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W212 Rear Brake Pad change - how to guide

PeeTee

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Feb 21, 2017
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46
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E39 M5, E46 M3, F31 335d, 182 Trophy
hi all,

Is this something that can be done at home ? I have a 61plate 350cdi


Many thanks
 
Hi,

It is something that can be done at home.

You will need the correct equipment -- decent jack, axle stands, spanners, sockets, G clamp, etc.

It is a straightforward job:-
Place chocks at the wheel(s) you aren't raising.
Jack one rear wheel up.
Put axle stands under the appropriate solid location (I use suspension swivel joints, others use under the back axle.
Remove the wheel
* -- see below
Undo the calliper bolts
Remove the brake wear sensor (if there is one on that side -- it is normally on the offside)
Remove the calliper
Suspend it from the spring (or similar) using a cable tie so there is no strain on the flexible brake line.
Push the brake piston back in by squeezing the pads back with a G clamp or similar.
Keep an eye on the brake fluid level under the bonnet as it will rise as the piston is pressed back.
Some people loosen the brake bleed nipple to let the excess fluid out at the calliper as that is the 'used' fluid. Be careful not to let air in.
Remove the old pads.
Fit the new pads.
Refit the calliper and bolt it on (use the new bolts if they were provided in the kit).
Refit the brake wear sensor (or fit a new one if it is worn).
Put the wheel on, remove the stands, lower the jack and you are done on that side.
Drink tea
Repeat for the other side.
Bring for a drive -- gently at first to make sure all is OK.
Drink tea -- or even something stronger to celebrake -- intended typo !

* When the wheel is off, check the condition of the brake disk and replace if worn or even anywhere near the minimum thickness.
Doing that will mean undoing the calliper mounting bracket -- those bolts are extremely tight -- you will need a breaker bar.
The parking brake must be released to get the disks off.
 
Last edited:
Very descriptive procedure, might add pump brake pedal after drinking tea before test drive, might end up cleaning the drivers seat, ;)
 
Hi,

It is something that can be done at home.

You will need the correct equipment -- decent jack, axle stands, spanners, sockets, G clamp, etc.

It is a straightforward job:-
Place chocks at the wheel(s) you aren't raising.
Jack one rear wheel up.
Put axle stands under the appropriate solid location (I use suspension swivel joints, others use under the back axle.
Remove the wheel
* -- see below
Undo the calliper bolts
Remove the brake wear sensor (if there is one on that side -- it is normally on the offside)
Remove the calliper
Suspend it from the spring (or similar) using a cable tie so there is no strain on the flexible brake line.
Push the brake piston back in by squeezing the pads back with a G clamp or similar.
Keep an eye on the brake fluid level under the bonnet as it will rise as the piston is pressed back.
Some people loosen the brake bleed nipple to let the excess fluid out at the calliper as that is the 'used' fluid. Be careful not to let air in.
Remove the old pads.
Fit the new pads.
Refit the calliper and bolt it on (use the new bolts if they were provided in the kit).
Refit the brake wear sensor (or fit a new one if it is worn).
Put the wheel on, remove the stands, lower the jack and you are done on that side.
Drink tea
Repeat for the other side.
Bring for a drive -- gently at first to make sure all is OK.
Drink tea -- or even something stronger to celebrake -- intended typo !

* When the wheel is off, check the condition of the brake disk and replace if worn or even anywhere near the minimum thickness.
Doing that will mean undoing the calliper mounting bracket -- those bolts are extremely tight -- you will need a breaker bar.
The parking brake must be released to get the disks off.


You my friend are a legend !!
I'll definitely be doing it myself. I'll try collecting some pictures along the way so it helps somebody in future. Thanks :)
 
Hi Guys,
I’ll be giving this a go in the next few weeks. Anyone else tried ?

It’ll be on a 61 plate E350cdi sport blue efficiency saloon

Thanks
 
Hi Guys,
I’ll be giving this a go in the next few weeks. Anyone else tried ?

It’ll be on a 61 plate E350cdi sport blue efficiency saloon

Thanks
 
Be careful when pushing the piston back in as you could damage the ABS system. I tend to open the bleed nipple a little then push the piston back in. That way the fluid can drain from the nipple when the piston returns, rather than placing pressure back into the pump.
 
Picked up the OEM rear brake pads, sensor & anti squeal from the local MB Dealer

Wasn’t too bad a job tbh

1. Remove wheel, open brake fluid reservoir lid (under bonnet)
2. Remove caliper via 2 bolts on the rear of the caliper
3. Remove caliper clip
4. Carefully pull the caliper out from the bracket
5. Remove pads
6. Give the area a good clean with a brake cleaner steel brush
7. Push the piston back into the caliper using a brake spreader
8. Put a new sensor in (it’ll be on one side per axle)
9. Assemble everything
10. Put wheel back on
11. Apply brake pedal approx 10 times
13. Put the brake resevoir lid back on

Job done
 
This is a great description for changing front brakes. My only questions are:

1. I was always told you had to wind back the pistons on the rears (i.e. buy the kit to turn the piston as it retracted) as they were on a thread and just pushing them back could do damage.
2. I hear on some modern cars you have to have a laptop to get pistons to retract on the rears - I appreciate my 2014 E Class still has the foot-operated parking brake but it also has the auto-hold function and I didn't know whether this meant I needed to do anything different i.e. do I need a laptop or will a winding-back tool still do the job?
 

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