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Mercedes ML Front Brake Pads Replacement |
Brake Pad replacement is very similar for many different models and the main principle is almost exact so this guide is intended to give an illustration into the process of renewing your cars brake pads easily and efficiently.
The yellow brake light on your dashborad is flickering and you may also be hearing some grinding noises whilst driving slowly. YUP you guessed it, it’s time to change the brake pads.
The first step is to give the brake pads a quick inspection. If you have alloy wheels with decent sized holes in them as shown in the pic, it will be possible to see the thickness of the brake pads without having to remove the alloy wheel.
After placing the jack under the car and rasing it enough so that the wheel is just about still resting on the ground, the wheel bolts should be loosened. It’s always good practice to also place some additional axle stands in other secure places underneath the vehicle.
Once the alloy wheel is off, it becomes clear that the pads were extremely low as shown from 2 different angles.
Pop the bonnet open and remove the brake fluid reservoir cap. This is to release any pressure once the brake calliper hydraulic unit is moved back to accomodate the new brake pads.
The brake calliper is held in place by 2 x 40T star key bolts. Usually the lower bolt can be opened which allows the brake calliper to swing upwards allowing the brake pads to be replaced but in most cases, both the star bolts may have to be opened if the calliper does not seem to move freely.
Once the 2 star bolts are off, the calliper may need some hammering to assist taking it off. Calliper should be hammerd from the bottom and inside and it should slowly move upwards and outwards eventually revealing the brake pads.
Once the old brake pads have been removed, the hydraulic unit on the brake calliper needs to be pushed back all the way to make room for the new brake pads to seat in properly. You can try using a G-clamp to move the calliper back but in most cases, this may not work. One solution is to but the brake calliper back onto the disc as it was originally mounted. The 2 star bolts needs to be fully tightened into place.
A thick wood stick or even a metal crow bar can be inserted into the gap between the brake disc and the hydraulic unit of the calliper and force exerted in a way that the inside of the brake disc smooth surface does not bear the impact. It’s extremely important that no sensitive parts are damaged whilst exerting the force to push the calliper unit back.
Once the calliper hydraulic unit has been pressed all the way back into its original place, the brake calliper can be mounted off the brake disc so the new brake pads can be inserted into place.
The new brake pads must be setaed in properly on the discs and the brake calliper should be tightened properly. The brake pedal should be depressed a few times so the pads get seated properly in their place and the calliper hydraulic unit should be seen to be pressing against the pads like it should.
The alloy wheel can now be put back in its place and tightened properly. Remeber to close the brake fluid reservoir cap after topping it up with some brake fluid if necessary.
This entry was posted on Sunday, September 28th, 2008 and is filed under Mercedes DIY. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
good resourse
Glad you like it. We are hoping to expand the DIY section greatly in the new year. This should help people save loads of money.
Can I damage the calliper, changing the brakes if we didn’t use a C-clamp to put the calliper back in the original position for the new brake pads?
@ Cat - when you replace the brake pads, the thickness of the new pads is such that there is no way you will get the new pads fully seated in unless you completeley move the calliper back all the way. If you are finding it hard to push the calliper back, it could be seized and may need replacing.