Mercedes-benz E320 CDI
Part three: We renew all of the fluids and thoroughly inspect and refresh the braking system.
It usually pays to plan ahead but, as we discovered this month, the unexpected can still throw a spanner in the works. In the last issue, we decided to hold off stripping and cleaning the brakes, which appeared in good condition, until we had a new set of retaining pins for the fronts. Mer-tech warned us that these pins usually seize and then get damaged when you attempt to remove them. So we bought a new set of retaining pins and assumed we’d get the front brakes stripped, cleaned and reassembled. However, upon removing the first brake pad, we realised a visual inspection of the brakes through the spokes of the wheels hadn’t given us a good enough picture of their real condition. They were good enough to pass an MOT, but sufficiently worn to mean we’d probably need to change them in a few months. We’ve duly ordered a new set of front pads from Febi.
We had a similar surprise with the rear brakes. This time, the brake pads were in good condition, but once we had removed the discs to expose the handbrake shoes, we realised they needed renewing. There was plenty of material left on the shoes, but there were lots of cracks across the surfaces and it wouldn’t be long before chunks of brake material would be falling off.
Thankfully, those are all the surprises we’ve encountered so far. Other jobs were completed very smoothly, such as renewing the coolant. There’s a drain tap on the bottom of the radiator and refilling is simple: pour the fresh coolant into the expansion tank, run the engine and top it up.
We were also surprised at how straightforward it was to renew a couple of the rear brake pipes and refresh the brake fluid. Our model doesn’t have the electronically-controlled SBC braking system, which requires diagnostic equipment to bleed it. Instead, the traditional method of releasing a bleed nipple, attaching a pipe and bottle, then pumping the brake pedal was all that was required.
We’re fast approaching the 200,000mile mark on this car (500 miles to go at the time of writing), with fuel consumption at motorway cruising returning 38-40mpg, whereas lots of town driving drops this down to the low 30s. For a large estate car with a highperformance V6 diesel engine under the bonnet, it’s proving not too painful to run.