Leaking Front Caliper - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Darinkald · #1 03-10-2004, 11:08 AM

I just completed a front brake job on my 240D. The old caliper was completly seized and had to be replaced. I bought a rebuit one from my local parts store and within a week it was leaking.

I followed every precaution. I bled the whole system from the farest point back to front. The funny thing is that my wife said it was working great until she has no pressure to stop. I even took it for a spin before I let her drive it and it worked great.

On another note I returned the caliper to the parts store and they replaced it for me. I am getting upset now becuase the same thing happened again. The replacement/replacement caliper is leaking again.

I have swapped out calipers before and never had this problem occur. Any help with this problem would be great.

Thanks.

haasman · #2 03-10-2004, 01:38 PM

Darinkald

My first guess is bad calipers. What brand? Do they match what is/was on the car? These days brake calipers are really pretty straight forward.

How much flushing did you do? How much brake fluid did you go through? Have the flexible hoses ever been replaced? I had seen a car with very weird brake problems after a caliper replacement and it turned out to be bad hoses.

The only other thought I had is are you doing anything out of the norm? For an example, are the pads the correct ones for the car? They aren't some unusual second or third tier type/brand? They are thick enough? My concern here is hyper-extension of the caliper piston.

If everything else is as it should be, sounds like your supplier needs to provide you with a SAFE replacement. The safety word REALLY makes vendors take notice in my experience.

Keep us posted,

Haasman

Darinkald · #3 03-10-2004, 03:44 PM

Thanks for input.

The original and previous calipers were ATE and the parts store ordered them from the factory on CA.

They are changing suppliers and are assuming the additional cost of the third caliper. The fluid flow is great. Iget myvac pump out and it doesn't take muck time at all. I am cycling about a quart of fluid each time I replaced the caliper.

The pads came from a different supplier which I have never had a problem with.

What kind of problems with brake lines would cause a caliper to leak?

Half the fun is just trouble shooting.