Being cheap I bought rear pads off ebay (mine were giving me the warning squeek). Yesterday I realized they were not going to fit as the thickness of the 2 pads and the rotor was greater than the gap in the caliper. The pistons were not the issue. I ran over to autoparts and they had 2 types in stock...same price 1) organic 1) semi metalic. $23 w/ lifetime warranty....cheaper than ebay!
The new pads from autozone are 1/2 the thickness of ebay ones and fit! So far nice and quiet.

Now why are the 4 old pads all different thickness? Shouldn't they wear evenly?

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82 300D....went to MB heaven
90 350 SDL....excercising con rods

Hmmm...., You didn't save much in the long run after all. This is not personal, I'm just pointing out some things to consider. I own a business and this is how I look at the totals:

E-Bay Parts........
Access, i.e. wheel removal, jacking.........1 hr.
Fighting the wrong parts.......................1 hr.
Putting it back together and going to Autozoo...1hr.+
Taking everythings back apart................1 hr.
Installing and reassembly.......................1 hr.
Labor $500+ Parts $23.........Total $523

Order Fastlane.....Textar pads delivered to front door
Access................1 hr.
Install and reassembly.........1 hr.
Labor $200 Parts $27..........Total $227

Less than half. Sometimes ordering parts from folks not familiar with MB's costs you money. Another way to look at this case, the e-bayer should have paid you nearly $300 to use their pads.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Ha thats the best way to look at it!

All the old pads should be the same thickness. If they are not time for some rebuilt calipers.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Main point here is it's not Ebay to blame. It's that you own an M-B.
You can't treat it like a Chevy.

Always get the right parts. Now it's time to flush out the old fluid and replace with DOT 5.

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'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

There are different pads for our cars; before 81,I believe, the break pads are thinner.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Right on!

DOT 4 btw.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I have always went with OEM pads. Whenever I put on after market pads I would have squeaks and chirps. One set of pads is always cheaper than two.

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2009 CLS550 55,000
2004 ML350 144,000
2004 X5 95,000
2002 X5 165,000
1996 320S 155,000 (sold)
1991 190E 192,000 (sold)
1989 300SE 160,00 (sold)
1984 300D 210,000 owned since 85, (sold)
1984 300SD 160,000 (sold)

Anyone know what companies the OMs were/are?

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82 300D....went to MB heaven
90 350 SDL....excercising con rods

I believe most if not all MB pads are supplied by Textar, Pagid, and Jurid. Which one specifically changes by model and year.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

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

The Textar's in the yellow box are the European OEM pads, they are supposed to be the best ones to use.

I don't get my parts from ebay any longer....you never know where they are sourced. They could be the good stuff or worthless junk. Plus there are cheaper places to buy them anyway. Don't assume eBay has the best prices. They frequently don't.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

job tonight, rear pads and like you picked up a set from AutoZone. Were you able to just remove the pins and holddown hardware to push the pistons back and slip the pads into the caliper or did you have to remove the caliper?

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2001 E320
1991 350SD 265,000 - SOLD
2000 VW Beetle 1.8Turbo - restored
1997 E320 - SOLD
1988 190E - SOLD
1969 Mustang - SOLD

Parts madness is not confined to Mercedes-Benz™!! Try getting rear brake shoes for an '82 F-100!!! Three trips to the auto parts store.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

On one side things went easy. On the other I removed the caliper...only 2 bolts (I think 19mm) it had blue locktite on it so I put some on.
The pins I hit w/ a hammer and then a nail to drive it out. I use big pliers to push the pistons in using the old pads as protectors.
A drill driven pump w/ vac side to bleed nipple and wife at reservoir to add fluid.
The autozone pads didn't have the squeek stop plates so I took them from the old pads.

Have fun!

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82 300D....went to MB heaven
90 350 SDL....excercising con rods

I've never had to remove the calipers, the pins should come out with light tapping from a hammer and drift (or nail), and I've been able to push the pistons back using the old pads and a big screwdriver (not much force should be required).