01 E430 4Matic,
had perfect brakes. Then the pads got low, so I had an indie change the front and rear pads with original pads. Got the pads from the dealer. had him change infront of me. The rotors were not changed and nothing else was done.
But right after the pads were changed the pedal is very very mushy and the braking power has literally been reduced to half of what it was.

If anything the pedal should've been firmer now that it has new pads. To be on the safe side, I went back and the mechanic bled the brakes with the engine off, while i pumped the pedal.
Yet no effect...

I'm confused. The mechanic doesn't know any better. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. I have driven it for about 500 miles thinking maybe the pads had to sit it but that didn't do anything either.

If i press hard on the pedal, the brakes do work, but the confidence level of when the brake is pressed and the response I used to get is just not there anymore...

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Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.

Bleed the brakes with IGNITION ON

is there any possibility of of the pads not installed correctly though they look ok.or could it be that the rear brake pins that are used to install the pad have something to do with it ?
thanks again !
btw, bleeding with the ignition on, how would that be different than ignition off ?

__________________
Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.

Yes, check the pads to make sure they are seated properly. I had the same problem on my 190E and found that one of the left front pads wasn't installed correctly. It turned out that the pad wasn't fully seating against the rotor and it was bending, thus causing a mushy pedal. I corrected the problem and the pedal was nice and firm.

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1993 190E 2.3
2001 SLK230
1971 LS5 (454) Corvette Convertible

If there were any ridges on the rotors, it takes longer to seat the pad.
And 500 miles does not mean a thing..it is how many times the brake is applied that seats the pads..some car have more braking in 100 miles than another one does in a thousand.
...frequent pedal pumping coming to stops will help seat new pads.

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A Dalton

:yesnod:


I would avoid future contact with the unnamed indie.

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1981 300TD
2005 C55
2004 E500
1999 ML430
1992 400E
1998 C43
2001 SL500
1988 300SEL
1986 190E 16V
1991 190E 2.6

so my question is, should i simply wait and see or ...?
it's like when i press the pedal the response time of the brakes is in one sec lag or so... not too assuring.

__________________
Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.

You need to properly bleed them and after that I would give it a couple hundred miles. My guess is you will have a lot more confidence after the hydraulics are sorted.

Have you checked your brake fluid reservoir to see if your indie bothered to top it off after the service?

And for your question about the ignition. With the ignition off, you can still get fluid through the system but with a lot more effort, with the car on and the vac boost assist you get a lot more pressure through the system ensuring all the air is bled out of the line. It can be done with it off, but it is far more advantageous and a no brainer to do it with the engine on.

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1981 300TD
2005 C55
2004 E500
1999 ML430
1992 400E
1998 C43
2001 SL500
1988 300SEL
1986 190E 16V
1991 190E 2.6

Benz300, a competent mechanic would not let a car leave his shop with the brake system not functioning properly. Demand that the mechanic pull all 4 wheels and verify that the new brake pads are installed properly. Have him explain to you exactly what he did when replacing the brake pads. Unless he opened the bleed valves when retracting the caliper pistons there really should be no need to bleed the brake system. It's best to use a pressure bleeder on MB brake systems. You don't mention new wear sensors; hopefully you bought them for the new brake pads and the mechanic installed them also.

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Fred Hoelzle

Yes, seriously. A good wrench wouldn't be able to sleep with you driving around on questionable brakes.

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-tp


1990 300SE "Corinne"- 145k daily driver - street modified differential - PARTING OUT OR SELLING SOON - PORTLAND OR. AREA - PM ME FOR DETAILS
1988 560SEL "Gunther"- 190K passes anything except a gas station
1997 S420 - 265k just bought it with a rebuilt trans. Lovely condition

It's pretty difficult to install pads incorrectly, but mechanic did have to retract the caliper pistons to install them.

Figure 95% that the problem is between the brake fluid reservoir and the calipers and only 5% that it's pad installation.

Bleed the brakes.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles