Pads on front are fairly new, not sure about the back ones, can't get wheels off, but the brakes won't pump up, car stops but not real quick, if you are going backwards down a slope that really seem like they don't want to stop. Would this be the mc or some other problem, can anyone help me with this? I just bought this car and I'm afraid to drive it this way, it does stop, but pedals real soft like it needs bleed or air is trapped.
Did you check the brake fluid level?
Or air is in the brake lines or the vacuum brake booster is worn out and must be replaced.
Do you hear any hissing from the brake booster (behind the MC)?
The brake fluid level is fine..
Do you have any tips on bleeding the brakes, we tried doing the old fashion way and this still didn't help the problem....
I don't think I've heard any hissing noise? This car appears to run nice, all but this brake problem..
How can I figure out if it's the mc or the brake booster? Got any suggestions?
Thanks! M&M
I thought about getting a new mc, but they are 95.00 and can't be returned if this ends up not being the problem
The brake fluid level is OK, so that means there are no leaks at the wheels or their hoses.
If the booster were bad there would be reduced (or no) power assist and the car would be hard to stop BUT the brake pedal would be hard (as a rock).
My conclusion, for what it's worth, is that the master cylinder is bad and ought to be replaced ASAP. What else can be wrong?
Okay, great! I will try that!
How hard is it to replace the mc??
It is highly likely you need to buy new master cylinder... if it looks original... it must be changed.
Does anybody know how hard this is to replace (MC) I'm ordering one tomorrow?
And does anyone have a good place to shop for parts on mercedes benz?
Kind Regards, M&M
"How hard is it to replace the mc??"
Access, wrenches, bolts and YOUR ability answer the question of how hard it is to replace its master cylinder.
It's your car, go out and look at its master cylinder, draw your own conclusions.
I don't make service calls.
MC replacment isn't hard. Use the propper wrenches on the MC fittings. Make sure to bleed the brakes completely. This means keep going a little while after all the bubbles have come out of the lines. The first time I bled MB brakes I found air coming out after I thought I got it all. Uses more fluid than I thought. Ck that the E-brake isn't dragging. No brakes in reverses sounds like some of your braking pwr is coming from your emergency brake. I've had a lot of good luck getting parts for my MB from Napa Auto. My local one even has a guy who knows a little about MBs and sends me to the dealer when the part warrants it. There are a lot of good people with a lot of knowledge on this group. They deserve words like please and thank you--especially if you are coming back for more help.
It is not too hard but you need master cylinder bleeding kit... cheap at autoparts store... however, you will need two sets as MB has 3 brake lines on it...
Mount the MC on a vise lightly or have someone hold it... you will have to drain and remove the old MC reservoir from old unit... wash brake fluid off the car where spilled... brake fluid will cause paint to bubble up and fall off.
Mount existing reservoir to new MC or buy new one... Most likely you will need new cap too... so buy whole thing.
Back to bleeding... hook up bleeding lines to the MC and hoses back to reservoir. Fill reservoir with new fluids... use a screwdriver and push in the piston until you see no bubbles.
Once done... hook it up to the car and all the lines... leave cap off... and press pedal down slowly and a couple of times... this will eliminate the air where you hooked up the brake line... push brake pedal too hard and fluid will shoot out of the reservoir.
Lastly... put cap on... pump pedal... make sure it feels solid... if not bleed entire brake system... it is best to do this but if you are not mechanically inclined... let pro do it for you.
Thanks so much to all of you guys, for all of your help and tips! My husband is getting ready to tackle this job and I am the one searching around on the net looking for the tips for him (he doesn't like to type or email or post stuff) I'm a firm believer in getting advice and you guys have been so quick and prompt to answer my questions! Thanks again, I'll let you all know how it works out! I'm new to this group as you could probably tell, and I 'm not use to asking questions about cars that much, my husband always takes care of our vehicles, but never a MB and when someone told us we would be sorry that we bought this because the parts are hard to find plus they are hard to work on, hubby kind of got mad at me for getting the car on eBay! So, I really appreciate you guys giving me encouragement on how easy this will be, hopefully we won't be sorry we bought the MB! Hope to hear from you all again soon!
Kind Regards, M&M
Thanks so much hubby is getting ready to work on the car today, so I pray it ends up being easy and he won't be too mad at me for getting the car! Thanks again, I read all of this off to him and he's ready to go!
Kind Regards, M&M
Just got done with my master cylinder. Let us know how it went.
Greetings~ Hubby got the MC on, but the brakes seems like they still have a little bit of air in them, sometimes they're okay and then they get spongey again, and one of the brake pads seems to be rubbing, think we are going to get some new brakes tomorrow and try to put new ones on and then bleed the brakes again. How did your MC project turn out?
Kind Regards, M&M
Sounds like you now need to bleed the rest of the brake system as I suspected too... You can use the traditional way of bleeding the brake... pump... hold... loosen bleeder... close bleeder... release brake pedal and pump... repeat until clear clean fluids comes out.
Okay, we will try to bleed them again thanks for your tip!
Kind Regards M&M
Husband still not able to get the brakes to bleed completely, he went out and got new pads, but he said it really didn't need them, they were only half worn down, but while he was replacing the brakes pad he discovered that the coil spring bracket is busted and rusted out on one side, he said you can't fix this without doing major front end work on rhe MB and that we shouldn't put anymore money into the car, it looked like a nice car to putt around in with the gases prices up and everything, but hubby doesn't think we should put anymore money into since he just found this major problem... Anybody out there with a tip as to how we could fix this anyway cheap & not put major time, (I don't give up easy).... But the hubby says no there is not anyway to get around fixing it without major work & money?
If the front spring plate is busted... the spring would have popped out.
How much did you pay for the car? Where are you located?
Thanks for trying to help us out, I really appreciate this! I can't ask my husband right now about the MB, he's cat napping, but what he told me was the coil spring bracket is busted and all rusted out, it's causing the right side to sit down on the tire pretty close, he took it out for a test drive after my last post and when he got back he said it was really rubbing on the tire now, said you could smell rubber burning, we paid $281.00 for it on eBay, got it just the other day and hubby just put in a MC $95.00, some new brake pads $15.00, and a new head light $9.00. The car really doesn't look that bad, that's why we thought it was a good deal and be good enough to putt around in, hubby said the car wasn't sitting down like that the other day, but now it is and he said that stuff is busted and rusted, hope this makes some kind of sense, anyway thanks for trying to help, I was hoping something could be rigged up so it could be driven, but once again hubby doesn't think so, but I don't give up easy I guess....When he wakes up I'll tell him what you said about the spring should have popped out, but it is sitting down on the tire pretty close and rubbing it also?? Not good I guess?
Thanks Again for your time! M&M
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