yesterday, in trying to discover why my left front brake emitted a burnt smell, I saw that the dust seal on my 88 300ce had ripped. The caliper is ATE, but the online repair kits are made by TRW and others but not ATE. Does the repair kit have to be ATE specific? Thanks.

__________________
87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)

did u repair the calipers? Was it difficult? Any special tools required? How did you do it? How long did it take?

I may have to do this, wondering if it is pretty straightforward? Thanks!

jeff

sorry, no, I haven't done it yet. Actually, I was going to ask my indy to do it since he owes me a favor & the caliper is out of the car since I did a swap from my parts car.

__________________
87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)

Rebuilding calipers is a bit more of struggle than it might seem, largely because the pistons don't come out or go back in easily. There are some special tools - tongs to remove the pistons and plyers to install the dust caps - but you can do without. You can push the pistons out with air pressure but this is a bit tricky also. The dust caps can be pushed on with your fingers once you get the hang of it. The whole operation is just awkward because of the shape of the caliper. It's a good idea to have the MB CD on the job. And of course when you're done you need to bleed the brakes. Figure several hours per axle for a first timer.

I used the same trick deanyel descripted,

Installation:
Cut a small piece of cardboard and seal one opening
Lube piston with brake fluide
Place one piston on caliper
Apply air to brake hose connector
Repeat for the 2nd piston

Jack