Caliper pins won't budge on 240D - Page 7 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Mark DiSilvestro · #91 03-07-2009, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

That was my point.

A ratchet is not designed to take that load and the teeth are damaged by it.

Sure, Sears will replace it, but if everybody behaves in similar fashion...........sooner or later Sears has to put a stop to it.

Well, the original poster did mention HAMMERING on his ratchet!
My first Craftsman ratchet lasted several years too.
It's not like I'm turning in damaged Sears ratchets every week or every month. Besides, my muscles & joints are worth more than several ratchets.
I now use a breaker-bar (sometimes with a length of pipe) on those pesky FWD axle-nuts.

Happy Motoring, Mark

fruitcakesa · #92 03-07-2009, 10:57 AM

I bought a Mac Tool 3/4 drive breaker bar with a 28" handle for the front hub nuts on my Cummins. That and a 4 ft piece of pipe will move most anything but it sure is heavy!

JimmyL · #93 03-07-2009, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I would be afraid of breaking pvc.

Yep, that is what you would think if you hadn't used it. This is thick pvc and the force is spread out down the ratchet handle. Very sturdy, but yes, it does "seem" like it would be fragile.

BodhiBenz1987 · #94 03-07-2009, 06:15 PM

Goods news ... got all four caliper bolts undone, with great effort. Impact wrench would not fit, but I found a breaker bar in my 300D's trunk (not really sure where it came from, actually) and used a metal pipe my brother in law gave me as an extension. On the right side I couldn't produce enough downforce so I positioned the breaker bar pointing down and pushed it with my foot ... came loose right away. The right side caliper seems to be completely frozen ... the outside piston was stuck with the pad slightly away from the disc (pad was much thicker than the others, accordingly) and the inside one, I couldn't tell because the pad was so rusted in there that I couldn't even budge it (I just took the whole caliper off with pad still stuck in it). I'm not really sure how this car stopped, let alone passed inspection, which it did. So new calipers are on, I got one side all done w/ pads and new hoses, but the other I had to drop everything and rush to work, so I'll finish up tomorrow.

One last (hopefully!) problem ... on both sides, I have one sensor that will not come out of the plug. One side it broke off, so there's just the stub in there ... the other side the plug is intact but stuck, and will definitely break in short order. Any trick to getting these out? I already broke my pocket knife trying to pry it out. The stub that's stuck in the one socket is massacred. It will rotate, but not come out.

BodhiBenz1987 · #95 03-07-2009, 06:17 PM

BTW, I feel I should get extra points on this project for the fact that I had to squat in a small pile of snow when doing the right wheel.

cmbdiesel · #96 03-07-2009, 08:03 PM

Bonus points awarded, even though squatting in the snow is a time honored tradition.

By the way - Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow.

Brian Carlton · #97 03-07-2009, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

One last (hopefully!) problem ... on both sides, I have one sensor that will not come out of the plug. One side it broke off, so there's just the stub in there ... the other side the plug is intact but stuck, and will definitely break in short order. Any trick to getting these out? I already broke my pocket knife trying to pry it out. The stub that's stuck in the one socket is massacred. It will rotate, but not come out.

Needlenose pliers will do the trick.......especially if you are tossing it out.

BodhiBenz1987 · #98 03-08-2009, 04:13 PM

Calipers are all done ... I ended up having to reuse the old brake pad holding clips because there's no way the pin would fit in with the new ones. Other than that, everything looked great, flushed (and broke off a bleed screw ... save that fix for later) and put it back on all fours. I took it for a drive for the first time in nearly two months and the brakes felt A-OK, plus it seemed to shift better than before (maybe because I flushed the clutch circuit?).

The bad news: Definitely getting an unpleasant noise from the right front when turning the wheel. Loud grinding. I can kind of hear it when going over a speed bump, but it's more exaggerated when turned the wheel. So I'm guessing tie rod? The tie rod ends looks awful, the boots have cracks in them ... that was going to be my next project and I guess I'll accelerate that effort. Weird thing is, I didn't hear such a noise before I did the calipers ... I rechecked the caliper, hose, and lug bolts on that wheel and it all looks fine. I was pretty careful not to hit or push on anything under there, but maybe I bumped something? Or maybe it was just because the car sat up on jackstands for a couple days, putting a different load on (or off, I guess) the suspension. Does this sound like it could be the tie rod end? Again, it's more of a laterally triggered noise than a vertically triggered noise, if that makes sense. Tie rods have to be changed anyway, so I'm hoping maybe that'll be the fix.

Oh yeah ... and the pad wear sensor pin actually broke out of the housing, the sensor was so corroded in there. No big deal for now, but I'll have to solder/crimp on a new housing piece, I guess.

t walgamuth · #99 03-08-2009, 10:00 PM

If you did anything to the bearing it might be loose, if not I would suspect that you bent the dust shield on the backside of the caliper/rotor, etc. Also, If the tie rod end is loose you might get the wheel turned enough for ssomething to drag on frame or other suspension parts.

Palangi · #**100** 03-08-2009, 10:13 PM

I agree with Tom on checking the dust shields. Very easy to bend those while working on the brakes. This would be an easy fix which costs nothing.

BodhiBenz1987 · #**101** 03-08-2009, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palangi

I agree with Tom on checking the dust shields. Very easy to bend those while working on the brakes. This would be an easy fix which costs nothing.

Wouldn't this make a noise when just spinning the wheel? The wheel spins freely without noise. Will check it again tomorrow.

Palangi · #**102** 03-08-2009, 10:33 PM

If it is just barely rubbing, it can make noise under some conditions and not others, for example loaded vs unloaded or turning one way vs the other. Can also be intermittent. Costs nothing to take a look at it.

Palangi · #**103** 03-08-2009, 10:49 PM

I am assuming that it did not have this noise before the brake work. Would that be correct?

BodhiBenz1987 · #**104** 03-08-2009, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palangi

I am assuming that it did not have this noise before the brake work. Would that be correct?

Not that I noticed. I had only driven it twice, but I definitely would have taken notice if the noise had been as pronounced then. That was mid-January. It sat for a while after that and I've had it up and down off the jackstands, including up for the last three days as I finished the caliper job.

I did start a separate thread for the grinding noise, simply because I thought it might be helpful if someone had a similar problem in the future, for search purposes: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=246992

Palangi · #**105** 03-08-2009, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

Not that I noticed. I had only driven it twice, but I definitely would have taken notice if the noise had been as pronounced then. That was mid-January. It sat for a while after that and I've had it up and down off the jackstands, including up for the last three days as I finished the caliper job.

I did start a separate thread for the grinding noise, simply because I thought it might be helpful if someone had a similar problem in the future, for search purposes: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=246992

In the other thread, it sounds like the noise can occur just by turning the steering wheel (i.e. car not moving). If that is the case, it is not caused by the brake shields.