been a change in brakes since ALL the parts listings I come across list the W114's in one group from '72-'76 but does anybody definitely know if the the three years, '72, '73 and '74 use the same calipers? I can pull my coupe down for a couple of weeks ( I did say, at my leisure!) to do the "musical caliper" thing but I don't need the grief of pulling her car down and finding the calipers don't fit.

Help me oh great and knowledgable wizards! Enlighten me on my path of domestic tranquility and smooth cessation of forward progress.

p.s. Oh yeah, the reason why I am rebuilding them is because Fastlane just has a rebuilt listing for the left front and it's temporarily out of stock. I've been rebuilding brake calipers since 1973 so I am somewhat competent. Maybe not very smart but at least capable. I NEVER reccommend anyone else to rebuild but I feel safe in my ability.

Mike,

Why not pull a couple of front tires and do a viz on the calipers?

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Because, externally, they look identical. The difference is in the internal piston size. C'mon Jim, you should know me from my posts better than that.

Ahh, I've got 71 and 72 250C parts cars out back, but it's been quite a while since I've been into the brakes on mine (like 5 years), so I didn't remember any differences.

IIRC, some models of MB had distinct caliper manufacturers, intermixed during production, am I thinking W123 here?

Both the W124 and the W126 received brake upgrades during their life, and they can be externally identified.

Anyway, these thoughts were the basis for the question...

For a solution, order a rebuild kit for the 71 calipers, then install them....

As a backup, I found a rebuilt caliper for my 71 250C at my local mcparts store 5 years ago, off the shelf, and pretty inexpensive.

Jim

__________________
14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Yeah, the rebuild the '71 caliper option occurred to me also but with my wife's penchant for 60 to 0 mph stops I'm kinda leery of reducing the piston size.
Oh well, I guess I'll bite the bullet on this one and pull my coupe' down and attempt the "musical calipers" routine.

Thanks anyway.

Mike,

I get out to Toostoned a few times a year. Used to live there up to the 80's.

My oldest daughter is going to college in Tucson, and most of my family is out there .

Maybe we can get together next time I'm out....

Jim

__________________
14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Sounds like a plan to me. Give me a couple of days of "heads-up" and we'll get together and shoot the caca.

ToddS is out from Boston this week but I am busy trying to get all the last minute yardwork done before it gets really hot! Triple digits expected this week and lasting until November. I won't have the chance to get with him before he goes back but maybe next time he can give me a little warning. It's always a pleasure getting with fellow Benz'ers.

I'm back in Boston now, but thanks for the offer. I'm always out there as my paycheck, cross country auto has a center there.

Yeah, it was 98 degrees on the trails in Sedona this past weekend. Regardless, 98 degrees in AZ wasn't as bad as I expected actually, even in the uninterrupted sun. Any more than that though and phew, I'm done futzing with greasy old cars and bring on the cold beverages!

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1967 230S automatic
Boston, MA