Replaced rotors and brake pads. Painted brake calipers with G2 paint.
Hello fellow members! I hope you are all doing great!
First of all I would like to say Thank you to all people in this thread and on this forum for sharing their experience while replacing front/rear brake pads/rotors and painting brake calipers. Special kudos go to Mary Kay! Thank you dear for sharing your son's experience with EBC products and answering my questions! :rb:tu:
Now, to my experience. I decided not to create a whole new thread but rather make a post here and share some pictures. I got myself EBC Ultimax slotted rotors and "Red Stuff" brake pads. NOTE: EBC brake pads didn't come with sensors and I had to reuse ones from my previous brake pad replacement (Akebono ones). Another thing is that one of my front brake pads didn't come with a hole for the sensor so I had to drill one. Not a big deal =) Also, the sensors didn't fit into the U-shape opening on the pads so I had to file them just a tiny bit. These are just some minor issues I had with EBCs. :grin:
But everything worked out good and I like them so far!
The job is pretty easy and on a scale 1 to 10 I'd rate it 5.
The only special tools you'd need is T45 Torx bit, and brake pad spreader. Oh, and a hex bit socket. Can't recall the size, sorry =(
Now, there are a number of brake pad replacement DIYs, so I won't go into details but rather share some links. NOTE: Most Mercedes-Benzes follow the same principle while changing brakes.
Brake Pad Replacement - Front
Pelican Technical Article - Mercedes SLK 230 - Rear Brake Rotor and Caliper Replacement
Pelican Technical Article - Mercedes SLK 230 - Rear Brake Pad Replacement
http://www.slkworld.com/slk-r171-class-diy/13874-replace-rotors-pads-05-slk.html#post150682
What you want to do is insert your key and unlock the steering wheel so you can turn it to access the bolts.
NOTE: I put my front of the car onto jack stands so I had both front wheels off at the same time. If you're doing one side at a time, you might want to turn your wheel to the proper side before taking that wheel off. REMEMBER - be very cautious when jacking up the car. Use proper procedures. Install the "stoppers" to prevent the car from rolling, etc.
After you remove the two bolts held by T45 Star bit, and take the top part of the caliper off, make sure you secure it with some wire so it doesn't hang free on a brake hose!!!
bottom (or side) part of the brake caliper is held by two big bolts. Can't remember what size the socket was but it's either 15, 16, 17 or 18mm one. After you undo these two bolts, just set this brake caliper part aside.
I'd also recommend spraying the hex screw securing the rotor with WD-40 so it can penetrate in case it has rusted over the time. Remove that screw and the rotor should come off. Mine came off really easy. After that, clean the hub with some metal wire brush to remove any rust, and apply some copper grease to prevent it from rusting and make the removal of the rotor easier in the future.
That's it, install your new rotor, secure it with hex screw, and re-assemble the brake caliper. As always - re-assembly in the reverse order :grin:
The rear calipers are easier to remove. These are also held by two big bolts: 15, 16, 17 or 18mm. Can't recall which one was that :nerd:.
Now, the hardest part is taking the rear rotors off. After you have used WD-40 on a hex screw and removed it, you might want to arm yourself with a Rubber hammer! I had to hit on the rotor in the outwards direction (the direction you remove the rotor). Hit it, turn it an inch, hit it again, turn it an inch... repeat the process until this pesky rotor comes off =). Just be patient and take your time. I was about to give up at some point but decided to kept going. I started hitting it hard and finally it came off. I think the parking brake shoes kept it in place tight
. Again, clean all the rust with some metal wire brush, apply copper grease and put your new rotor on! Re-assembly is n the reverse order :smile:
Painting: I used black G2 brake caliper paint. I painted my calipers in pairs - front ones first, then rear ones, so I was mixing half of the paint with half of the reactor. First thing you want to do is to clean your brake calipers very thoroughly! I used metal wire brush and the supplied brake cleaner. Remember - clean clean clean! I was cleaning my calipers while they were off. I'd never think they were this clean once upon a time :wink:. I decided to assemble calipers and then paint them while in situ. Disconnecting them from brake lines was too much hassle for me and besides only the font part will be visible. Please, don't judge me that I didn't take them fully off, sand blast, prime, paint, clear coat, etc. It's up to you. I think the final result was really good and me and my wife liked it! She was helping me all the time. The full brake/rotor/painting job took us two day. Couple hours a day. Simply because I was doing my wheels in pairs; I didn't jack up all 4 at once.