Every shop I have ever been in let calipers hang by the hose. Calipers these days are aluminum and weigh very little. This train of thought is from the old days. If many of you guys seen what happens in dealerships with oem trained euro techs, youd keel over dead from disbelief. Never had a hose fail from hanging. Infact, if you have a car that could be damaged from hanging a 1lb caliper from the hose, better just stop driving it. A pothole might pull the hose too fast damage it.
@Go Faster When Car Wizard says pothole damage would be worse, it's because of how fast the strut must move when it hits a pothole. A lot of energy is transferred in this high inertial moment. The sudden jolt will apply far more stress to the hose than it would ever receive from a carefully and slowly lowered caliper. It has to move very, very quickly, and would experience a force similar to a shock wave such as one near a small explosion.
I was kind of wondering about that, haha. I was taught in brakes and alignment class that hanging the caliber by the hose was a huge no-no. I just changed the brakes and rotors on my friends car and I used zip-ties to fasten the caliper to the spring to keep it out of the way. I swear... floating rotors are so easy to change, thank-goodness her rotors were designed and build that way. I was also taught in brakes and alignment class by an instructor to use anti-seize was okay to use as a anti-squeal for the brakes. I did like the ratchet you used to press the brake piston back in the caliper, that seems it saves off a few minutes off the job. Anyway, just wanted to respond to you about my thoughts about the hanging brake caliper by the hose and went off on a rant, haha
Great video as always, you have a real talent not only for repairing vehicles, but also for making youtube videos! I'm watching from the UK, love your channel. The only thing I would say about this video is that maybe you should have explained about cleaning the rotors after fitting them and also about being careful not to make the Brake Fluid reservoir overflow when compressing the calipers.
Or blowing the seals in the master cylinder when you compress the calipers back. Happened once to me when the shop didn't open the little bleeding valves in the caliper cylinders. I was doing 100kph on a freeway when the brakes died. I was able to stop with the handbrake and drive (slowly) back to the same shop, and they replaced the Master cylinder for nothing.
I wonder if that's from another risk, pumping the brake pedal through a much longer stroke than it normally sees (caliper pistons moving into place for a pad change, or brake bleeding), making seals running crummy/dirty bore wall they do not like.
Most cost effective method of avoiding expensive Range Rover repairs (older RR) is to bury them in the backyard. Of course, one has to remove the battery and all fluids before interment to avoid ground water contamination. The EPA has a division dedicated to policing the improper interment of Range Rovers as the practice has become so widespread. Works every time; need for expensive repairs thus obviated!
Wizard, you may want to try a wearable headlight for lighting your work area. I realize it is a bit clumsy (sometimes gets in the way) but it is generally good as it is positioned just above your eyes and can usually light the area you are trying to see. It also frees your hand and reduces loading on your teeth. That said, I'd still keep that little flashlight on hand for doing various inspections where you need to get in close or have it above, below or even behind what you are trying to see.
@@SavNout01 True, but that can set you up for a real disaster if it falls off, ask me how I know lmao. But either way it's his shop and his car not a customers so he can do whatever the hell he wants.
Small calipers won't hurt your lines.. On a truck or any heavier caliper it's good practice. But if you have a line snap on you from hanging a small caliper then that line was about due for replacement to start with
I'm sure no mechanic but, when I do a brake job on my own car, I find it easier to compress the caliper pistons when the top is off the brake fluid reservoir (remove some fluid if very full) or easier yet with the bleeder valve cracked a little. Kind of good to remove some of that fluid in the caliper, too.
German prices, you gotta pay to play. I did the front brakes with akebono pads on my 7 series at home for $300. Dealership wanted about $300 per rotor lol
Nothing special to that brake job. Looks a lot easier than the GM brakes I am accustomed to. Those have grooves where the pads sit into that rust jack. Have to spend a fair amount of time cleaning the brackets with a file on those.
and it looks as easy as any other car, only downside is the price of parts, rotors are usually $150-200 instead of $50, and pads are usually 75+ instead of $30-50 depending on the car
I have a Seat, which is basically a VW Polo, and the front brakes (rotors and pads) for it cost me 80€ when I had them done last. On the other hand, Japanese parts are expensive as hell over here in Germany.
Wizard, can you make a video about your thoughts on buying OEM verses after-market/3rd party parts? What is your general opinion on which way to go when doing your own repairs and trying to save a few bucks?
Oem I worked at dealership and I'm not bias or anything I've seen a cheap alternator that was from oreillys brand new installed and it whined like a supercharger oem is always best bet
I work at O'reilly and can confirm our parts come back defective 25% percent of the time. But I also wouldn't recommend buying cheap. Buy it nice or buy it twice. @@1091506
@@1091506 OEM is always best bet as in it's expensive and the benefit is it should 100% work. A decent 3rd party does the same thing with a warranty and for far less expensive. And the drawbacks are it's only 98% sure to fit if it's even on the market.
Scotty Kilmer says, always buy OEM for sensors, alternators. OEM does not necessarily mean you have to buy from dealer, if you know who manufactured those parts for the car maker. for brake pads, Akebono is better than OEM. for radiators, drive shaft, head lamp assembly, rear light assembly, door handle, after market stuff are just fine.
Good basic info Wizard! I am on my 11th year in the auto field. I used to wrench for VW, Audi, and Saab at a highline store with all the high end brands. Now I am a mechanical inspector working for my own business doing extended service contracrs and pre purchase inspections. I really enjoy your videos though! I still wrench in my free time, which I have much more of it!
Love this. You do brakes EXACTLY the way I do. All the little tips are EXACTLY what I would share. Only difference is I use an electric impact (1/2 in) on the rotor set screw. I've rounded off those torx screws before when trying to loosen by hand.
If you clean your car off, and don't drive on super salty roads 24/7 you can keep your car pretty rust free. My old 2004 Nissan Murano only has some light surface rust in a few small areas. On the other hand my friends 2017's front control arm is COVERED in surface rust because Ford doesn't give a crap.
steaker1705 poor you lol, my 2006 Lexus ES330 has not even a single hint of rust. It’s spent it’s whole life here in San Diego lol. It’s got 200,000 miles on it. 199,800 to be exact
Wizard at times has an emotionless character. And at times like this simple brake job video I find it calming and keeps me interested the whole video. Keep up the good work!
Bought myself a matco ratcheting calliper press back tool.. Honestly one of the best purchases I've ever made.. Had a cheap no name on that broke, but used the matco one to press back school bus calliper and now use it on all my brake jobs at the dealership I work for. Wasn't much more expensive than the cheap one and has lasted with no problems - and having the warranty is nice too
Great video as always! - quick tip I find is when pushing the pistons back in the calipers to keep an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir in case it overflows!
Those little screws that hold rotors and drums on can be really tough to get out. On some cars they are phillips head instead of Torx and cam out easily. If you have one of those, try using an impact screwdriver to bust them loose. You can get one for about $20 on Amazon and they will save you a lot of aggravation.
Check the fluid level in the master reservoir while working on two sets of brakes simultaneously to ensure piston compression doesn’t atomise the fluid out of the cap all over the engine bay.
Two tips: 1. Use a wirebrush drill attachment to knock off the rust on the hub, the mating surface if you reuse your rotor, AND on the mating surface on the wheel. This will prevent any interference of dust that can lead to minor wobbles, and it will eat through the rust like a hot knife through butter. 2. Do NOT breath in any of that brake dust.
I could care less about how to replace brakes on a Mercedes... I just tuned in to this to indulge my need to look at car stuff and get my dose of Car Wizard's laid-back personality cult thing...
You probably don't need a headlamp that often in your shop but there's a great Streamlight headlamp I use (Version is called "Double Clutch"). I love, love, love that headlamp!
Next time ask your wife to bring the car to the wash for a little under-spray action! Great videos! Finally built up confidence to do my own brakes thanks to videos like this. But every one I've seen - every manufacturer does brakes a little different - especially when it comes to retaining clips and parking brakes.
Can you maybe do a video on the car lifts. I would like to see how the are designed, work, balancing points, etc. I saw some horrible car lift fails on YT but they don't tell you exactly what went wrong.
I always clean the hub faces and apply anti-seize before putting on the rotors, and on the hat surface where the wheel mounts. And a lil rust-check on the axle nut area.
I usually wire brush the gussets on the bracket where the calipers slide through and lightly copper grease them. And I use ceramic anti squeal paste on the outside pad-to-caliper contact points. Greasing up the slide pins is a must, heavily contaminated slide pins can be easily cleaned while spinning in a drill with some 600 grit sand paper (NEVER perform this wearing gloves!). Lastly, make sure the hub-to-disc mating surface is absolutely flat, I use sand paper and a wire brush, alternatively there is something called a hub grinder which can be put on a drill. You'll need to take out the roll pins on this particular example to use that.
Must say in 1997 I owned a Toyota, and early one morning I took it to the local dealership. While I was waiting to speak with an advisor, noticed a new LS400 standing on service floor with hood up. Decided to saunter over and have a look. Got close enough to have a close look under the hood and had to lean closer when I heard a purring sound. The engine was running..it was that quiet!
Wiz, I would recommend washing down the dirt and dust before working on brakes, also would recommend wearing gloves and a dust mask. This kind of brake dust will kill you over time. Mrs. Wizard would like you to make it to 95 1/3 YO.
before you start the job take the cap off the brake fluid reservoir. when you push back the brake pistons to fit the new pads your brake fluid will back up into the reservoir. keep checking the level. if it gets to the rim use a turkey baster to take some out
Wizard, this was great for us DIY'ers. Can you do one on bleeding and replacing brake fluid too? Also, I'd love to see Wizard tips on what suspension components to inspect to prepare for track or autocross.
I always clean the piston before pressing it in. Also i open the bleeder because the brakes get bled at every pad change. I reuse the rotor but grind off that lip in and out on both sides.
He's far better than me but personally I wouldn't leave the caliper dangling by its hydraulic hose, I would thoroughly clean the caliper bracket (it is a sliding caliper brake, the pads must be a comfortable sliding fit) and I would degrease the new disc much more thoroughly - not only for dabs of grease but to remove any machine oil/anti rust applied to preserve during storage post manufacture
I'm surprised you don't use a torque wrench. Most of my car manuals specify ft-lb ratings for things like brake hardware. Cool electric ratchet wrench; I'm stuck with an air compressor powered tools; that way I can pretend "I meant to do that" when I trip on my air hose.
I first thought that roter looked like 10 minutes on the brake lathe would have it fine to go. But a Mercedes no doubt has computer monitoring for how much fluid it takes to work the brakes. It wouldn't be long before it would be complaining about "worn brakes". Best not to second guess The Wizard. Sweet compressing tool. A lot better than a C-clamp.
discs have minimum thickness recommendations. For most of us without our own machine shop new discs are probably as cheap as having the old ones skimmed
> But a Mercedes no doubt has computer monitoring for how much fluid it takes to work the brakes. It wouldn't be long before it would be complaining about "worn brakes". That's not a thing on a Mercedes or anywhere else. The wear indicator (which fits into the little U on the pad, in this video) is what warns the driver that it's time to replace the brakes. There's a separate sensor which warns you of brake pressure failure and it typically shares an indicator on the dashboard with the 'parking brake on' light.
Oldie but goodie! I’d love your opinion( I’m sure all of us subscribers would) on what a pre purchase inspection entails. I want to buy a ‘09 e350 but I know it’s been sitting on the lot since the vid of ‘19. Thank you car wizard!
Wizard: nice video. To stop squeaking a German mechanic would use Bremspaste (Brake paste) behind the pads and on the piston. Both CRC and Permatex have similar products specifically for brakes. I would never use grease as you have, there are products that eliminate the chance of grease on the rotors or pads. New disks come with a protective coating, or they would be rusty as O2 in the air is attracted to Fe and that equals rust, that I wipe off with alcohol.
Not to mention it would keep all that oil, dirt, grease etc. off the fucking new rotor & pads. Didn't see this slug use any kinda' brake cleaner or anything. Just a shit job, frankly.
Auntie BUTT RAIDE his style is abrupt, but the message is correct. It is very important to remove the shipping coating off new rotors. It is applied after manufacture to keep the rotors from rusting in the box while on the inventory shelf. If not cleaned, not only will the brakes smoke for a few miles, but they will not seat correctly.
@@revolutionday1 You do know that some rotors have self burning residue and it states that you do not clean it but burn it off when your breaking in the brakes.
Hi ! Thank you for all your educational videos on this ml350, I'm a first timer driver of this vehicle and want to properly take care of her. I was wondering have you ever just changed the back rotors? I went to a local mechanic and said the light that went on was for the rotors and not the brake pads as they are still 60 -70% still good, but highly recommended the rotors be replaced as they are very thin ... have you ever seen anything like this?
Can you please make a video on the common problems of the 2002-03 Chrysler Town and Countries with the 3.8l, if you have time? I know there a lot of vehicles if you were planning on continuing that series.
Hammering on a rotor to break it loose can be dangerous and sometimes just doesn't work and does risk damaging the hub/bearing. A simple trick is to pass 2 bolts through the caliper bracket and tighten them symmetrically against the back of the rotor. Has always worked for me and is very easy. The bolts don't have to fit the holes, just be smaller. Through the hole then through a large washer then threaded onto a nut too large to pass through the washer.
Good video, as usual! One point though - I always remove the brake fluid reservoir cap before pushing back the pistons to avoid excess pressure in the system and allow any excess fluid to overflow, what do you think.
Another great instructional video. Small suggestion: when you inserted the wear sensor in all we saw was the back of your hand, it was blocking what you were trying to show. Be mindful of where the camera is looking. At times it might be best to show with the free hand 'how' it goes in and then insert it with the other, or simply move the camera around to show the action.
The bolts for calipers are often problematic and hard to extract. I always put some copper grease to the threads when reassembling to avoid issues in future.
My only critique is not using a calibrated torque wrench on any and all brake hardware and fasteners. Why do manufactures list these values on their spec sheets?
Why oh why did the Jag dealer want $3,000 to replace the headlights on my XJ😖😭😬 Great to see some things haven't changed much from my days replacing brakes-drum, on my '65 GTO, '69 Roadrunner & '72 Roadrunner. Man, I wish I had those 3.
Fantastic Tutorial, well done, at the 4min mark you mention the step in the disc, is this from wear and tear or is the step there from factory ? Cheers Mario from Australia.
I tried the surgical gloves, they aren't durable enough. I went to cotton gloves. They don't tear and the added thickness helps prevent scratches/injuries. You quickly get used to the extra thickness.
The fastest and easiest brakes and rotor change I have ever done was on a 93 Lincoln Town Car ! Only have to remove 2 slider pins facing outward and you can then remove the caliper,brakes and rotor !!
Personally would use a thread locking compound and a torque wrench on caliper bracket bolts. Worth mentioning that many cars don't have separate parking brake shoes, just use the disc pads for the handbrake. In that case the piston on the rear brakes don't press in per the video they have to be screwed in with a tool the has the correct 'pitch'
One thing you may not have covered is the importance of torque-doing it in the correct order and the correct amount. This makes a Hell of a lot of difference when buttoning things up. A perfectly good rebuild can be ruined by not getting the main or rod bearings tight enough
4:24 Lately I have been cracking the bleeder when compressing caliper pistons (connected to a Lisle bleeder cup) to get rid of the caliper fluid that has heat-cycled hundreds of times instead of pushing it up into the ABS pump and master (got idea from fordtechmakuloco).
That's the Real Professional way to do All Brake Jobs. Learned that from the Bendix Brakes Answer Man and Raybestos Brakes Articles. A Million guys use different practices.
Good stuff and you’re definitely better talking when getting into the flow of the job at hand. It would be good to get some extra lighting in the back of the job and sometimes go in tighter with the camera so we can see more clearly what you’re doing. Informative no BS content though - I like👍
You are the car wizard I need a wizard for this one.. 2014 mustang GT rear driver side outside pad wears 2x or 3x faster than all others.. I have changed pads and rotors several times, and changed calipers and brake hoses to rear once each still happens any ideas… additionally replaced slide pins and lube with silicone grease move smoothly no issues there
The small T30 torx bolt isn't necessary. The rotor is held on by the lug bolts and not this tiny bolt. It is only still there from assembly to hold the rotor on without anything else, but you can basically just leave it out. Or I've also had cars where it just sheared off, it broke and nothing could be done about it, so I left it away. I know repair shops that break these bolts off regularly, because they are just not needed after the car's assembly has finished and it's fitted with wheels.
That bolt is such a pain. I stripped the threads on the similar screw on my Honda and had to dremel a slot in it so that I could get the rotor off. Ruined the rotor (which I was going to replace anyway). On the other side, I used an impact to get it off, and it worked much better than the manual screwdriver.
Wizard, good video. What are your thoughts on how often to replace brake fluid by bleeding and when it's necessary to use the automated ABS module bleed procedure included on many of today's automotive diagnostic tools?
Different sized bolts for the front and back, rotors secured with a tiny Torx bolt, which must be so fun to try and remove if you live in the Rust belt. Fricken German engineering!
Looked like you got some grease/lube on the rotor face, shouldn't that be cleaned off prior to use? I'm adding that cordless ratchet to my to my tool chest, that looked clutch.
Car Wizard (sic) it (grease/lube) SHOULD NOT have been on the components in the first place !!! Work Clean - Work Smart AND,,,,,,,,,,in your 'Video' you should have been explaining to the viewing public the importance of clean working prctices especially around vital components like Brakes and Brake Rotors !!! So please,,,,,'Cut the Crap' with your feeble response to @rconnel3 !!!@@CarWizard
Every shop I have ever been in let calipers hang by the hose. Calipers these days are aluminum and weigh very little. This train of thought is from the old days. If many of you guys seen what happens in dealerships with oem trained euro techs, youd keel over dead from disbelief. Never had a hose fail from hanging. Infact, if you have a car that could be damaged from hanging a 1lb caliper from the hose, better just stop driving it. A pothole might pull the hose too fast damage it.
2002 Volvo V70, base model, each caliper is at least 12 lbs, haven't applied a magnet but I'm pretty sure they're cast iron!
Thank you. I try to rest caliper on top of the dust shield if possible. If not, it hangs. But I let it hang as briefly as possible.
@Go Faster When Car Wizard says pothole damage would be worse, it's because of how fast the strut must move when it hits a pothole. A lot of energy is transferred in this high inertial moment. The sudden jolt will apply far more stress to the hose than it would ever receive from a carefully and slowly lowered caliper. It has to move very, very quickly, and would experience a force similar to a shock wave such as one near a small explosion.
I was kind of wondering about that, haha. I was taught in brakes and alignment class that hanging the caliber by the hose was a huge no-no. I just changed the brakes and rotors on my friends car and I used zip-ties to fasten the caliper to the spring to keep it out of the way. I swear... floating rotors are so easy to change, thank-goodness her rotors were designed and build that way. I was also taught in brakes and alignment class by an instructor to use anti-seize was okay to use as a anti-squeal for the brakes. I did like the ratchet you used to press the brake piston back in the caliper, that seems it saves off a few minutes off the job. Anyway, just wanted to respond to you about my thoughts about the hanging brake caliper by the hose and went off on a rant, haha
Plain old comman sense tells me to support any calliper, rather than let it dangle.but how others treat your car is up to them.
Such a nice calming video, great as always.
Pierce Next video: ASMR brought to you by the car wizard.
Great video as always, you have a real talent not only for repairing vehicles, but also for making youtube videos! I'm watching from the UK, love your channel. The only thing I would say about this video is that maybe you should have explained about cleaning the rotors after fitting them and also about being careful not to make the Brake Fluid reservoir overflow when compressing the calipers.
Or blowing the seals in the master cylinder when you compress the calipers back. Happened once to me when the shop didn't open the little bleeding valves in the caliper cylinders. I was doing 100kph on a freeway when the brakes died. I was able to stop with the handbrake and drive (slowly) back to the same shop, and they replaced the Master cylinder for nothing.
I wonder if that's from another risk, pumping the brake pedal through a much longer stroke than it normally sees (caliper pistons moving into place for a pad change, or brake bleeding), making seals running crummy/dirty bore wall they do not like.
Most cost effective method of avoiding expensive Range Rover repairs (older RR) is to bury them in the backyard. Of course, one has to remove the battery and all fluids before interment to avoid ground water contamination. The EPA has a division dedicated to policing the improper interment of Range Rovers as the practice has become so widespread. Works every time; need for expensive repairs thus obviated!
Why didn't you clean all of the oil off of the new rotors with brake cleaner before you installed them? Great video!
Because Merc brake rotors don't come with that crap on them. They come with a layer that has to be rubbed off from driving
@@ChrisHimself1357 Those front rotors are aftermarket Carquest painted rotors. They come in a sealed bag and have very little oil on them.
Great content as always! Ecstatic you have your own channel now.
Wizard, you may want to try a wearable headlight for lighting your work area. I realize it is a bit clumsy (sometimes gets in the way) but it is generally good as it is positioned just above your eyes and can usually light the area you are trying to see. It also frees your hand and reduces loading on your teeth. That said, I'd still keep that little flashlight on hand for doing various inspections where you need to get in close or have it above, below or even behind what you are trying to see.
I need to move south. A brake job here requires more time cleaning, blasting, chipping, grinding, and shoveling up rust than it does assembly.
Why do you not use a caliper hanger. As a mechanic I’ve always been told that could damage the flex line.
My thought as well- you really don’t want the caliper to be hanging by the brake hose
I agree, I was quite surprised to see him leave it hang by the hose. That was always a no-no!
To his defense, he did put it on top of the wheel hub after a couple minutes.
@@SavNout01 True, but that can set you up for a real disaster if it falls off, ask me how I know lmao. But either way it's his shop and his car not a customers so he can do whatever the hell he wants.
Small calipers won't hurt your lines.. On a truck or any heavier caliper it's good practice. But if you have a line snap on you from hanging a small caliper then that line was about due for replacement to start with
I'm sure no mechanic but, when I do a brake job on my own car, I find it easier to compress the caliper pistons when the top is off the brake fluid reservoir (remove some fluid if very full) or easier yet with the bleeder valve cracked a little. Kind of good to remove some of that fluid in the caliper, too.
Brakes on a Benz....grab a pen and some paper gentlemen. This will save you $1000 for the brake job alone.
German prices, you gotta pay to play. I did the front brakes with akebono pads on my 7 series at home for $300. Dealership wanted about $300 per rotor lol
Nothing special to that brake job. Looks a lot easier than the GM brakes I am accustomed to. Those have grooves where the pads sit into that rust jack. Have to spend a fair amount of time cleaning the brackets with a file on those.
and it looks as easy as any other car, only downside is the price of parts, rotors are usually $150-200 instead of $50, and pads are usually 75+ instead of $30-50 depending on the car
I have a Seat, which is basically a VW Polo, and the front brakes (rotors and pads) for it cost me 80€ when I had them done last. On the other hand, Japanese parts are expensive as hell over here in Germany.
@@FrenchValleyAirport dont buy OEM stuff, just good quality aftermarket.
Kudos to Mrs. Wizard for the nice editing skills!
Wizard, can you make a video about your thoughts on buying OEM verses after-market/3rd party parts? What is your general opinion on which way to go when doing your own repairs and trying to save a few bucks?
Oem I worked at dealership and I'm not bias or anything I've seen a cheap alternator that was from oreillys brand new installed and it whined like a supercharger oem is always best bet
I work at O'reilly and can confirm our parts come back defective 25% percent of the time. But I also wouldn't recommend buying cheap. Buy it nice or buy it twice. @@1091506
@@1091506 OEM is always best bet as in it's expensive and the benefit is it should 100% work. A decent 3rd party does the same thing with a warranty and for far less expensive. And the drawbacks are it's only 98% sure to fit if it's even on the market.
Scotty Kilmer says, always buy OEM for sensors, alternators.
OEM does not necessarily mean you have to buy from dealer, if you know who manufactured those parts for the car maker.
for brake pads, Akebono is better than OEM.
for radiators, drive shaft, head lamp assembly, rear light assembly, door handle, after market stuff are just fine.
Good basic info Wizard! I am on my 11th year in the auto field. I used to wrench for VW, Audi, and Saab at a highline store with all the high end brands. Now I am a mechanical inspector working for my own business doing extended service contracrs and pre purchase inspections. I really enjoy your videos though! I still wrench in my free time, which I have much more of it!
Love this. You do brakes EXACTLY the way I do. All the little tips are EXACTLY what I would share. Only difference is I use an electric impact (1/2 in) on the rotor set screw. I've rounded off those torx screws before when trying to loosen by hand.
"Give me a break Car Wizard!"
This must be what hoovie says everytime he brings one of his hoopties to you
@Lennox Houston Do you think we are stupid, and don´t you know that we all know that you and @Alex Jon is one and the same person? Spammer.
This 21 minute video seemed like it was only 10 minutes, that's a good thing!
In Kansas I thought there would be more rust on it. That's very clean!
If you clean your car off, and don't drive on super salty roads 24/7 you can keep your car pretty rust free.
My old 2004 Nissan Murano only has some light surface rust in a few small areas.
On the other hand my friends 2017's front control arm is COVERED in surface rust because Ford doesn't give a crap.
steaker1705 poor you lol, my 2006 Lexus ES330 has not even a single hint of rust. It’s spent it’s whole life here in San Diego lol. It’s got 200,000 miles on it. 199,800 to be exact
See his 260Z brake videos or his new 1938 Olds video. KS can be very kind to cars. Or Kansans, I'm not sure which!
Wizard at times has an emotionless character. And at times like this simple brake job video I find it calming and keeps me interested the whole video. Keep up the good work!
Real midwestern technical guy, wouldnt be surprised if he came from farming
Bought myself a matco ratcheting calliper press back tool.. Honestly one of the best purchases I've ever made.. Had a cheap no name on that broke, but used the matco one to press back school bus calliper and now use it on all my brake jobs at the dealership I work for. Wasn't much more expensive than the cheap one and has lasted with no problems - and having the warranty is nice too
I got my daughters into fixing the family vehicles. Its interesting to them and we get to hang out. Love the vids Wizard.
Great video as always! - quick tip I find is when pushing the pistons back in the calipers to keep an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir in case it overflows!
1/4 turn on the bleeder valve and the piston compresses with ease, try it next time!
Those little screws that hold rotors and drums on can be really tough to get out. On some cars they are phillips head instead of Torx and cam out easily. If you have one of those, try using an impact screwdriver to bust them loose. You can get one for about $20 on Amazon and they will save you a lot of aggravation.
That's because they aren't Philips. They are JIS, and if you use a JIS screwdriver (particularly impact), they will come right out
@@MattFFEMT exactly. That's why it cams out. Vessel makes excellent jis drivers
After struggling to squeeze a piston down with my go-to 8" C-clamp recently, I just bought one of those ratcheting brake tools. Good stuff Wizard.
You sent a henchman back in time on a shopping run and you couldn't have him get me a McRib? I hate you.
Apparently you are the go to repairman for old Vipers
Great to see the Wizard doing a repair rom start to finish. More like this please!
Check the fluid level in the master reservoir while working on two sets of brakes simultaneously to ensure piston compression doesn’t atomise the fluid out of the cap all over the engine bay.
the Deloreon (sp) scene made me lol
Don’t let the calibers hang just by the brake hose like that. Use a hanger. Also clean the discs with brake cleaner before putting the wheels back on.
Two tips:
1. Use a wirebrush drill attachment to knock off the rust on the hub, the mating surface if you reuse your rotor, AND on the mating surface on the wheel. This will prevent any interference of dust that can lead to minor wobbles, and it will eat through the rust like a hot knife through butter.
2. Do NOT breath in any of that brake dust.
Weird, Car Wizard voice lowers my blood pressure.
OhsoBen his disposition is calm and non-emotional that removes fast ups & downs in his tones....calming
I could care less about how to replace brakes on a Mercedes... I just tuned in to this to indulge my need to look at car stuff and get my dose of Car Wizard's laid-back personality cult thing...
You are the Bob Ross of Auto Repair MR Wizard. Good job...
For future content....please do a video on removing broken bolts and striped nuts.
Cheers!
You probably don't need a headlamp that often in your shop but there's a great Streamlight headlamp I use (Version is called "Double Clutch"). I love, love, love that headlamp!
People always complain about European cars but I think these brakes are the quickest and best designed
Next time ask your wife to bring the car to the wash for a little under-spray action!
Great videos! Finally built up confidence to do my own brakes thanks to videos like this. But every one I've seen - every manufacturer does brakes a little different - especially when it comes to retaining clips and parking brakes.
The wizard is the Bob Ross of car repair!!! Keep me coming!!
Can you maybe do a video on the car lifts. I would like to see how the are designed, work, balancing points, etc. I saw some horrible car lift fails on YT but they don't tell you exactly what went wrong.
When he greased the contact points I couldn't help thinking of Bob Ross. So calming.
I love the way you did the video... very professional.. thank you.
I always clean the hub faces and apply anti-seize before putting on the rotors, and on the hat surface where the wheel mounts. And a lil rust-check on the axle nut area.
I usually wire brush the gussets on the bracket where the calipers slide through and lightly copper grease them. And I use ceramic anti squeal paste on the outside pad-to-caliper contact points. Greasing up the slide pins is a must, heavily contaminated slide pins can be easily cleaned while spinning in a drill with some 600 grit sand paper (NEVER perform this wearing gloves!).
Lastly, make sure the hub-to-disc mating surface is absolutely flat, I use sand paper and a wire brush, alternatively there is something called a hub grinder which can be put on a drill. You'll need to take out the roll pins on this particular example to use that.
Wizard rocks, so calm, so cool, thanks for showing us all the "how to's".
Must say in 1997 I owned a Toyota, and early one morning I took it to the local dealership. While I was waiting to speak with an advisor, noticed a new LS400 standing on service floor with hood up. Decided to saunter over and have a look. Got close enough to have a close look under
the hood and had to lean closer when I heard a purring sound. The engine was running..it was that quiet!
Wiz, I would recommend washing down the dirt and dust before working on brakes, also would recommend wearing gloves and a dust mask. This kind of brake dust will kill you over time. Mrs. Wizard would like you to make it to 95 1/3 YO.
before you start the job take the cap off the brake fluid reservoir. when you push back the brake pistons to fit the new pads your brake fluid will back up into the reservoir. keep checking the level. if it gets to the rim use a turkey baster to take some out
Such humbleness. Love your videos wizard, Keep up the great work.
Wizard, this was great for us DIY'ers. Can you do one on bleeding and replacing brake fluid too? Also, I'd love to see Wizard tips on what suspension components to inspect to prepare for track or autocross.
Very well sire, I am curious why no cleaning of contact area on calipers/bracket and piston slider before applying lube?
Great job, informative and calm. But I would recommend a brake bleed after a roter and pad change
I always clean the piston before pressing it in. Also i open the bleeder because the brakes get bled at every pad change. I reuse the rotor but grind off that lip in and out on both sides.
He's far better than me but personally I wouldn't leave the caliper dangling by its hydraulic hose, I would thoroughly clean the caliper bracket (it is a sliding caliper brake, the pads must be a comfortable sliding fit) and I would degrease the new disc much more thoroughly - not only for dabs of grease but to remove any machine oil/anti rust applied to preserve during storage post manufacture
I'm surprised you don't use a torque wrench. Most of my car manuals specify ft-lb ratings for things like brake hardware. Cool electric ratchet wrench; I'm stuck with an air compressor powered tools; that way I can pretend "I meant to do that" when I trip on my air hose.
I first thought that roter looked like 10 minutes on the brake lathe would have it fine to go. But a Mercedes no doubt has computer monitoring for how much fluid it takes to work the brakes. It wouldn't be long before it would be complaining about "worn brakes". Best not to second guess The Wizard. Sweet compressing tool. A lot better than a C-clamp.
discs have minimum thickness recommendations. For most of us without our own machine shop new discs are probably as cheap as having the old ones skimmed
> But a Mercedes no doubt has computer monitoring for how much fluid it takes to work the brakes. It wouldn't be long before it would be complaining about "worn brakes".
That's not a thing on a Mercedes or anywhere else. The wear indicator (which fits into the little U on the pad, in this video) is what warns the driver that it's time to replace the brakes. There's a separate sensor which warns you of brake pressure failure and it typically shares an indicator on the dashboard with the 'parking brake on' light.
9/10 times you'll need an impact driver for the rotors and don't forget to clean your new rotors properly before assembly with brake clean.
Oldie but goodie! I’d love your opinion( I’m sure all of us subscribers would) on what a pre purchase inspection entails. I want to buy a ‘09 e350 but I know it’s been sitting on the lot since the vid of ‘19. Thank you car wizard!
Wizard: nice video. To stop squeaking a German mechanic would use Bremspaste (Brake paste) behind the pads and on the piston. Both CRC and Permatex have similar products specifically for brakes. I would never use grease as you have, there are products that eliminate the chance of grease on the rotors or pads. New disks come with a protective coating, or they would be rusty as O2 in the air is attracted to Fe and that equals rust, that I wipe off with alcohol.
two tip clean the hub surface and use gloves. Your skin is your biggest organ. Be kind to that organ.
Not to mention it would keep all that oil, dirt, grease etc. off the fucking new rotor & pads. Didn't see this slug use any kinda' brake cleaner or anything. Just a shit job, frankly.
Auntie BUTT RAIDE his style is abrupt, but the message is correct. It is very important to remove the shipping coating off new rotors. It is applied after manufacture to keep the rotors from rusting in the box while on the inventory shelf. If not cleaned, not only will the brakes smoke for a few miles, but they will not seat correctly.
@@revolutionday1 You do know that some rotors have self burning residue and it states that you do not clean it but burn it off when your breaking in the brakes.
Well, the grease that was applied to them during installation should be cleaned off though ;)
Quicker to change gloves than wash hands.
Most In-depth brake changing video :D
thank you Mr Car Wizard!
Hi ! Thank you for all your educational videos on this ml350, I'm a first timer driver of this vehicle and want to properly take care of her. I was wondering have you ever just changed the back rotors? I went to a local mechanic and said the light that went on was for the rotors and not the brake pads as they are still 60 -70% still good, but highly recommended the rotors be replaced as they are very thin ... have you ever seen anything like this?
I *still* can't take my eyes off that 928 in the background.... :D
I'm one step before shipping my VW to your garage. Greetings from Athens Greece
Awesome videos. Brilliant camera angles when you are working on the car!! Hope you make many more videos!! Thanks buddy
A few things. Clean new rotors as they come oiled, never hang the caliper by the line, and this is way different than most average cars.
Can you please make a video on the common problems of the 2002-03 Chrysler Town and Countries with the 3.8l, if you have time? I know there a lot of vehicles if you were planning on continuing that series.
Nøderak Sure. Might do it.
Hammering on a rotor to break it loose can be dangerous and sometimes just doesn't work and does risk damaging the hub/bearing. A simple trick is to pass 2 bolts through the caliper bracket and tighten them symmetrically against the back of the rotor. Has always worked for me and is very easy. The bolts don't have to fit the holes, just be smaller. Through the hole then through a large washer then threaded onto a nut too large to pass through the washer.
Good video, as usual! One point though - I always remove the brake fluid reservoir cap before pushing back the pistons to avoid excess pressure in the system and allow any excess fluid to overflow, what do you think.
Getting plutonium must be a pain, or do you go to the future and get a Mr. Fusion?
Another great instructional video. Small suggestion: when you inserted the wear sensor in all we saw was the back of your hand, it was blocking what you were trying to show. Be mindful of where the camera is looking. At times it might be best to show with the free hand 'how' it goes in and then insert it with the other, or simply move the camera around to show the action.
The bolts for calipers are often problematic and hard to extract. I always put some copper grease to the threads when reassembling to avoid issues in future.
My only critique is not using a calibrated torque wrench on any and all brake hardware and fasteners. Why do manufactures list these values on their spec sheets?
Why oh why did the Jag dealer want $3,000 to replace the headlights on my XJ😖😭😬
Great to see some things haven't changed much from my days replacing brakes-drum, on my '65 GTO, '69 Roadrunner & '72 Roadrunner. Man, I wish I had those 3.
i use to do my brakes but hate sitting on the floor. i would love a lift for ease on my back!
Fantastic Tutorial, well done, at the 4min mark you mention the step in the disc, is this from wear and tear or is the step there from factory ? Cheers Mario from Australia.
It's a 9 mm allen on the back of the calipers, btw.
Really nice video to watch on a cold morning holding a hot cup of coffee :)
For myself... I prefer wearing those Dollar store Surgical gloves on my hands. And that is why my Wife loves me. Thanks for creating a thorough video.
I tried the surgical gloves, they aren't durable enough. I went to cotton gloves. They don't tear and the added thickness helps prevent scratches/injuries. You quickly get used to the extra thickness.
The fastest and easiest brakes and rotor change I have ever done was on a 93 Lincoln Town Car !
Only have to remove 2 slider pins facing outward and you can then remove the caliper,brakes and rotor !!
One mistake! never leave the Caliper hanging in the line ;) Love you ;) From Sweden.
I loved our 2008 ML, but it absolutely ate brakes. Stopped really well mind you, but paying MB prices was killing me.
Personally would use a thread locking compound and a torque wrench on caliper bracket bolts. Worth mentioning that many cars don't have separate parking brake shoes, just use the disc pads for the handbrake. In that case the piston on the rear brakes don't press in per the video they have to be screwed in with a tool the has the correct 'pitch'
Most of the time you can get away with a pair of pliers to wind those pistons back in
One thing you may not have covered is the importance of torque-doing it in the correct order and the correct amount. This makes a Hell of a lot of difference when buttoning things up. A perfectly good rebuild can be ruined by not getting the main or rod bearings tight enough
1:00 lol they're getting better! that was pretty funny.
4:12 I use a set of branch trimmers lol That tool looks like it work soooo much better!
The humorous skit added to the video for sure, Another great video!
Videos keep getting better and funnier.
Your wife can drive a Mercedes without much worry because she’s married to a mechanic 😂
4:24 Lately I have been cracking the bleeder when compressing caliper pistons (connected to a Lisle bleeder cup) to get rid of the caliper fluid that has heat-cycled hundreds of times instead of pushing it up into the ABS pump and master (got idea from fordtechmakuloco).
That's the Real Professional way to do All Brake Jobs. Learned that from the Bendix Brakes Answer Man and Raybestos Brakes Articles.
A Million guys use different practices.
Good stuff and you’re definitely better talking when getting into the flow of the job at hand. It would be good to get some extra lighting in the back of the job and sometimes go in tighter with the camera so we can see more clearly what you’re doing. Informative no BS content though - I like👍
Buying the ultra premiums for the wife! Good man!
Nice video, Wizard. Please consider doing a similar video on older cars with drum brakes.
thanks Wizard. How reliable are the ML 350 ? Would u recommend these to own. perhaps video on the cost of ownership?
You are the car wizard I need a wizard for this one.. 2014 mustang GT rear driver side outside pad wears 2x or 3x faster than all others.. I have changed pads and rotors several times, and changed calipers and brake hoses to rear once each still happens any ideas… additionally replaced slide pins and lube with silicone grease move smoothly no issues there
The small T30 torx bolt isn't necessary. The rotor is held on by the lug bolts and not this tiny bolt. It is only still there from assembly to hold the rotor on without anything else, but you can basically just leave it out. Or I've also had cars where it just sheared off, it broke and nothing could be done about it, so I left it away. I know repair shops that break these bolts off regularly, because they are just not needed after the car's assembly has finished and it's fitted with wheels.
That bolt is such a pain. I stripped the threads on the similar screw on my Honda and had to dremel a slot in it so that I could get the rotor off. Ruined the rotor (which I was going to replace anyway). On the other side, I used an impact to get it off, and it worked much better than the manual screwdriver.
Good thing you had a redundant microphone solution.
It's always a pain syncing up audio and video, but it can help when things like that happen.
Wizard, good video. What are your thoughts on how often to replace brake fluid by bleeding and when it's necessary to use the automated ABS module bleed procedure included on many of today's automotive diagnostic tools?
Wow that tool to compress the piston is a game changer for me.
Matt Gallagher Saves alot of time. Thanks
The DeLorean bit was great!
Different sized bolts for the front and back, rotors secured with a tiny Torx bolt, which must be so fun to try and remove if you live in the Rust belt. Fricken German engineering!
Looked like you got some grease/lube on the rotor face, shouldn't that be cleaned off prior to use? I'm adding that cordless ratchet to my to my tool chest, that looked clutch.
rconnel3 it was cleaned off before driving
The Milwaukee FUEL series is amazing. The impacts are life-savers, as are the ratchets.
Agreed!
Car Wizard (sic) it (grease/lube) SHOULD NOT have been on the components in the first place !!!
Work Clean - Work Smart AND,,,,,,,,,,in your 'Video' you should have been explaining to the viewing public the importance of clean working prctices especially around vital components like Brakes and Brake Rotors !!!
So please,,,,,'Cut the Crap' with your feeble response to @rconnel3 !!!@@CarWizard
@@LiarNoseOnFire shut up