I was wondering, how far should new emergency brakes depress to be acivated. My new EBs seem hard to depress to activate. They work great but I am unsure if I should loosen the cable some.
Thanks
A

Believe it or not, the pedal should only go down 1 or 2 notches by Mercedes specs, at least on the W123 and W107 chassis. Just adjusted one a couple weeks ago. There are two adjustments. One is where the two cables come together at the center of the car, which basically evens out the cables so they pull evenly and should not need to be adjusted normally. The other is through one of the wheel bolt holes in the brake disc with a screwdriver for the normal wear adjustment. This adjustment is tricky if you have never done it before. As long as you wheels turn free when jacked off the ground and lock up when the parking brake is engaged, they are fine.

I have my wife's adjusted to one click. If you adjust them all the way out and still can't get the wheels to stop then the little brake shoes are worn out and need to be replaced.

When I first got my car the parking brake was completely out of adjustment and would not hold the car at all. The PO had used the transmission as his parking brake. This can be real hard on the parking pawl inside the tranny. Always have the parking brake well adjusted and use it every time you park.

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Doug

1987 300TD x 3
2005 E320CDI

Do the newer cars have an auto adjuster where no manual adjustment is possible? That looks to be the case on our '02 car. I wish I could adjust it tight like on the 1999 car.

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1998 W210 diesel (wiped out by a texter)
Baum spring compressor "for rent"

dont tighten too much, you can burn out a bearing.

i disagree with using them every time you park-dont use in cold weather, unless absolutely nessicary, as the brakes can freeze up on you.
use them when you park on a hill, of course.

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1984 123.193 372,xxx miles, room for Seven.

1999 Dodge Durango Cummins 4BTAA 47RE 5k lb 4x4 getting 25+mpgs, room for Seven.

Does anyone know how to adjust the tension on a 300SDL?
Can I do it myself?
A

I'm working on mine tonight. Can't get them to hold at all anymore. I've adjusted the cable all the way and the star wheels all the way and can't even get the little shoes spread enough to even make contact. I'm trying to take the rotors off to get to the brake shoes. My Haynes manual says to unscrew the allen screw that holds the disk on and even shows a picture. My '84 does not have this screw. It says if the rotor is tight hit it from behind with a plastic hammer. I'm ready to get out the 10 lb sledge. Have already heated it up with mapp gas and it wont budge. Any ideas?

I just went through the same exercise on my 87. Yesterday I spent the whole morning banging on the rotor w/o luck. I used PB Blaster last night, squirting it into the lug holes. This morn, I had better results. I had forgotten to loosen the star adjustment wheel and after that it popped off with the rubber mallet. There was rust which held it on. I think the PB was still necessary. The shoes on both sides were cracked and could not hold the car on the slightest grade. Now much better but still needs a final adjustment. Reinstalling those little springs that hold the lining against the back was a headache but I finally used a big phillips head screwdiver to give them the final 90 degree twist. Mercedes sells a factory tool $$$$.

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Dan
1981 240D
1987 300D Turbo
1973 220
Das Beste Oder Nichts