Today I decided to flush the Brake Fluid in my SL500 and my wife's ML320 because I changed the pads and rotors last weekend on both of them. The SL was last flushed in 2004 and the ML in 2002. I purchased a pressure bleeder for $50 and bought two quarts of MB Brake Fluid from Phil @ Mercedes Shop. I'm glad I flushed the fluid. Check out the attached photos. I live in Florida so heat and water is a constant issue. Bottomline is don't change your fluid and suffer the consequenses of destroyed system parts or be smart and take an hour to do what the Engineers at MB recommend. Have fun.

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Waiting for all the cries of; but I never changed it in my 300 million mile Toyota and it stopped as good as new when I sold it to a guy who welded the hood shut and drove it another 1 billion miles.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

i change mine about every 18 months....

good job.

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

Hmmmm, last time I looked, the Owner's Manual calls for a flush/refill every 2 years.
While the benefits may not be immediate, sometime down the road it will make a difference.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

I change my oil every 25k miles, and I never once flushed my brake fluid! Who cares about stopping anyway. That's what trees and other vehicles are for!

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Current:
2021 Charger Scat Pack Widebody "Sinabee"
2024 CR-V Hybrid

Previous:
1972 280SE 4.5
2018 Durango R/T, 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited "Hefe", 1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo "Jeepy", 2006 Charger R/T "Hemi"
1999 Chrysler 300M - RIP @ 221k

Thats what I was waiting for!

The manual for my W126 says to do it every spring, but every two years is probably plenty. I still do mine every spring becuase its so cheap and easy their is no reason not to.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I have done mine twice in less than 2 yeaars on my 300E. I just purchased a Motive brake bleeder and Mercedes-Benz brake resivor cap . I am most likely goiiing to do it some time this summer toward the end of August to try out this new bleeder.
Clean fluid makes things work better.

Bob Geco
1992 300-E sportline

I learned two tricks when doing this task. First buy a cheap Turkey Baster and use it to remove the old fluid from the master cylinder. Put the old fluid into used water bottles and seal them up. No need to "push" the dirty fluid thru your system. Next, fill the master cylinder to the top with clean fluid before installing the pressure bleeder. It makes the process go much quicker. Throw the Turkey Baster and any left over fluid away because they will be no good in a short time. Remember to clean the pressure bleeder and accessories with Denatured Alchol when you finish.

People who have cars with anti-lock brakes need to depress the brake pedal 60 times to get all the old brake fluid out of the accumulators in the ABS box.

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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

Or at least make sure your wife doesn't confuse it for a valid kitchen utensil anymore.

Changing the brake fluid saved my teenage life in 1979. I had a '75 Kawasaki S3 (two-stroke triple), and the old fluid came out looking like old coffee. The next day, speeding, I crested the little hill on the GW parkway near DC's National Airport only to see a taxi parked in the road. I grabbed the front disc brake with my usual force and came to a brutally short, but safe, stop with wheel chirping. That was a real brake - something I had never experienced on a motorcycle before.

It may have been something that plain old bleeding would have corrected, but just seeing the crap that had developed in 3-4 years made a believer out of me.

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Prost!

In regards to bleeding with ABS, my 86 is just push the fluid through. The maint. manual for the 95 has a separate bleed screw for the ABS unit. Plus my wife would rebel against 60 repetitions of "down-up" (assuming we stay on subject ). Pressure bleed is the way to go. I only needed to replace one master cylinder after manual bleed to be converted.

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Hanno
'79 6.9 Sold (after 27 years)
'83 280SL, 5 spd.
'94 E320 Sdn. 5 spd conversion
'02 E320 Sdn.(on loan to mom!)
'87 300E (5 spd. conversion) Sold
'05 E500 Wagon

I was under the impression that the system was also flushed with some sort of cleaning fluid before the new brake fluid was put in. Is that not the case?

What happens to the old fluid that it requires replacing? Just gets dirty? Breaks down?

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

60 is just a warm-up.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

Over time, brakefluid can absorb moisture, this will result in rust, etc. in your brakesystem.
NOT a good idea.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

I never noticed this.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200