How to Change the Brakes on a 2000 E320


1. Park the Mercedes on a flat, level surface, such a driveway. Turn off the ignition and then pop the hood. Let the engine chassis cool for about five minutes.
2. Remove the maser cylinder cap under the hood. This cap is black and sits on top of a white, semi-transparent reservoir found to the right of the engine. Remove about half the brake fluid from this reservoir using the turkey baster, then put the cap back on loosely.
3. Loosen the lug nuts on one the front driver's side wheel with the lug nut wrench (also known as a tire iron), but do not remove them completely. This will make them easier to remove.
4. Place the jack under the Mercedes near the rear of the front driver's side tire, where there should be a solid surface. Jack up the car until the wheel is about 2 inches off the ground and place a jack stand underneath it so the vehicle doesn't fall on you while you're working.
5. Remove the lug nuts you previously loosened and put them aside. Take the wheel off and set it aside, as well, revealing the braking mechanism underneath, which consist of the rotors and calipers.
6. Line up the punch with the caliper pin at the top of the caliper and then strike it with the hammer. This should knock out the caliper pin. Repeat this process with the bottom caliper pin and remove the caliper mechanism from the caliper bracket (the mechanism is what holds the pads; the bracket is what holds the caliper to the rotor and cannot be removed).
7. Pinch the clip at the top of the brake pad with the pliers and yank the pad from the caliper. It should slider out fairly easily if it's worn down. Repeat this with the other pad.
8. Apply a layer of brake grease to the metal shim of the new brake pads. This will protect the pads from excess moisture and keep them from wearing down any faster.
9. Slip the new brake pads into the brake pad slots of the caliper in the same direction the previous brake pads were in.
10. Put a C-clamp, which tightens and holds things together, over the caliper piston and the corresponding side of the caliper (the side which it extends). Tighten the clamp to squeeze the piston into the side of the caliper. Loosen and remove the clamp after the piston has fully recessed into the caliper.
11. Slip the caliper back over the caliper bracket and hammer the caliper pins back into their slots. You may need to turn the wheel a bit on the car to gain access to the backside of the caliper.
12. Place the wheel back onto the braking mechanism and tighten the lugnuts. Insert the jack under the car, remove the jack stand, then lower the car back to the ground.
13. Repeat Steps 3 through 12 with the other three wheels and braking mechanisms, then fill the brake fluid reservoir with brake fluid and tighten the cap back over it.