Who would you take your car to ?
 

OK. I will have a choice to make Friday of which indy mechanic to take my "new" 91 190E 2.6 to, for replacing the brake booster. The current owner I bought it from said he had a vac test done ( I believe ) and it was the brake booster... so I ordered one gets UPS delivery tomorrow, & Friday I need to decide who to take it to ...

I know 2 indys who I have used, and I trust both as honest and capable . Both are quoting me right at $200 for labor & I bring the part.

1) Is a factory trained Toyota mechanic who is very capable to do this job IMO, and he is alot closer to where the car is .. A shorter AAA tow only like 10 minutes away...

2) Is another indy who is more familiar with Mercedes cars and also very trusted as honest , but he is alot further away, over 1 hour , and a longer tow. I do have 100 miles AAA so there is no cost to ether shop but if it doesn't matter who does this job, then closer is easier for me I guess.


Any suggestions ...? The car is a 2 owner and has 76,xxx miles on it ..

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Why don't you just put it on yourself? It should be relatively easy.

I've never done one and the guy I am buying it from actually offered to install it for me included in the sale . Then I read how to do it right & I figured it is best to make sure nothing is done wrong and everything is done right and since its the way you stop the car that taking it to a mechanic in this case would be best. If he has the time on Friday I would also consider going down 1 hour to Miami and working together to see its done properly..

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I'd trust the Benz Mechanic,not everyone can work on cars.Thank God my daughters can,I taught them how.

So are you paying the bill for this or is the seller? If seller, I pick Toyota guy since he's closer. If it's you, I still recommend DIY. A brake booster swap is one of the less difficult repairs you can do to a car, Mercedes or not. The only part people seem to have trouble with is getting the brakes bled after they put the master cylinder back on, and there are extensive threads on this forum describing how to accomplish that.

Take it to the closer guy if you know him. He can easily figure out a MB brake booster. It's not rocket science.

Given the emphasized language in your reply above, I would take it to the Benz guy, since you express the concern as you do.

Although I also agree with the others that replacing the booster is not the worst job you can do on a car. After all, if you get that done and run into trouble bleeding the brakes, then you can have it towed to the Toyota guy. ;)

Good luck.

Any competent mechanic can change the booster, you need to build a relationship with the local Toyota guy as you won't want to drag the car a hour away every time something breaks. Remember, while some things require MB specific knowledge, these cars are pretty simple.

Brake bleeding isn't needed when changing the booster if you are not changing the master cylinder. However, if there is any fluid in the booster , leaking from the back of the master cylinder, you will need to change the master cyl.

Unbolt the master cyl, leave the lines attached, and move it aside. Remove the vacuum line.

From under the dash, unclip the booster push rod from the peddle then remove 2 to 4 nuts that hold the booster. Remove the booster from under the hood of the car. Install is reverse with a check of stop light switch adjustment when you are finished.

Let me explain. The car was in Miami . I live 1 hour north, closer to the Mercedes indy. If I towed it to the Toyota guy ( Toyoworks) in Kendall even further south of where I live then it's close to 1.5 hours for me to get back down to him tomorrow to pick it up. I've used them both so that is not the issue. It is picking the car up and getting a ride to get it when its done.

Yes doing it myself would probably be the easiest and cheapest way to go......but the car now is at the indy ( Kurt's European Autoworks in DelRay Beach ) and I'll have him put it up on a lift check rest of car out and do the brake booster job . I think there is a vacuum leak somewhere bcs the front drivers door lock does not lock / unlock the rest of the doors or the gas cap door. I think the passenger door does . Can a vac leak have something to do with reason the brake booster is not stopping the car? AAA was 2 hours wait and that stunk but now home and will know more tomorrow... ( *That's us getting on to the Florida Turnpike in Miami. ;)

Thanks,


....AA

MB Indy was the right choice
 

Since you suspect other vac leaks, I think you made the right choice taking the car to the MB Indy because he should be familiar with diagnosing the vac leaks easily and accurately.

If it is more than just the booster then having it at a MB Indy could be a plus.

Can a vacuum leak affect the function of a vacuum actuated brake booster? Yes, but it would have to be a pretty big one.

Brake booster in. Have a vac leak in the drivers door. Just drove home from the mechanic like 12 miles . First time driving the car since I bought it w/o any brakes. I have alot of cleaning up to do in & out. The car ahsn't been driven in a few months I believe..

Getting the hose & bucket - then the vacuum & dash / leather cleaner..

Back soon.


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2 hours of cleaning and it's dark out.

Drives alot better when it's cleaned up. :D

Just in case anyone reading this has the unsettling experience of losing vacuum assist while driving, the brakes will still stop the car. You just have to press the pedal A LOT harder than normal. I experienced this first hand when the vacuum pump on my 240D failed. I got to drive around San Diego for a few days with no power brakes until I scored a used vacuum pump from a junkyard.

For additional fun, I found out after installing the pump, that it interfered with the power steering belt, so I had the other fun experience of getting to drive with power brakes but no power steering until I had the parts and time to repair the original pump. This included driving it from San Diego to Carson City. Actually not bad once rolling, but parking lots were a hundin.

In my opinion a good driver doesn't really need brakes. ;)