1991 300CE New rear brake pads rubbing

[glenmore]

I just put in new Balo rotors and MBZ pads in the rear. I could just barely fit the new pads in. When you spin the wheels you can hear the pads rubbing/sweeping past the rotors. I went for a test drive and with the windows down I can hear the rubbing. The parking brake pedal was really tight so I relaxed the brake shoes a little and with the next test drive the sound was less. It was only a short test drive but rotors show no uneven wear.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

glenmore
1991 300CE
1990 LS400

[Kestas]

I ran into the same problem with my first MB brake job. It took me by surprise since I've done lots of brake jobs on many other cars.

The trick is to remove as much dirt as you can in the pad mounting surfaces of the caliper. Use a wire brush and remove all of it, it gets packed in there tight in the corners. This properly seat the pads and give you the extra clearance you need to mount the caliper/pad assembly over the rotor. The MB design doesn't give hardly any extra room between the pads and rotor - it has to be perfect.