Re: "Sounds like you need alot more than pads..."

That would be my luck! It really would. What I really need is to win a big lottery and buy a brand new car. - but I dont think a new one would be built as good as my W126.

I would love to do all of that work if I were a millionaire. The car will have to just set. I just had to spend almost $400 to have the fan bracket replaced on my Lexus (which was a sudden failure that I was not planning on having to do, because I need motor mounts on that car and I had been planning on using that money for that), so I cannot afford another costly repair on this or the Mercedes now... I am quickly chipping away at my hard earned savings account and this Mercedes car is also in dire need of tires and an alignment. It seems like everything is happening at once and its really starting to bum me out. Just had to rant a little there.

It looks like the brake hoses have already been replaced not too long ago. The PO was really good about maintainence on this car. Its just the pads were wearing when I got the car and I guess got worse when the right rear brake started sticking some. There were actually still some pads left on them, but they were worn quite low.

The seals around the pistons looked fine and they were not too hard to depress and we were able to finally get the pads on. My dad has changed brakes hundreds of times on our other cars over the years, just never on any Mercedes. Last time I had to have the brakes replaced on my other Mercedes I had, I took it to a shop, but they had it forever.

You said "leaking master cylinder"... do you mean leaking air or fluid? I dont see any fluid leaking and the level in the MS reservior is full and fluid is very clean. Bearings too? I dont hear any whining or anything... is that something that could wait? They may have been done already for all I know.

I had the sticking RR brake for a few weeks, but never had an issue with the brake pedal going low. It was fine that day (pedal was normal) but after driving 5 miles on a highway without needing the brakes, when I depressed them, they went very low, but the brake warning light never illuminated. I had to use the brakes 4 more times and it felt the same way... it felt like the rear brakes were not working at all. When I would stop, the back of the car would bounce.

I thought I would try new pads first, then a master cylinder if necessary, but I am not buying a MB one - $120 - puh-huh . I found one for $60 if need be, but it will be next week before I could replace it. I have had the worst luck with brakes on my cars... my old Pontiac is currently in need of a master cylinder and I bought one (for a whopping $17!), but it was the wrong one, but the one I need is also $17.00 and its much bigger than the MB one. Funny how MB parts are so costly and how I always have such bad luck with cars. I was hoping it would be awhile before this car needed anything major. Thats what I get for hoping.

I guess I will replace the other pads tomorrow and see what happens and replace the MC if I need to later in the week. I hope not though. The MC itself is very clean and actually looks almost new, but under my hood overall looks very clean - not like it was just cleaned, but like a "cared for" clean- which is good I guess.

Thanks for the tips/info.