Hi all,
Been quiet for a while at my end - I only just managed the Christmas oil changes, and late as usual.
The Green 450 showed a leaking front left brake caliper the other week, so that forced me into action on the MB front. I was quoted ~$500 to rebuild both fronts if the pistons were OK (more if not), so I went to good old Autohaus AZ and got some caliper repair kits for about $120 posted for all 4 corners.
The leaking front took 5-6 hours to remove, rebuild and replace, while the other front was much quicker once I knew what I was doing.
With both fronts rebuilt the car is stopping well again (and no more leaks) - will do the rears at some point too. Both fronts had the dust caps perished.
Technique-wise, I just followed the Haynes manual. I found it easier to leave the sensors and pads on while removing the calipers; and used low-pressure compressed air to pop the pistons out (with the old dust caps still fitted).
The biggest surprise was the poor condition of the brake fluid - detergent green due apparently to corrosion. It turned to DOT4 honey yellow after bleeding. The fluid reservoir also has lots of gunk in the bottom, but no nice way to clean it out - will try to get a large syringe for that. I'm on a mission now to stock up on brake fluid and bleed all the cars.
Lukas
Been quiet for a while at my end - I only just managed the Christmas oil changes, and late as usual.
The Green 450 showed a leaking front left brake caliper the other week, so that forced me into action on the MB front. I was quoted ~$500 to rebuild both fronts if the pistons were OK (more if not), so I went to good old Autohaus AZ and got some caliper repair kits for about $120 posted for all 4 corners.
The leaking front took 5-6 hours to remove, rebuild and replace, while the other front was much quicker once I knew what I was doing.
With both fronts rebuilt the car is stopping well again (and no more leaks) - will do the rears at some point too. Both fronts had the dust caps perished.
Technique-wise, I just followed the Haynes manual. I found it easier to leave the sensors and pads on while removing the calipers; and used low-pressure compressed air to pop the pistons out (with the old dust caps still fitted).
The biggest surprise was the poor condition of the brake fluid - detergent green due apparently to corrosion. It turned to DOT4 honey yellow after bleeding. The fluid reservoir also has lots of gunk in the bottom, but no nice way to clean it out - will try to get a large syringe for that. I'm on a mission now to stock up on brake fluid and bleed all the cars.
Lukas
