I did my own front and rear on 2004 SL600. Just make sure to open the bleeders when you compress the caliper pistons. Other then that, it was pretty straight forward.

 

This model has SBC brakes and this system has special precautions that you must follow if you value your fingers! Try a google search and you should get a few hits. I did change mine after reading the advice. The main precaution is to ensure that the key is at least 20 feet from the car and no one presses it!
I did not loosen the bleed screws and had to pull some fluid from the master reservoir with a turkey baster. Take care
from this site for E class with same SBC system
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w211-e-class/1251931-brake-pad-replace-official-mb-workshop.html

 

And make SURE that you DON'T turn on the key while you have the calipers off from the rotors!!!!!

 

This is true!

 

Almost as Easy as a Porsche

A Porsche is slightly easier than the SL. The only thing I would definitely do is disconnect BOTH batteries and keep the keys AWAY from the car at all times. People have fought back and forth if it is really necessary to disconnect both batteries and my opinion is why be sorry?!? It takes minutes. I also disconnected the ABS module.

Here is some useful info:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r230-sl-class/1475272-pdf-repository-r230s.html

Scroll down a bit and you'll see both front and rear pad replacement instructions. I've never opened bleeders when doing mine. Remember that when you squeeze back one piston, the other will push out, so you need to lock one down.

Hope this helps!

 

I also just redid my brakes. It really is one of the easiest cars to change brakes on.

 

I read somewhere that under some conditions the ABS unit could cycle on if the key is turned on!!!! If this happens with the calipers removed from the rotors, you COULD be buying New Calipers AND a New Paint job!!!!!!! (Brake Fluid will SPRAY EVERYWHERE!!!)

 

The brakes use a seperate pump that is activated electrically. You could loose a finger or worse if it were to activate. There is a procedure to deactivate the system, which requires not to open the driver's door. Go figure. Search the forums for the procedure.

 

Yes, you can lose a finger if it's between the caliper piston and your rotor. The brakes can wake up and activate based on certain events (starting the car, opening the drivers door, driving through puddles, etc.) So they basically can activate at any time.

It is not recommended to disconnect batteries on these cars, as a number of items need to be reset and adaptation values are erased when you disconnect the battery.

The MB recommended way is to use a DAS laptop to put the SBC (Sensotronic Brake Controller) into service mode so it doesn't activate. But if you do so, you MUST remember to change the setting back to enabled when you're done!

The easiest way (and the one my friend the indy tech uses) is to simply unplug the connector going into the SBC pump under the hood. Once you simply unplug the electrical connector, the system can't activate a thing. Then when the brake job is done, just plug it back in.... no resetting or anything else is necessary.

Takes 2 seconds to unplug and then everything is safe to work on.