Hi there. First thank you all for your suggestions thus far. New developments I wanted to run by....Yesterday my antilock light came on while driving to work but then did not come on again since then. Also a coworker drove my car in the parking lot and thank goodness my baby showed his ailment. My coworker thought it could be the right control arm. Would that cause the dragging kind of noise and slow braking problem I have been encountering? Does the antilock light tie in with the control arm as well?

Thank you.

Marla

You antilock brakes work by sensing the speed each wheel is turning and watching for one to change speed radically from the others. There is a sensor mounted behind the brake disc (usually mounted to the steering knuckle). There is a "tone ring" mounted on the hub to which the brake disc is mounted. It looks like a ring with a bunch of equally spaced cuts in it. Sometimes the ring will start to fill up with oil, grease and debris. The sensor can also become covered with debris. Either of these conditions can cause erratic readings of the wheel speed and turn on the light. Just the computer saying "hey, I can't understand what the sensor is trying to tell me". Cleaning the sensor and ring can solve this problem. I have not been following your other thread(s) so I'm not up to speed on other brake/suspension issues you are having, but they very well could be related. If you have a noise or other systom coming from one side, I would certainly look into it right away.
BobK

Bob K- Thank you for your input. I bet your right on the sensor getting dirty because my antilock light came on about 2 months ago right after I had washed the car and then after I turned the car off and drove it again, it did not come on again until now. I will have it looked into. Thanks again for the explanation.

I don't know if you have ever felt the ABS kick in, but if you haven't , you should try it. Find a relatively empty mall type parking lot close to home (in case ya break something). With a long safe clear stretch ahead of you, get the car up to 20-25mph and then stomp on the brakes-hard as you can-like a child kid ran out in front of you. If your brakes are working properly, your car should stop very quickly and in a straight line. You will hear a growl fromthe ABS. That's just it doing its job. If the car does not stop straight, but fights to go off to one side, it might indicate a stuck piston in a brake caliper (pulls left = stuck caliper on right). If it does not seem to stop as quick as you would like or if you don't hear a growl, you could have a problem with the ABS unit or the computer that controls it. If the car seems to stop straight and quick, well that's just worn front shocks. If all goes well and it feels like you dropped the anchor, well that's the MB magic at work.
Oh, and lest you worry about the abuse to the car, this is a standard part of the defensive driving course the MB club runs for members before driving events.
My wife's '88 560SL does real well in this test. It is comforting to know she can stop quickly if needed.
BobK

I agree with BobK about doing a test on your ABS system.

It will prepare you for how it feels for when you really need it.

Not only should your car stop in a short distance and in a straight line, but the ABS system pulsates your brakes faster than you ever could, and you will fill a strong pulsating sensation in the brake pedal under your foot.

It will surprise you how strong the feeling is.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I think I will test those ABS brakes of mine this weekend!

I did a driving course at a racetrack with MBCA about a month ago. The car handled real well but the tires did screech more than I wanted on the turns.

Thank you both and have a great day!

Marla

If you find the tires crying (or screaming!) more than you want them to, try raising the presure a bit. When we ran the SL at Mid-Ohio a couple years back, I was running about 42 PSI all round. Normally I run 35 Front 38 Rear. That is with a slight upgrade in tires. I'm running 225/60 instead of the factory 205/65.

That is very helpful. I will add the pressure on the tires. Now, I know I like to drive fast and like I fly but when I did the racetrack I got quite nervous. It did help me feel like a better driver but I did not want to do any damage to my new baby. Yes, I know the car is made for it but I was a nervous wreck. Thank you. I will try and test the ABS brakes as well as have the tires pressured up! Great ideas. I am really enjoying this site.

First. It is best to keep all the posts related to a particular problem on that one post. That way you can read all the replies and so the group can follow what has been recommended or not recommended. So keeping your braking problem post on one long post is best.

I got your PM and if the friend is suspicious of the front suspension I would have it looked at. Your car has upper and lower control arm bushings, Ball joints, sway bar, shocks, springs and a subframe mount/bushings.

http://www.performanceproducts4benz.com/Drawings.aspx?bmid=42


If the control arm bushings are going bad it will allow front-aft play in the wheel hub. Which could be interpreted as a braking problem. But they have to be pretty bad for that.

So lets do what was recommended above, clean the sensors on the wheel hubs ( Brake parts cleaner does a very good job, but smells, and is nasty. Gloves and something to catch the run off is required. A high pressured hose could be used also). Then have the front suspension completely checked. A shop may recommend a complete suspension rebuilt, they always love to do that, but you are looking for a definite suspension problem (ball joint, bushing) to give you the braking problem.
The ABS intermitant light. Does it occur with a particular steering wheel position (particularly full left or right). The wire to the wheel sensor can start to break and give this kind of intermitant light.
So have that checked.

Keep us informed.

Dave

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1970 220D, owned 1980-1990
1980 240D, owned 1990-1992
1982 300TD, owned 1992-1993
1986 300SDL, owned 1993-2004
1999 E300, owned 1999-2003
1982 300TD, 213,880mi, owned since Nov 18, 1991- Aug 4, 2010 SOLD
1988 560SL, 100,000mi, owned since 1995
1965 Mustang Fastback Mileage Unknown(My sons)
1983 240D, 176,000mi (My daughers) owned since 2004
2007 Honda Accord EX-L I4 auto, the new daily driver
1985 300D 264,000mi Son's new daily driver.(sold)
2008 Hyundai Tiberon. Daughters new car

I appreciate your words of advice. I am a newbie here and thought that once someone read a thread and replied that they may not look at it again as well as thought since the newer ones coming in then mine would get lost in the shuffle. I do see your point though so thank you so much! I am learning here about this site and my car...what a wealth of knowledge.

As far as my car, I found a receipt where the woman who owned the car before me had many things done to the car pertaining to brakes, control arm and bushings and etc. It was done at Autoscope so I called them and explained my problem and told him it was hard to describe. He seemed very knowledgeable like you and mentioned, like you as well, from my description that it sounded like the ABS Sensor needing to be replaced. Now I can tell him to see if it just needs to be cleaned. Because I am not all familiar with cars and do not have a lot of tools and do not want to experiment on this car, I figured I would bring it by Autoscope tomorrow morning. I will fill you in. He asked me if the car was doing a thump thump on the brake and I said yes. It rarely does it and the Antilock light did not go on today at all.

Thank you again for your help. Oh, by the way, where can I get more info on the get together in the West End?

Thank you and have a good night!

Marla

Friday June 9, 6:30 p.m. at Sonny Bryans. Love to see you there. We usually get a pretty good crowd. Many guys bring their wives and kids:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=152915

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Thank you for the info on the gtg this Friday night. I will be there but it may be closer to 7 although, I will try hard to get there as close to 630. Will you guys have a sign or how do I know I have not sat at the wrong table? hahaha

Thank you.

Marla

I will be there next Friday night!

You will be able to recognize us. We usually put two or three tables together to fit the whole crowd. We'll also probably tell them at the front about people coming in for a Mercedes gtg.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Great! Thank you Suginami. Look forward to meeting you next Friday!

Marla