Does anyone have any tips on how to replace rear caliper dust seal?
 

I was doing the rear brakes in my father's C230 and one of the dust seals is damaged. I ordered the seal kit and was wondering if there was a trick to get the seal on. I can get it over the piston easily, but getting it to sit down in the groove of the caliper is a different story. Do I need a special tool?

TIA,
Steve

Yeah, those are a PITA. VERY tight fit, and you can chase the "loose" part around the caliper all day!

I usually get it started on one side and either use a large pair of channellocks to push the other side down or take a piece of wood and stick it through the caliper and hold one side down while hitting the other side with a hammer, or use a dowel to drive the opposite side down.

Large channellocks work best, since you can see what you are doing and hence won't cut it. A piece of wood through the "throat" of the caliper won't work if the piston stays proud of the bore much, either, since you won't be pressing down on the seal. Not a good idea to bottom out the piston hard.

I'll be getting the pleasure of doing this next week -- one piston was pretty badly stuck on the TE when I did brakes the other night, so I'm gonna do a caliper rebuild. Dragging brakes irritate me.

Peter