W212 E63 Rear brake lines

[Wenglish]

Hi everyone hope your well just a quick question that Im hoping someone can help with please. I had a service carried out last week at a Mercedes dealership and on the health check the only issue found was that they picked up that my rear brake lines had corrosion and marked it RED

Today i took off the rear wheels to have a little look and the driver side rear looks terrible picture attached but the passenger side looks absolutely fine

Ive personally never had to have brake lines done before on a vehicle I’ve owned so I messaged a Mercedes specialist today in Cardiff who stated it’s not a job he would take on and with no explanation why which has obviously got me worried

So Is this a big and expensive job and are all specialist going to be the same saying they won’t take it on ? Or can anyone recommend anywhere in South Wales that would do the job ?

The car in question is a 2015 W212 E63

Thank you

 

[johnsco]

That brake pipe corrosion looks really bad ....... REALLY BAD !!
It needs urgent attention.
Any MB main dealer or MB independent specialist should be able to do a competent repair.
The degree of difficulty and the cost will relate to the routing of the brake pipe.
I'm not familiar with your car - But the job will be doable- Maybe at some cost - Ouch.
Make sure the repairer uses copper-nickel brake pipe - Guaranteed salt-water corrosion-resistant.
They use it for salt-water pipe-lines on nuclear submarines.

 

[Wenglish]

That brake pipe corrosion looks really bad ....... REALLY BAD !!
It needs urgent attention.
Any MB main dealer or MB independent specialist should be able to do a competent repair.
The degree of difficulty and the cost will relate to the routing of the brake pipe.
I'm not familiar with your car - But the job will be doable- Maybe at some cost - Ouch.
Make sure the repairer uses copper-nickel brake pipe - Guaranteed salt-water corrosion-resistant.
They use it for salt-water pipe-lines on nuclear submarines.

Really appreciate it thank you

 

[DSM10000]

Some models requre the fuel tank to be dropped to follow the original run for the rear brake lines. Regardless I would want that pipework replaced without delay.

 

[Wenglish]

Some models requre the fuel tank to be dropped to follow the original run for the rear brake lines. Regardless I would want that pipework replaced without delay.

Thank you yes I’ll be getting it done as soon ASAP I’ll be calling a few places tomorrow

 

[johnsco]

If it is necessary to drop the tank, it would be a good idea to have a good look at the other side.
If the pipes are anything other than perfect, it would be prudent to do both rear wheels while there is access.
The system will need bleeding - So it makes sense to do both sides.

 

[MrGreedy]

If it's anything like the rest of the w212 series, they also run under the side sills, and can corrode badly under there as well.

There are a few posts on here with pictures where people have done it themselves. Also try the w211, as I believe @unclebuck did them on his w211.

This job shouldn't be any problem for a garage competent with brake lines. Of course, a specialist would be better who is familiar with the w212.

May be Avantguard in Bristol?

 

[jasonh]

Sometimes it's just one line that goes. On my 2014 W204 one brake line was really bad and all the the others perfect. According to MB technical data it's perfectly acceptable to just replace the bad section, not the whole line.

If you use genuine MB parts they'll be steel and can rust again, especially if not fitted in the factory because someone has to bend the lines to shape and feed them into place (potentially damaging the coating).

As mentioned above use Copper Nickel aka Cunifer lines (not copper, not steel). The fittings are standard DIN parts so any garage could do the job.

The price to be paid does depend a lot on how much line has to be replaced and what has to be removed to do the job. A one metre section that doesn't traverse the rear of the car may take an hour to do. Replacing a whole 4+ metre line that crosses the rear of the car, and runs down the underneath of the car to the ABS pump could take a day if the fuel tank or sub-frame needs lowering.

 

[Wenglish]

If it is necessary to drop the tank, it would be a good idea to have a good look at the other side.
If the pipes are anything other than perfect, it would be prudent to do both rear wheels while there is access.
The system will need bleeding - So it makes sense to do both sides.

Thank you I appreciate your time and yes good point I’ll get everything inspected and what needs doing will 100% be done when I can find a decent garage to take the job on thanks again

 

[Wenglish]

If it's anything like the rest of the w212 series, they also run under the side sills, and can corrode badly under there as well.

There are a few posts on here with pictures where people have done it themselves. Also try the w211, as I believe @unclebuck did them on his w211.

This job shouldn't be any problem for a garage competent with brake lines. Of course, a specialist would be better who is familiar with the w212.

May be Avantguard in Bristol?

Thank you for the input really appreciate it and great call about Avantguard I used them a few years ago on my previous S212 for a gearbox service fantastic garage

 

[Wenglish]

Sometimes it's just one line that goes. On my 2014 W204 one brake line was really bad and all the the others perfect. According to MB technical data it's perfectly acceptable to just replace the bad section, not the whole line.

If you use genuine MB parts they'll be steel and can rust again, especially if not fitted in the factory because someone has to bend the lines to shape and feed them into place (potentially damaging the coating).

As mentioned above use Copper Nickel aka Cunifer lines (not copper, not steel). The fittings are standard DIN parts so any garage could do the job.

The price to be paid does depend a lot on how much line has to be replaced and what has to be removed to do the job. A one metre section that doesn't traverse the rear of the car may take an hour to do. Replacing a whole 4+ metre line that crosses the rear of the car, and runs down the underneath of the car to the ABS pump could take a day if the fuel tank or sub-frame needs lowering.

Brilliant thank you for your Input and yes fully agree that I’m definitely not going down the Genuine OEM Route on the new lines after reading everything people have written about them.

Fingers crossed it’s only a small section that needs replacement and i won’t have to have the tank and sub lowered either way what ever needs doing will be done I’m going to try Avantgarde in Bristol to see if they can help

Thank you again mate

 

[W1ghty]

Thank you I appreciate your time and yes good point I’ll get everything inspected and what needs doing will 100% be done when I can find a decent garage to take the job on thanks again

Just remember MB will have to route the pipes where they are now , a specialist “may” know shortcuts that bring the price down even more (I’m assuming a specialist is probably half the hourly cost of MB anyway ?)
Yes those pipes look well corroded , everyone should be spraying them with ACF50 or similar when they first buy the car to try and protect them .

 

[Wenglish]

Just remember MB will have to route the pipes where they are now , a specialist “may” know shortcuts that bring the price down even more (I’m assuming a specialist is probably half the hourly cost of MB anyway ?)
Yes those pipes look well corroded , everyone should be spraying them with ACF50 or similar when they first buy the car to try and protect them .

Yes good points made thank you it will definitely be a MB specialist that dose the work

 

[AndrewOl]

All four corners on my 2010 A207 went like this. Fronts are usually worse than the back due to the amount of road rash. Not sure why MB didn’t put the join to the flex behind the wheel arch guard. Anyway it is what it is. I had to try a few places before I found someone Who would take it on and who I trusted. Now comes the tricky bit! Changing the complete length is usually very difficult apart from usually the short one on the front. On mine the pipes were in great condition apart from the last 150mm or so. I decided to cut the steel pipes on three of the lines in a spot out of the way and flare the pipe. You need to pick a good spot for access as putting a flare on steel brake pipes is a bit trickier than working with copper. I’m sure someone will be along to tell me this is a terrible idea and of course changing the complete length is the best engineering solution. However the works were inspected by an mot tester and passed as ok. If you do decide to go down this route watch out for garages that suggest using an olive coupling rather than a flared one. They are not a great solution.

 

[Rich764089]

everyone should be spraying them with ACF50 or similar when they first buy the car to try and protect them .

I usually reserve the ACF50 for my land rover, but will be getting under the MB ASAP now!

Good luck getting sorted, OP

 

[Wenglish]

All four corners on my 2010 A207 went like this. Fronts are usually worse than the back due to the amount of road rash. Not sure why MB didn’t put the join to the flex behind the wheel arch guard. Anyway it is what it is. I had to try a few places before I found someone Who would take it on and who I trusted. Now comes the tricky bit! Changing the complete length is usually very difficult apart from usually the short one on the front. On mine the pipes were in great condition apart from the last 150mm or so. I decided to cut the steel pipes on three of the lines in a spot out of the way and flare the pipe. You need to pick a good spot for access as putting a flare on steel brake pipes is a bit trickier than working with copper. I’m sure someone will be along to tell me this is a terrible idea and of course changing the complete length is the best engineering solution. However the works were inspected by an mot tester and passed as ok. If you do decide to go down this route watch out for garages that suggest using an olive coupling rather than a flared one. They are not a great solution.

Thanks for the detailed reply mate very grateful

 

[Wenglish]

I usually reserve the ACF50 for my land rover, but will be getting under the MB ASAP now!

Good luck getting sorted, OP

Yes me to Thank you

 

[ALFAitalia]

I've seen worse.....some times it just a hit of surface flaking that makes it look worse than it is. I was advised about corroded brake like on one of my cars a few years back....looked much like that. I removed all the lose surface flakes and the pipe was solid with only slight pitting and no obvious thinning. I treated it with a corrosion preventative and sprayed it mat black....to match the rest. Not been mentioned on any MOT since. Important to say that these pipes are quite important!......any deep pits or thinning in section should mean instant replacement.....but as said you can save money but just replacing the corroded sections and using proper flared connection....NO COMPRESSION FITTINGS!!

 

[Wenglish]

I've seen worse.....some times it just a hit of surface flaking that makes it look worse than it is. I was advised about corroded brake like on one of my cars a few years back....looked much like that. I removed all the lose surface flakes and the pipe was solid with only slight pitting and no obvious thinning. I treated it with a corrosion preventative and sprayed it mat black....to match the rest. Not been mentioned on any MOT since. Important to say that these pipes are quite important!......any deep pits or thinning in section should mean instant replacement.....but as said you can save money but just replacing the corroded sections and using proper flared connection....NO COMPRESSION FITTINGS!!

Thanks mate yes had another little look this afternoon and tried to clean it as best I could definitely a improvement and no thinning etc But still don’t look to good dose it

 

[unclebuck]

yes yes.. off that has to come.. did mine on the old clk, got a second hand rear subframe that was in excellent condition, removed the bushes etc and had it blasted and re coated.

The brake pipes were a little bit worse than yours and I bought everything to replace mine back to good pipe, I got the best fittings I could and anti corrosion pipe.
Spent a couple of hours on each one getting things cleaned, coated and bent into shape and fitted, it was quite relaxing.

If its not something that you want to do then yes the guys at Avantguarde are high on my reccomendation list, steve and the guys there know thier stuff ( I was drooling over the two mclaren slr's they had in when mine was in).

Give them a call and tell Lee that the guys at the forum told you to go there!! Steve does pop in here from time to time also.

For me if one is bad then the other will not be far off, get them all checked and changed if need be.

I haven't had any issues with the cls since i stripped it all down and rebuilt it, spending this weekend putting new front discs and pads on, cleaning the link arms and wheel well's while they are off and give it all a check over.