Ahhh, you're saying all the magic words. You searched!! I searched too (and also on MBWorld) and could find only questions, no answers.

You could purchase a subscription to Alldata - http://www.alldata.com/ - and download instructions. It would likely be less expensive than having the dealer adjust it, and you could go back for other questions.

 

Here is how I adjusted my parking brakes:
Take the rear wheel off, observe how freely rotor turns while turning by hand.

Align one of the lug bolt holes with the adjusting wheel inside. Mine was at aligning one of the holes at 2 o'clock position. Hold a flashlight into the hole to see what the tooth of the wheel inside looks like and insert a flat blade screwdriver through the hole and catch beetween 2 teeth.

Start moving the screwdriver handle upward (tip of the screwdriver moving downward)to turn the adjusting wheel clockwise, do about 2 turns and turn the rotor to see if there is a slight resistance turning the rotors and adjust more or less depending on the resistance.

 

Thanks, xexpo - yours is the only answer I have seen; many folks have asked.

 

My pleasure, I hope I was clear enough.

One should note, I read that the adjusting wheel could be at different positions on different model and years. You just have to look for it.

 

Good to know, I never realized these are adjustable. Only time I use mine is once a year for my annual inspection at the DMV. Ahh, everytime I go there I just hope it holds. They are quick to fail you for that stuff.

 

need to do this on mine also

 

I know this is an old thread however, I'm having a similar problem. When I engage the parking brake I can feel the tension as the brake does it's job. Once I remove my foot from pedal, it returns to it's original position. Whether up or down hill, the car will roll shifting weight to transmission. So in a nut shell, the parking brakes just aren't locking in place. My question here is, can the info given in this thread be applied to my problem?

 

after adjusting the teeth I read that the next step is to Lift center holddown clip using a screwdriver so that the cable slack adjuster sets itself automatically.

 

Just to add supporting doc's from WIS........

Hope this helps.

 

I took my car 2003 sl500 to shop and seems like they pulled the parking break too hard that the tension on parking pedal was removed from the actual hole and this caused the pedal it never stayed down when pushed and was coming back up.
I worked all day on Saturday and finally got it fixed by taking the plastic cover off where the parking pedal is located and put the pedal tension spring back to the right hole. And this fixed the issue.

 

New S500 2001 owner, can someone tell/show me where the parking brake cable slack adjust/release is located? I have complete slack in the cable and the pull handle will not stay in, sticks out.

Also the parking brake lever does not stay when applied, just comes right back out. I suppose the cable release is engaged?

 

Hi,

Well you definitely need to at least look at and maybe replace the Footpedal Assy, and the Release Handle / Cable.

Then you will probably need to Check the entire Cable System, and probably also remove the Rear Discs, and again inspect and renew Parts as needed, don't forget to check the Shoe Actuators aren't seized, and finally, you need to Release the Cable Self Adjuster, locking it off with its Spring Clip BEFORE adjusting the Shoes.
Release the Self Adjuster once Shoes are adjusted correctly.

Procedures are probably in our Encyclopaedia, but if not get a look at WIS :wink

So, in a nutshell, complete Park Brake Check and O/Haul

HTH,

Cheers Dave

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I got lucky it seems.

I got a picture of the pedal assy on eBay, compared then found that someone had pulled the release handle so hard that the copper colored flat wire was completely out of its recess.

I was able to use two screw drivers, one to pry up on the wire the other with a 90 degree hook to pull the wire back into the recess of the plastic detent part.

I did adjust both rear parking brakes to 10 clicks out from lock. Also found a picture of the cable slack release part, it is located in back under the car right above the drive shaft.

 

Hi,

Well I hope you're right and you have had a result ...............

But adjusting the Shoes with the Cable Slack adjuster not let off is really a pointless exercise.

Also 10 clicks backing off sounds waaaaaay to loose, I usually let them off one or 2 clicks so they are rubbing slightly

Finally, unless you have checked, it is likely that the Shoe Actuators are seized, (well it is in our Rainy Salty Climate), and I do often find Shoes, Springs etc have fallen off and disintegrated too :wink

These Parking Brakes are great but only if you do them right and thoroughly, and set them up properly afterwards.

Cheers Dave

 

Actually just purchased the car, it has been in Georgia most of its life. The PO replaced the rear discs 115,000 miles in 7/2016. I expect the parking brakes were okay at that point as he would be able to inspect.

I found the 10 clicks off posted in my research, will check the specs. The parking brake holds strong and dash lights BRAKES, so I'm happy at this point. It looks very clean back there.

Also I was able to adjust the clicker without removing the wheel, just one wheel bolt.

 

Actually just purchased the car, it has been in Georgia most of its life. The PO replaced the rear discs 115,000 miles in 7/2016. I expect the parking brakes were okay at that point as he would be able to inspect.

I found the 10 clicks off posted in my research, will check the specs. The parking brake holds strong and dash lights BRAKES, so I'm happy at this point. It looks very clean back there.

Also I was able to adjust the clicker without removing the wheel, just one wheel bolt.

 

I had the same problem with my 2003 S430 - the parking brake pedal would not stay down, so the brakes were never applied.

The "the copper colored flat wire" is one end of a stout flat spring that is coiled around a cylindrical aluminum spigot that is part of the main casting. When the pedal is pushed down, the spring should tighten where it is wrapped around the cylinder, and seize it so that the pedal is held down. At the same time, the spring presses the toothed black plastic part into contact with teeth on the cylinder, which holds the spring tightly wrapped around the cylinder. When the brake release is pulled, it pulls the black plastic part away from the teeth on the cylinder, which allows the spring to relax, which allows the pedal to return, which releases the brakes.

In the fullness of time, the end of the spring bends enough that it slips out of the slot on the black plastic piece, so that the teeth are no longer pressed together, so the spring is not held wrapped tightly around the aluminum cylinder, so the pedal is not held down, so the brakes are not applied. The diagnostic clue is that you no longer hear clicks when you press the pedal down. The repair is to either bend the spring back enough to stay in its slot in the black plastic piece (which is not easy), or to start replacing things (which is even less easy).

There should not really ever be any wear on the parking brake shoes, unless you drive with them pressed against the drum, so there should not be any need for adjustment, other than stretching of the steel cables or distortion of the cable attachments.

Georgia cars (other than those very near the coasts) rarely see salt, so few cars in our area will see rust in the parking brake system. Those who live on small islands or in colder climates do, of course, have vehicles which suffer from salt-fed steel termites...

 

After driving, found that the parking brake will not return, but at least I avoided the impulse of pulling harder on the release. After some more research, seems the parking brake was designed wrong and they replaced with modified version later, but my car has the old version.

Ordered the new assy, will advise after install my results.

 

After finding the new mod pedal assy on ebay, I installed and problem is fixed. The old one could have been replaced for free by dealer by 1st owner if only they had said that the parking brake does not stay engaged. There is a TSB.

Anyway, I'm fixed. Pretty hard job to replace pedal assy, but the car is new to me, so took a while to figure it out. Cable had to be released at the rear auto adjustment junction to give slack to reinstall in new pedal.

You need to remove the side panel on end of dash to access the parking brake switch and remove the wire connectors before removing the pedal. You will have to lay on your back to work in there, I used an army cot stretched out right next to the rocker panel to support me the right height while working.

I was also surprised that all the bolts are SAE.
The picture below is the MOD part. The difference between original (bad design) and MOD, this one has the BLACK BUTTON on pedal in FRONT. Refer to the picture above, the original has the button in the middle.