[NIck]

I think I’m done with this brake job. The wheel temperatures are cooler so I guess the brakes just needed some time to wear in.

Last drive…

Front Wheels…. 123 and 122 F

Rear wheels… 107 and 112 F

I still might jack the car up in a month and see how the wheels spin. Finished! B)

[NIck]

Jay, I’m not familiar with that. My rear brakes have an adjuster with a star wheel that sits horizontally between the brake shoes. The adjuster is like a turnbuckle with fork ends.

[NIck]

Thank you for your reply. Yeah, I’m positive the wheel cylinders can’t be compressed anymore.

The brake pedal height may have been a little low, so I adjusted the pedal up 3/8 inch. Then I ensured I had the correct pedal freeplay and the correct clearance between the pedal arm and brake light switch. The pedal freeplay is not directly adjustable, but I did have enough mechanical slop in the brake pedal mechanisms to ensure nothing is mechanically keeping the master cylinder piston pressed in.

After driving the car around 30 minutes, the brake temperatures were:
front/left…153 F
front/right…152 F
rear/left…165 F
rear/right…174 F

So the temperatures are closer together, which I guess is good. Checking another car and looking on the internet…these temperature may be normal.

However, after another drive, and jacking the car up the next day to spin the tires, I noticed all the brakes dragging. With some effort, I was able to spin the front tires around 2 revolutions and the rear tires around 1 revolution. Again, maybe this is normal, but seems like you wouldn’t want your brakes to drag at all….wears out the pads/shoes and reduces your gas mileage.

Two videos make me think this might be normal. One mechanic said the pads lightly touch the rotors when the brake pedal is not pressed. Another Mercedes mechanic was content with his tires barely turning after he spun them.

Someone suggested the booster pushrod might be too long. I might check this….

[Author]

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