I will be doing the brakes for my 1999 ML320 soon. Is there a good reference for DIY? I can use the one for the 2000-2003 ML 420 but would like more info on the one I have.

Cripes! The racer in me would never allow braking anywhere near that early, towing or not! Despite that, I got 60,000 miles out of my current set of pads. Just about ready to change now.

$330 for rear pads and rotors, parts and labor included
 

My local garage, whose mechanics work on a variety of cars, did the rear pads and rotors, and the parts and labor were $330 total, including the tax. Based on the petefagerlin webpage referred to in here, the labor of $80 was about right at current 2005 rates. I will bring it to them again when the fronts need the same. It only takes about an hour to do this if you have a lift and all the right tools. Not having either, it would have taken me much longer with unknown results !!!

I needed to have the front tie rod replaced, so the tire shop looked at the brakes and it only needed front pads! Came out relatively cheap overall with an alignment. The tires wore unevenly because of the tie rod so I got new ones. The tires last about 40,000 miles, just like on the CDI.

One thing did come out of it: at 115,000 miles, the rear springs are sagging compared to the front end after alignment. The shop should have either recommended new ones or lowered the front thereby softening the ride, which I would have liked. Oh well. Can't have everything in a small town!

Now I am waiting for the funds to replace all 4 shocks, including the rear springs, and to soften the ride using advice from http://www.whnet.com/4x4/ml_springs.html

PL

Preparing to replace my ML430 rotors and pads, I have seen reco for sp Performance Diamond Drilled And Slotted, but does anybody have experience with Raceconcepts Cross Drilled-Slotted Rotors or even Power Slots? Most of these are kinda spendy! Suggestions?

Brake rotors
 

The rotors I put in myself are Brembo non-drilled. They have worked flawlessly now for a long time - the ML320 had 135,000 miles on it.

Pierre

The only problem I have with putting cross-drilled rotors on a vehicle designed for off-road use is the potential for getting debris imbedded in the holes and scoring the pads and/or possibly the rotors.

Otherwise, for a street-only vehicle, they would look pretty cool...

I also use the non-drilled Brembo replacements, and they work great (especially with the ceramic pads). Low dust, no noise, awsome pad and rotor life, and great stopping. Putting on drilled or slotted rotors on this truck would be for "show off" purposes only. They may look cool, but will provide no braking benefits, and will actaully result in lower pad and rotor life, as well as more dust (due to the "cutting" action of the holes and slots). In actuality, no vehicle benefits from slots or drilling on the streets. It is only in track situations that the benefits of these rotors come out, due to the extreme stress brakes are under in repetitive track braking situations.

I doubt anyone is tracking their ML--even an AMG.

I'm not sure about this; the brakes on my GTI hydroplane in heavy rain. Hawk HPS pads didn't help. I put Teves slotted rotors on to help; next time it rains I'll see. They're coated with some kind of plating to keep the non wear surfaces from rusting. My only complaint about stock replacement rotors is the rust.

On the ML I've always run stock replacement pads & rotors. Yes the pads dust like crazy, but by the time the wheels turn gray the rest of the car needs a wash too. I really like the feel of the stock pads, and they have plenty of stopping power, even when towing.

Well mine's been on track once--station wagon runs at an SCCA driver's school years ago. Instructor: "This thing has a lot of body motion!" Me: "It's a truck." Instructor: "Oh yeah, I forgot." :D

Gonna have to disagree. Hydroplaning a pad on a disc is nearly impossible, chances are your tires are more to blame. Further, if there was so much water up in the area of the brakes that this was truly happening, any wheel speed sensors would be toast, and so too would your bearings. Any rotor, slotted, stock, drilled, will have effects from the rotors being wet, but hydroplaning is not what is happening (as gravity and centifical force force any buildup of water above mere moisture off the rotor). Tires hydroplane as the water is trapped by gravity between the road surface and the tire, thus the tire rides "up" on the water. As for rust, no "coating" is going to help that as the instant you apply the brakes for the first time, that "coating" is gone. Rust on discs is a normal fact of life, and does not adversely effect performance, as just like with any "coating" it is gone the moment you hit the brakes while at speed.

My post above clearly said the coating will keep the rust off the non wear areas of the rotor.

Brake hydroplaning is a well known phenomenon; I did not make it up. In fact some of the new BMWs and Mercedes activate the brakes slightly every so often to keep the rotors dry. Fortunately for the members of this forum, it's not my ML that does it.

Here is an interesting discussion about drilled and slotted rotors (look under the discs heading).

I understand that (the non-contact surfaces), but the heat generated by stopping will cook off just about any coating, short of ceramic (which would not be used for other reasons). Also, is it really that important to keep the inside surfaces of the rotor (say where the cooling vanes are) rust free? I really do not see the point.

Are you talking about the rotor "hats"?

As for brake hydroplaning, and the newer cars which "tap" the brakes to avoid moisture, it is just that, to avoid moisture which lubricates the discs and pads, increasing stopping distance. The pre-brake systems just help dry that off. It has nothing to do with hydroplanning of the pads on the discs.

Guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this one.

To me rusty hats and rotor edges detract from the appearance of the car. The stock ML wheels leave a lot of the rotor exposed. What do you expect from a guy who cleans the wheelwells with each car wash? :D Actually when I pulled the original rotors off my ML the hats were still painted black (this was in Texas, maybe here in Michigan the salt would have eaten the paint). Too early to tell how long the plating on the Teves rotors on my "other" car will last.

Agreed. :)