My '99 CLK 320 failed her MoT today (the Uk's yearly road-worthiness test). Rear offside disc pitted and front offside brake pipe twisted and stretched.
I'm not totally inept with all things mechanical but how big a job is it to change the discs and the brake pipe, is it something I should be able to achieve myself or best left to a garage? I'm planning to change both rear discs (or have them changed) but would rather do this myself if it's a basic job that doesn't require specialist tools.
My '99 CLK 320 failed her MoT today (the Uk's yearly road-worthiness test). Rear offside disc pitted and front offside brake pipe twisted and stretched.
I'm not totally inept with all things mechanical but how big a job is it to change the discs and the brake pipe, is it something I should be able to achieve myself or best left to a garage? I'm planning to change both rear discs (or have them changed) but would rather do this myself if it's a basic job that doesn't require specialist tools.
All advice gratefully received!
Hi mate, sorry to hear about your MOT.
I too am learning as I go so, unfortunately, I won't be able to help too much. I am fortunate enough to have a friend at MB who usually does all the mechanical side of things.
However, the rear discs.
I believe that the discs are fastened into place by one bolt which has an "Allen" key head on it.
If you remove one of your rear wheels, you will be looking at the hub face. On this face are the 5 bolt holes for the wheel bolts and you will also see the Allen key head of the bolt I am refering to. I assume that removing this bolt will enable you to remove the disc.
Now, I have not actually changed discs myself yet but there would be no harm done if you undid this bolt to see if the disc pops off.
I believe that changing discs is pretty basic stuff so I can't see it being much more complicated than I have described.
I'm afraid I have no experience with brake hoses.
Hope this has helped.
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My '99 CLK 320 failed her MoT today (the Uk's yearly road-worthiness test). Rear offside disc pitted and front offside brake pipe twisted and stretched.
I'm not totally inept with all things mechanical but how big a job is it to change the discs and the brake pipe, is it something I should be able to achieve myself or best left to a garage? I'm planning to change both rear discs (or have them changed) but would rather do this myself if it's a basic job that doesn't require specialist tools.
All advice gratefully received!
Hi there, Changing the discs & pads could not be simpler, I changed all four on my CLK230 on a Saturday morning!
Firstly get your rear discs (rotors) & pads from a MB dealer, the original parts were only about £10 more than the local accessory shop, plus you will also get 2 new locking screws that secure the discs & a tube of copper based grease.
Jack up the rear of the car and support on stands or blocks, the handbrake MUST be off to enable you to remove the discs. Remove the wheels. Remove the 2 bolts that hold the caliper to the rear of the hub, I think these were 19mm if I remember correctly. Slide the caliper away from the disc and tie up out of the way so not to stress the hose. Remove the screw that holds the disc to the hub, you will need an allen key for this (4 or 5mm). Now slowly turn and tap the outside edge of the disc with a mallet, while you pull the disc away from the hub. DO NOT force, the handbrake shoes are inside the rear of the disc and you will only jam them on tighter if you use to much force. Hopefully you now have removed the disc!
Before installing the new disc give the handbrake shoes a bit of a clean to remove any brake dust.
Fit the new disc over the hub & shoes, aligning the screw hole, and install the new locking screw that you got with the discs.
Refit the caliper over the disc and secure with the 2 bolts to the hub. You should now replace the old pads, this is easily done by pushing out the 2 pins that secure them into the caliper (I used a nail as a thin punch). Pull out the 2 pads, clean around the caliper & push the pistons back flush into the caliper, coat the backs of the new pads with the grease, insert into caliper, & then reinsert the 2 pins.
Refit the wheel & then start on the other side.
My local dealer quoted me £540 to replace all four disc/pad sets, it cost me about £200 for all of the parts plus an hour on each of the four wheels.
Hope this helps, Steve.
PS. Changing the hose is simple, it's the bleeding of the hydraulic system that's the pain!
Thanks for the advice, I took the plunge and bought rear discs, pads all round etc from my local dealer. Much easier than I expected and all now sorted.
Did not have to change the front brake hose, whomever had replaced the pads last time twisted the calliper and introduced the twist/stretch in the hose. Reversing this resolved the issue with no ill effects to hose. Took her in today to be partial re-tested and got a clean bill of health
The MoT? It's an hour long test that involves a number of areas. They test the emissions, test braking force of each wheel on a rolling road and other safety areas such as rust at key areas, tyres, mandatory lighting, safety systems etc.
Every car over three years old requires the test annually.
The MoT? It's an hour long test that involves a number of areas. They test the emissions, test braking force of each wheel on a rolling road and other safety areas such as rust at key areas, tyres, mandatory lighting, safety systems etc.
Every car over three years old requires the test annually.
Are you kidding?
Here we have a RWC (roadworthy certificate) that you must get only if you sell the car. So if you keep the car for 10 years, all you have to do is pay the renewal for rego every year and thats it!
And our tests aren't that in depth. Basically all lights must work, tyres must have good tread, windscreen must be chip free, brakes must have good amount of rubber and bobs your aunty. Oh, and you can't have any oil leaks.
While I don't want to overcomplicate things, I'd say it's worth getting a decent quality torque wrench – the caliper bolts on my CLK200 (another UK car) require something like 115 Nm of torque, which is a fair bit. The little locking bolt only needs ten! (By the way, check these, I'm going from memory). Needless to say, you also need to get some form of workshop manual. Have a look for the seller "motor-manual" on eBay.
I'd say that, if you're in the UK, and it's the first time you've started dabbling with your own brake work etc, maybe do it just before an MoT –*that way you'll be having a qualified mechanic check your work.
As an aside, it makes me laugh in this country the amount of effort some people go to to find a "dodgy" MoT inspector who'll let their car through without a proper look. You're paying for their time, whether they do the job or not, so why not take advantage of the situation, and check everything's okay, and more importantly, safe. The best inspectors I've found are thorough, but sensible –*a reflector had fallen off my motorbike at one test – the inspector just stuck a new one on the number plate and passed it... much better than failling it and sending me away for a retest later.
Are you kidding?
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