Brake Pad Recommendations
 

Two Questions,

1. Are non-oem brake pads ok to use? which brands are ok. I am most concerned with brake squeel.

2. does the brake disk need to be turned everytime pads are changed?

1. Yes, softer pads protect the rotors, but wear faster, semi metallic bad for our rotors.

2. NO. too thin to turn. you must measure the thickness of the rotor on each brake change, and if it is below the minimum thickness, you have to replace the rotor.

That's a myth.

Using OE brake pads is no guarantee against squeel. Textar has a reputation for not squeeling.

Some aftermarket pads are rough on those rotors.

on the non vented rotors, turning is not recommended. however, as long as the turning will not bring the rotor below minimum thickness, "proper" turning can be done. it will drastically shorten the life of the rotor. so I see no "myth".

Very true, but the cost of turning them is likely to exceed the cost of the new rotors anyway. Just replace them.

actually, most real auto parts stores still offer turning machines. they usually charge around 7.00 to turn... but why bother? measure, use and replace.

I just put OE pads on the front of my car and they squeal like crazy.:rolleyes:

Me to, but I didn't bother to replace the rotors (I was in a hurry). Now I'm waiting for them to wear down again so I can replace the rotors too. In the mean time, mine sometimes squeal, sometimes not. :confused:

It must be "Mythology Day" at Shopforum!!!

None of the MB service manuals that I own support that position.

Actually, machining extends the life of a rotor. It allows a formerly warped and/or scored rotor to be returned to service when it would otherwise need to be removed from service.

Come on, the front rotors for my car cost about $30 each, for that price I'm certainly not going to play around with the old ones. Also, I have never had any benz shop recommend anything other than replacing them. This is really silly.

Well if you want to drive a $500 car as cheaply as possible its certainly worth discussing...:D

I'm so pissed off about my pads I'm going to redo the front brakes this winter.

New Zimmerman X drilled rotors, rebuilt calipers, new caliper bolts, new OE pads with paste. Then I'll paint the calipers, and throw some stainless brakes lines on there.:cool:

Time for a total system overhual as they say.

Actually, MB did some research years ago and published some of it, that shows the life of the rotors is highly dependent on the pad composition. The main culprit is corrosion. The burnt pad material is, by the way the brakes work, allowed to accumulate in areas of low air flow. This material usually contains a good amount of carbon and other materials with metals and oxides of metals in it, which is not friendly to the steel in the rotor when it gets wet (carbon and steel and the rest of the brake dust constituents are not all that close on a Galvanic chart). Anyway, based on the experience with OEM pads, which make a lot of black brake dust and can squeal, but don't attack the steel in the rotors by design, I stick with the OEM pads. It means more frequent wheel cleaning and it means applying a liberal layer of that anti-squeal goo to the back of the pads when you install them. The idea there is to interrupt the vibration excitation short between the caliper and its support structure and the disc when the pads are squeezing the disc just right. For me, this stuff seems to work fairly well and I rarely have a squealing problem.

As for turning the discs, the old cars had discs that were integral with the bearing outside diameter of the bearing housing. Changing those discs was expensive, and not anywhere near as easy as the ones on the W124 and later cars. I am not sure about your 350SD. But once the discs were separately bolt-on items they became cheap enough to replace when they got ratty looking or thin. I still don't replace them if they are above the minimum thickness, unless the disc is heavily grooved, or has a bad lip worn on the OD, or there is evidence of warping. It also seems that because they are cheaper, they warp more readily, and I have changed them for that reason more than any other.

Good luck and I hope this helps. Jim

Agreed, if rotor is within specs; .418 in front; .327 rear, no need to replace. Once below that, get new ones. Caliper pistons extend only so far, when they pop out due to narrow rotors and worn pads (.69 in front, .61 rear) you won't have any braking ability. Your call.