SL60 brake problem........

[nickg]

Took my recently purchased SL60 amg out for a nice blast last night and was happily motoring along at around 70mph (on a dual carriageway).
All of a sudden the guy behind me starts flashing his lights and waving at me to pull over.
We pulled over in a layby and he told me that my passenger side rear brake was glowing red hot and had smoke coming off it - he thought it was going to catch fire........
After letting him pull away (thought he might be trying to car-jack me!!) I took a look.
Being completely ignorant of all technical mechanical matters I didn't really know what I was looking for but the smell/heat coming from that wheel certainly seemed to indicate a problem.
Anyway, I drove the last 5 miles home carefully and the car is now sitting on the drive, waiting to be collected by the garage this morning.
The car had only done about 2500 miles in the last 18 months before I bought it - could this have led to a problem with the brakes?
Any comments would be welcome as I'm waiting with baited breath for some bad news!!

 

[guydewdney]

stuck caliper... simple job, take apart, clean, new seals? might need new disc and pads if its fecked it... double check - jack that corner up (you can use merc jack) and try to turn wheel (obv in neutral with handbrake off) - do this on flat ground and chock the front wheels with somthing (like old bricks / stones). if the caliper is stuck, you wont be able to turn wheel.

 

[nickg]

thanks - sounds simple. Hope it is.
car is being driven to george fraser garage this morning. will see what they have to say...

 

[nickg]

caliper removed, cleaned etc - being road-tested this afternoon and if still knackered then new part to be ordered - c£200-£300 cost apparently.
part is likely to have to be ordered from MBUK (milton keynes) or failing that Germany!!
Anyone know how long parts take to come from germany??

 

[KLP 92]

A few days in my experience.
Sorry to hear about the troubles mate. I had a similar problem on my old 500SL. Common problem if the cars been standing for long durations.
Didn't the car drive differently with the caliper stuck?
Anyway your cars in good hands!

 

[nickg]

interesting question about whether it drove differently. The thought crossed my mind for a few seconds when I first set out in the car, but then I put my foot down, it dropped down into third and took off towards the horizon v quickly anyway.....I must still be used to the 320.
anyway the short answer is that I didn't notice any significant difference whilst driving.
luckily I have no pressing need for the car over the next few days so fingers crossed I won't be too inconvenienced...
I've never bought a car yet that doesn't have a few things go wrong up front. Hope this is the worst of my problems or this car could be a seriously wallet-draining exercise.

 

[nickg]

Need to replace both calipers at same time?

Replying to my own posts now.....
if I need 1 new brake caliper, is there any safety issue in not replacing both at the same time?

 

[guydewdney]

no - but get the otehr one 'serviced' - taken apart, cleaned, greased etc. if discs are replaced, replace both. new pads are prob needed on dead caliper, so new pads both sides...

 

[Tan]

Nick

If you dont have a warranty on the car it may be worth looking at one like the AA, they cover alot of items and allow main dealer rates. Plus dealers can be quite co-operative when it is another companies warranty work

 

[nickg]

First of all thanks for the responses yesterday - your advice is very helpful to those of us who just drive these machines without knowing how they work!

Well - George Fraser came up trumps (I think).
I rang him at 8.30 yesterday morning, he picked the car up from my house before lunch, stripped down the brake, cleaned it up, drained brake fluid all around and replaced with new.
He then put it all back together and test drove it, finding nothing wrong. He delivered the car back to me at 6.30 last night and didn't charge me anything.
I spoke to him on the phone and he said that he thought everything was fine and he was satisfied that the car was safe.
He also said that an MB dealer would have just taken the extra safe route of changing the caliper and master cylinder and if I still wanted to go ahead with this then he would order the parts but it was going to be £'hundreds.
So, I took the car for a long drive last night, every so often getting out and checking the rear wheels for signs of excessive heat etc - nothing. All seemed to be fine.
Question is - do I change the parts for new or leave it as is? I am completely unsure of what to do. Car seems fine and the job would obviously be costly, but what price safety and peace of mind??
I've asked George to get prices for the parts in the meantime.

Re the warranty - I have been considering getting an AA warranty - but would a job like this be covered? Wouldn't they just say that it was down to "normal wear and tear" - along with just about everything else on a 7.5yr old car?
The AA warranty doesn't cover anything for 30 days from date of purchase. If I thought they would pay for the brakes I could buy it now and then get the job done in say 6 weeks - they wouldn't know the difference and the warranty will have paid for itself straight off.

Any thoughts? I might ask George if he thinks it would be a warranty job.

 

[Tan]

The AA website does have all the info on it regarding what parts are covered. When I asked George my climate control problem he indicated that it would not be covered, however my local MB dealer managed to get it changed under the warranty. My personal opinion is that if an MB dealer calls the warranty company and says that "xyz" is wrong they are more likely to be believed. People like us know the expertise of people like George whereas someone sitting in a claims department wont, to them he is just another car mechanic. Alot is down to the garage if they tell the warranty company that its not wear and tear then they will pay. I have had cases (on a signature warranty) that the dealer described the wrong part and the claim was declined when i rang to query it they realised the mistake and paid out.

 

[nickg]

Tan - you're absolutely right. However, I've just been checking the AA website and found the following - seems pretty conclusive......

Extract of AA Warranty Ts&Cs:
7. Braking System
All parts are covered excluding: worn friction materials, worn surfaces and seized components.

 

[Tan]

Tan - you're absolutely right. However, I've just been checking the AA website and found the following - seems pretty conclusive......

Extract of AA Warranty Ts&Cs:
7. Braking System
All parts are covered excluding: worn friction materials, worn surfaces and seized components.

I guess it does, still worth considering though, considering the cost of things like the gearbox!

 

[nickg]

you're right. perhaps I should leave the brakes as they are and buy an AA warranty for £472.......

Going back to my main issue - should I get the caliper and master cylinder changed?

 

[Tan]

Personally i would certainly need to know that the brakes were in order! If you dont change them, you could get a second opion from a dealer who can check them without knowing what had happened so it wont cloud their judgement.