W211 front brake wheel imbalance

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ajmalsherif

New Member
Joined
May 13, 2015
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5
Car
Mercedes
Thanks for checking

My beloved 20 year old E240 Avantguard failed the MOT in Nov 21 due to front brake imbalance. The front right wheel calliper had 50% more force then the left.
As I had little choice I took it into West London Mercedes as I thought it was due to the new SBC pump which Merc had fitted in March 21.
The dealer charged me £600 pounds to do various checks. The callipers were good and they bled the brakes. They said all was fine except for some missing bolts on the front ESP sensor which they replaced. They also said there were no fault codes coming from the SBC unit.
However, when I took it back to the Mot ctr it barely passed for the same imbalance reason. I subsequently changed the front discs and repeated the drum roll test at another Center, and again was told that it only just passes

I am concerned I will have the same issue next year but by then the SBC will be out of warranty.

I am not sure what to do. If anyone has had this issue or know of a merc brake expert please let me know

Thanks,
 
Out of interest have you recently had brake word done.

And why take a 20 year old merc to a MB dealer for much work. You need to find a MB i dependent near you.
 
Perhaps it's the hubs or warped discs? Speak with Star-Tec in Tolworth and they should be able to sort you out.
 
I doubt that it is the SBC pump; at 20 years old my first bet would be on a collapsing flexi brake hose and second would be sticking pads in the caliper. It might be worth changing the hoses anyway if they are the originals; they are not expensive. This sort of work is best undertaken by an old school mechanic not the main dealer.
 
Many thanks for replies. Only reason I took it to Merc was because they had replaced the SBC pump a few months before and my usual mechanic had checked everything else…but points taken on board- thanks for the replies

(Can’t tell you how completely crap my experience was with West London Mercedes. Flag ship dealer 😂)
 
There are quite a large number of complaints about the service from main dealers on here - your best bet is to take it to a recommended independent MB specialist - if you let us know where you are someone local will give you a recommendation.
 
Brake imbalance really means that one of the calipers is less effective than the other. This is the caliper the former needs checked first. Has anyone stripped out the pads and checked the caliper piston(s) for free movement? If not, that is the first place to check.
 

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