Problem Fitting Rear Brake Disc Rotors over Parking Brake Shoes? - Benzworld.org

Guest (MBNZ) · 03-29-2002, 12:59 PM

I am the happy owner of a 87 300E. I have decided to renew the parking brake shoes, rear disc rotors and brake pads (the parking brake lamp came on constantly). It was no problem to get the worn parts off. Upon refitting with new parts I can not figure our how to fit the disc rotor on the replaced brake shoes. They somehow seem to big? I have contracted the adjuster ring fully. I also have loosened the cables fully. I believe the springs are fitted correct. What do I do next? I could fit the disc with no parking brake and drive it to a dealer but there must be something obvious I have overlooked. The old worn and new parking shoes appear to have the same size when I compare them. HELP!

Guest (MBNZ) · 03-30-2002, 04:53 AM

I did the exact same job yesterday on my '86. I had to enlarge the brake shoe bottom notchs about 1/8 inch each with a Dremal tool so the shoes would fit closer together at the cable expander. The rotor then just slipped on.

Guest (MBNZ) · 03-30-2002, 11:18 AM

Henrik (and Ati), are you using Mercdes brand shoes or aftermarket?

Guest (MBNZ) · 03-30-2002, 03:54 PM

I used Lemforder (made in Germany) for $22 including new hardware.

Guest (MBNZ) · 03-31-2002, 04:13 AM

Thanks for the replies. I used (well tried to use) aftermarket parking shoes. They are Swedish and from a company called Biltema (17 Dollars including necessary hardware). The discs rotors also came from Biltema (Front 22 Dollars a piece, Rear 15 Dollars a piece). I used them before and never had a problem. They look identical to the ones I replaced as far as I could tell (except for the wear off course). What do you folk generally think about aftermarket brake gear? MB charge high prices for the brand items.

Guest (MBNZ) · 04-01-2002, 03:28 PM

I recently replaced my front brake pads with an aftermarket brand. They work great, but I have noticed that they do not have as much stopping power than my original old pads. I have to push harder on the brake pedal to make the car slow down and stop, but under emergency braking situations, I have no problem stopping quickly.

Guest (MBNZ) · 04-01-2002, 08:51 PM

Kurt, That's typical with aftermarket pads. The 'feel' of different pads varies VERY widely from one brand to the next, and different compounds within each brand. The best bet for good all-around performance is to use OE (dealer) pads, or OEM pads (same mfr as the dealer pads) - Pagid, Textar, Jurid, and I think there's one more I forgot. Most of the non-German stuff (NAPA, etc) will probably feel different. If you want good initial feel, you can get a pad that will do that - but at the expense of fade resistance (you might get one hard stop before they start fading.) Conversely, a high-performace pad may have excellent fade resistance and stopping power, but feel a little 'wooden' at lower speeds and require more pedal pressure for daily use - kind of like you describe. What brand did you install, anyway?

Guest (MBNZ) · 04-03-2002, 08:22 AM

I bought the pads at advance auto parts. I believe they were made by Wearever? I wasn't really going for performance - they just happened to be the cheapest pads I could find. They seem to be breaking in a little more and stopping better now after a couple weeks of use (either that, or I'm getting used to the way they are stopping). At any rate, I'm pretty happy with them and learned a lot about my brakes. It's my first DIY on my car.