Issue with my parking brake
Discussion
My parking brake lost its grip on the nearside a while ago, but it hasn't really bothered me as I use Park on the gearbox. I still get a bit of grip from the offside, just not enough obviously. Its also irritating that I'm blinding other motorists with my brake lights, while sat at traffic lights.
Today I decided to look in there to see what the fault was, especially as just recently its started making a single "clank" with every revolution of the wheel, at speeds below about 10mph. Other times, if I decide to use the parking brake, the shoes don't release correctly - you can hear it squeal for a mile or so. There's a large lip on the inside of the brake disc which I suppose is a guide for the shoes. I'm wondering if the shoes have been getting stuck on that lip, because the discs are just ECP generic discs, and not Mercedes OEM.
Trouble is, I can change brake pads and the like without issue, but I've never tackled a parking brake before now, and I'm not sure what's causing the problem. I don't fancy removing the offside wheel to compare, as getting to the caliper bolts is a pain.
The shoes appear to move as I apply the brake. Something that does appear odd is that the shoes themselves are very far back.
The shoes look knackered anyway, so they can probably be replaced. Any ideas? Its a W210 E-class Merc. I can take it to an indie but the car is a shed tbh.
Today I decided to look in there to see what the fault was, especially as just recently its started making a single "clank" with every revolution of the wheel, at speeds below about 10mph. Other times, if I decide to use the parking brake, the shoes don't release correctly - you can hear it squeal for a mile or so. There's a large lip on the inside of the brake disc which I suppose is a guide for the shoes. I'm wondering if the shoes have been getting stuck on that lip, because the discs are just ECP generic discs, and not Mercedes OEM.
Trouble is, I can change brake pads and the like without issue, but I've never tackled a parking brake before now, and I'm not sure what's causing the problem. I don't fancy removing the offside wheel to compare, as getting to the caliper bolts is a pain.
The shoes appear to move as I apply the brake. Something that does appear odd is that the shoes themselves are very far back.
The shoes look knackered anyway, so they can probably be replaced. Any ideas? Its a W210 E-class Merc. I can take it to an indie but the car is a shed tbh.
Edited by Parrot of Doom on Tuesday 29th June 13:04
POD,
A little info regarding use of Park and the longiverty of your transmission.
On a flat surface it is not a problem to just use park and not use the parking brake. BUT if you park on a slope it is best to apply the parking brake before moving from Drive to Park.
When you next start the car and move from park to drive there is much less wear on your torque converter. (as the weight of the car is held by the brake not the tranmission.)
Next time you are on hill try it both ways you will find the car will move to drive much more smoothly.
A little info regarding use of Park and the longiverty of your transmission.
On a flat surface it is not a problem to just use park and not use the parking brake. BUT if you park on a slope it is best to apply the parking brake before moving from Drive to Park.
When you next start the car and move from park to drive there is much less wear on your torque converter. (as the weight of the car is held by the brake not the tranmission.)
Next time you are on hill try it both ways you will find the car will move to drive much more smoothly.
jeff m said:
When you next start the car and move from park to drive there is much less wear on your torque converter. (as the weight of the car is held by the brake not the tranmission.)
That's a bunch of hocus pocus. Torqe converter (a) doesn't suffer wear because it's a fluid coupling, and (b) it has much more work to do when you floor the throttle than when you move off.The real reasons to use the parking brake on an auto are,
1. to stop the mechanism seizing up and/or rusting so giving you an expensive MOT fail, and
2. you don't want the weight of the car hanging on the "park pawl" inside the transmission when you park on a slope or someone nudges your bumper when parked. If the pawl snaps off you're into an expensive transmission repair.
Whenever I park on a slope I still use the (weak) parking brake, but I also always turn my wheels into the kerb.
A couple of folk on the MB forums reckon that the cable might not be returning, so I think I'll pull it back to bits, remove the shoes, and give it a good scrubbing/oiling/greasing.
A couple of folk on the MB forums reckon that the cable might not be returning, so I think I'll pull it back to bits, remove the shoes, and give it a good scrubbing/oiling/greasing.
Parrot of Doom said:
Whenever I park on a slope I still use the (weak) parking brake, but I also always turn my wheels into the kerb.
A couple of folk on the MB forums reckon that the cable might not be returning, so I think I'll pull it back to bits, remove the shoes, and give it a good scrubbing/oiling/greasing.
There is a gadget you can get, marketed towards motorcyclists that connects to the end of a cable to push oil down the length by means of a t handle and threaded portion, it might be worth a look? A couple of folk on the MB forums reckon that the cable might not be returning, so I think I'll pull it back to bits, remove the shoes, and give it a good scrubbing/oiling/greasing.
http://www.trialsbits.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath...
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