[MBGraham]

I too am having issues with brake pads. They're all too thick, need to be ground down.

I am sure others may have too, so I will pass on what I have found so far. If others have more or better info please post.

The FSM says that in about 1980, the front calipers were modified so that they would accept 17.5mm thick pads. Prior to that, the pads were 15mm thick. The opening where the pads fit is wider on the new calipers. It would appear from EPC that this happened at about chassis 62584. There were various pad numbers, and current seems to be 0014209920. This used on late 450SL and 380SL.

It looks to me like
Up to Chassis 9730, pads part is A0014207720 15mm thickness ( ATE link says for 043 350SL, but early 044 cars must have got these too. Same dimensions as my 72 044.)
Between chassis 9730 and chassis 62584, the pads appear to have part A0004206420. 15mm thickness)
Above that for 450SL and 380SL A0014209920 (15 or 17.5mm - ATE are 16.7mm it says)

Another puzzle, is that several vendor's sites show part number 0014207720 when I enter a 1972 350SL, with a break at chassis 13877. (some say to early December 1973).

I don't know for sure when the wear sensors were introduced nut it looks like chassis 9730. Pads are then wider.

For the calipers, this is what EPC says (for Right side). It appears bolt spacing on our early SLs is different. Something to be aware of if changing calipers! Better to get existing rebuilt! The ATE classic site catalog is a good reference:

Part 0014213098 up to chassis 3621 (ATE Site reference)
My 72 350SL chassis 25xx has that same 22 on side.

Part 0024215798 up to chassis 9721

Part 1074200383 up to chassis 62584 (before increase in pad thickness?)

For those of you in UK, please support SLShop seeing I "borrowed" their useful pictures

 

[MBGraham]

I ordered a set of Bosch BP145 pads. Partly because they came with new hardware and partly because they were all I could find in stock on-line in Canada at a reasonable price. AS it is, Amazon has not shipped even although they said they had stock. So I have time to cancel (not due for 3 weeks and my car is on jack stands!) (THEY were WRONG! Cancelled)

Amazon say they fit a 72 350SL, but to check that, I went to:
Bosch site. It says they will fit. But it does not give thickness.
However Autohaus say they don't fit!
Pelican say they will fit and give thickness as 15mm (they earn points!)

Using the number for our early SLs (A0014207720 ), this is what SL shop says:

Replacement front brake pads to fit later and selected early 350 & 450 SL R107 models. Please call us with your cars details at the ready if you are not 100% sure which pads to order.

Seems buying pads for our SLs is not that straight forward, even for the pros!

 

[masand68]

Thanks for this Graham. I’m following this as we have similar vintages and I’ll be doing brakes soon.

Mods, could this thread be placed in the egv107 stickies?


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[MBGraham]

Thanks for this Graham. I’m following this as we have similar vintages and I’ll be doing brakes soon.
Mods, could this thread be placed in the egv107 stickies?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hope the info I posted is correct, but the history of the changes and the subsequent part number changes is not easy to follow or understand. I wish we had a parts expert from one of the vendors who could make things totally clear.

It could be that different vendors made changes at different times. In looking at Centric pads on RockAuto, it looked like their change takes place at end of 72 and the difference seems to be that the wear sensor attachment was added. But, as we can see below, this caused a change in dimensions

Checking Textar site, it seems that there is a much bigger difference in pads before/after chassis 9730. The pads changed size!

These for cars up to chassis 9729 (these are same dimensions as my 72 has)

These for 9730 to 62584. The wear sensor caused them to be wider!

Need to check other vendors

 

[MBGraham]

I ordered a set of Bosch BP145 pads. Partly because they came with new hardware and partly because they were all I could find in stock on-line in Canada at a reasonable price. AS it is, Amazon has not shipped even although they said they had stock. So I have time to cancel (not due for 3 weeks and my car is on jack stands!)

Amazon say they fit a 72 350SL, but to check that, I went to:
Bosch site. It says they will fit. But it does not give thickness.
However Autohaus say they don't fit!
Pelican say they will fit and give thickness as 15mm (they earn points!)

Looking at picture and now understanding that the pads with the wear sensor are wider, I just cancelled my order!

Looks like only Autohaus were right about these not fitting. Pretty sure there are no 72 350SLs with VIN as high as 9729.

 

[MBGraham]

For those with 350/450SLs with chassis number under 9730, and original calipers, the following is the part number you need when ordering FRONT pads 0014207720. For the rear, the number good up to chassis 58150 is 0014200620

The front pads are essentially the same as those used on a number of other 60s and early 70s cars. Many Benzes, Alfas, Ferraris!, Porsche and VW Transporters/Vanagons. You would think the pads should be in good supply, but they don't seem to be.

Autohaus Arizona list ATE D112A and a Textar with no number. Be careful, because they don't always say if for front or rear.
Pelican list ATE and Textar
FCP list only rear pads.
RM European list the ATE and Textar pads for the front pad part number.
RockAuto don't have ATE/Textar. They do have Centric 10200450. Very low cost! plus something called Dynamic Friction. They also show a lot of others none of which will fit because they are for later cars.

In Canada, we have more limited choices and I won't go there. I actually bought the cheap Centric pads from Rock, because I was still researching these pads and wouldn't lose much if they were wrong! The Centric 10200450 will, I believe fit and will probably do until I eventually buy new Textar or ATEs. (The OE MB pads that I have removed are made by Textar.)

To summarize, looks like Textar or ATE are best choice, part 0014207720 for fronts. Make sure they don't have clip for wear sensor and dimensions are 70x76.6 as per drawing upthread. And they should be 15mm thick including backing plate. Not 17.5mm as used on some post 1980 cars.

For rears, just make sure pads chosen are part 0014200620 for chassis less than #58150.

 

[MBGraham]

I have edited some of the posts above to add links to the ATE site. There they have an on-line catalog that caters to older classic cars.

All you need to do, is enter the Mercedes part number (or any other reference) in the top search bar. It will find the part and give you a lot of info about that part. Click on link below to try it:

TecDoc

TecDoc Catalogue by TecAlliance - one of the world's leading global vehicle and spare parts catalogues for the automotive aftermarket based on the TecDoc standard.

web.tecalliance.net

On the lower right side, there is an item "Vehicle Linkage" Below that it will say Mercedes Benz and perhaps some other marques. Click on that and it will tell you which cars the part fits.

 

[Nate Y]

Excellent thread. Thanks for the research and posting the results!

As a side note, my '76 SLC with vented rotors takes the 15mm pads. A lot of back and forth with my local parts store.

 

[TZ_280SEL]

Seems to be a common issue now. I know I'm not a R107 owner (W108 4.5) but just went through the same issue. Nobody stocks vented rotors for the w108 chassis any more. (they were very common up until a year ago). They now only have non-vented rotors and the associated thicker pads that go with them. I was finally able to find the early ATE pads at RockAuto last week (I believe same pads as early R107 with ATE calipers) To date, I've only found rotors at $275 each or at $30 each with a delivery in November. Not sure if it is a stock out thing or if manufacturers have decided to stop supporting these older Benz.

 

[MBGraham]

Excellent thread. Thanks for the research and posting the results!

As a side note, my '76 SLC with vented rotors takes the 15mm pads. A lot of back and forth with my local parts store.

As I found out and posted above, the move to 17.5mm pads takes place in about 1979/80. 15mm pads can however be used with the wider calipers

I am hoping to install new pads tomorrow which is when Fedex promise delivery. But this afternoon, they had just left Fedex in New Jersey. Long way to go before delivery truck arrives here !

 

[MBGraham]

I was amazed that those pads, ordered from Rock, arrived on schedule. Ordered on Monday, arrived Thursday mid-day, installed Thursday afternoon. The pads had to go from Syracuse (just 2hr drive from us) to Newark, NJ. Then to Mississauga (near Toronto) where cleared by customs. Then by truck to Kingston (near us) then by delivery van to our home. With Rock, we don't have to be concerned with customs clearance or taxes. All prepaid and they quote is in C$!

The Centric pads were dead cheap! But at least the right ones for our early cars. So far, they seem to work just fine. I had to shave a hair off top and bottom of backing plates. Maybe I could have run file on caliper. But otherwise they fitted fine. They have shims installed, so slightly more than 15mm, but they went in OK.

 

[Chrisr107]

I was amazed that those pads, ordered from Rock, arrived on schedule. Ordered on Monday, arrived Thursday mid-day, installed Thursday afternoon. The pads had to go from Syracuse (just 2hr drive from us) to Newark, NJ. Then to Mississauga (near Toronto) where cleared by customs. Then by truck to Kingston (near us) then by delivery van to our home. With Rock, we don't have to be concerned with customs clearance or taxes. All prepaid and they quote is in C$!

The Centric pads were dead cheap! But at least the right ones for our early cars. So far, they seem to work just fine. I had to shave a hair off top and bottom of backing plates. Maybe I could have run file on caliper. But otherwise they fitted fine. They have shims installed, so slightly more than 15mm, but they went in OK.

Hey MBGraham, I happen to also have the older style caliper with the 22 on it, with the 57mm piston. My 450 sl has a manufacture date of 7/72 and the chassis number is in the low 6 thousand. I happen to need a rebuild kit for my front calipers. If you could be so kind, would you happen to know where I can get one for this style of ATE caliper? Thank you!

 

[MBGraham]

Hey MBGraham, I happen to also have the older style caliper with the 22 on it, with the 57mm piston. My 450 sl has a manufacture date of 7/72 and the chassis number is in the low 6 thousand. I happen to need a rebuild kit for my front calipers. If you could be so kind, would you happen to know where I can get one for this style of ATE caliper? Thank you!

Sorry, I have not researched sources for the rebuild kits. They must be available if rebuilders can do the job. I would get a rebuilder to do the job. Otherwise check SLSHOP in UK or a German on-line parts source.

 

[NYw126-91]

BTW as info for a future search. Re-build kits for the earlier 57mm front piston calipers, can be ordered from the manufacturer in Spain. SLS uses "Frenkit" and that's what I used.

 

[NYw126-91]

Follow up: CTEK front pads 102.00450 will not fit an early 107 with ATE 22 front calipers. The pin spacing of 55 mm is good but the pad is 17mm and too thick. I ordered Textar 0014207720 from RMeuropean today. Let's see if they fit.

 

[MBGraham]

Follow up: CTEK front pads 102.00450 will not fit an early 107 with ATE 22 front calipers. The pin spacing of 55 mm is good but the pad is 17mm and too thick. I ordered Textar 0014207720 from RMeuropean today. Let's see if they fit.

Those Centric 10200450 pads fitted my 72 chassis 2592 with ATE 22 calipers.

As posted upthread, the backing plate edges needed very slight shaving. The pads were slightly thicker than the 15mm due to integral shims but still could still be fitted. Been in for a couple of years now with no problems.

 

[NYw126-91]

It's kinda frustrating but eventually will be resolved. The Centric was the correct 55mm spacing, so I opened the plastic wrap and then the excitement quickly evaporated when they didn't slide in. Disc is 22mm and space between disc surface and the caliper is 17mm on both sides, so the new pads at 20mm each are not going in. I bought these off Amazon so returning them is a breeze.
Now I'm exploring the Textar B342-020A. To be continued... and Thanks! Chassis 5542 6/72

 

[MBGraham]

It's kinda frustrating but eventually will be resolved. The Centric was the correct 55mm spacing, so I opened the plastic wrap and then the excitement quickly evaporated when they didn't slide in. Disc is 22mm and space between disc surface and the caliper is 17mm on both sides, so the new pads at 20mm each are not going in. I bought these off Amazon so returning them is a breeze.
Now I'm exploring the Textar B342-020A. To be continued... and Thanks! Chassis 5542 6/72

Something wrong there. Pads couldn't be 20mm thick?
Even the thicker pads used on later cars are only 17.5mm thick including the backing (I just measured a spare set for my 85.) The Centric 10200450 pads should be 14.5mm thick On my car they fitted fine.
Here are the specs:

Disc Brake Pad Set

Disc Brake Pad Set

www.centricparts.com

 

[NYw126-91]

Here's a pic.

 

[CousinMB]

Here's a pic.

Can't argue with ol Bob Vernier