W212 - Rusty Calipers and only 2 months old!!

NW_Merc

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I recently painted my C32 AMG calipers, all I have to do now is find time to fit them. So what happens when they rust? Well I'll take them off, scrub them down and paint them again
 

whitenemesis

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Agreed but it seems that he's not one for discussion

I think the same could be said about others in this thread as well, but this is off topic again

And don't forget those that dismiss other's suggestions and opinions out of hand simply because it's not in line with their thinking .. Talk about quashing discussion! :shock:
 

television

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I recently painted my C32 AMG calipers, all I have to do now is find time to fit them. So what happens when they rust? Well I'll take them off, scrub them down and paint them again

My V70R wheel in a post above has only been painted twice in 13 years, the last time last month, so if the surface is clean and sound you should get 10 years out of them. the actual disc gets much hotter than the caliper as they are bolted to the stub axles, but the thing with disc is they will be replaced every so often but the calipers will not.

To be truthful when the pads are out it only takes 10 minutes to clean and repaint if you wanted to
 

television

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And don't forget those that dismiss other's suggestions and opinions out of hand simply because it's not in line with their thinking .. Talk about quashing discussion! :shock:

No where have I dismissed anything other than the suggestion of fitting AMG components at a ridiculous cost.
 

grober

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I took delivery of my W212 Sport Estate at the end of September and it's been a superb car so far (although the MPG isn't close to what MB state, will wait until fully bedded-in to make a judgement).

Anyway, car's now done 1800 miles and a few weeks ago I spotted the front and rear calipers were starting to rust. The fronts are worse but the rears are catching up fast. I took the car into the local dealer yesterday and they've now submitted a claim to MB but they weren't very hopeful at all as they these issues are usually knocked back, in fact they said they'd never had rusty caliper replacements approved. I'm hoping they do accept this one as the car is so new but to say I'm annoyed that this can happen to such a new car and an MB as well is seriously annoying especially as it's done such very low miles.

I'd be interested in anyone else's experiences of this issue with their calipers and also if anyone has managed to get them replaced under warranty.

The brake calipers on your car are almost certainly made of cast iron with aluminium alloy pistons. Calipers are generally made from three metals: magnesium, aluminum and cast iron. The material used is important to help eliminate any deflection of the casting. The modulus of elasticity is a measure of material deflection. The higher the modulus of elasticity number, the greater resistance to flex. Magnesium has a modulus of 6.5 million, aluminum has a modulus of 10 million, cast iron has a modulus of 14.5 million and steel has a modulus of 30 million.
Cast iron is an excellent material for caliper manufacture but will form surface rust easily. The calipers will have had a thin protective coating initially but a combination of road grit,brake dust, salt and water jets from the road surface combined with heat from the brakes will soon remove it ! If anyone makes an adverse comment on their appearance then just say yeah but they've got a superior modulus of elasticity mate.;)
 
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whitenemesis

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It is hard to believe that you are a mod at times :(:(

It's even worse Malc, a mod with a sense of humour ;)

16-1.gif
 

DIYMAN

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Just like to add to comment by Grober, if I can recall my metallurgy lectures correctly, then cast iron is superior to many metals including steel for many applications, one of the superior qualities being corrosion resistance after surface oxidisation, rust.
 

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Getting back to calipers, i painted mine but then thought the pads looked awfull so I took them out and gave them 10 thick coats of hammerite but now the brake performance is poor and I have an awfull smell under harsh braking - any ideas???

Sorry my coat is zipped up now - goodnight!

One last thought as a 210 owner if only rusty calipers were top of my corrosion problems! :rolleyes:
 

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Getting back to calipers, i painted mine but then thought the pads looked awfull so I took them out and gave them 10 thick coats of hammerite but now the brake performance is poor and I have an awfull smell under harsh braking - any ideas???

That's a hard one...which side did you paint?:lol:
 

peterwhayward

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Just like to add to comment by Grober, if I can recall my metallurgy lectures correctly, then cast iron is superior to many metals including steel for many applications, one of the superior qualities being corrosion resistance after surface oxidisation, rust.

You do remember corrrectly, its for the same reason many cast iron gutters etc are still in use after several decades!.
 

richyba

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That's a hard one...which side did you paint?:lol:

Why all of them, that grey/black gritty side looked awful so sanded and filled it first, came out lovely!:cool:
 

Naraic

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Why all of them, that grey/black gritty side looked awful so sanded and filled it first, came out lovely!:cool:

Ah...that could be the problem...too much around the edges.
 

Corned

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Why all of them, that grey/black gritty side looked awful so sanded and filled it first, came out lovely!:cool:

That was where you went wrong.

The best way to get the pads back to factory finish is to soak them for a couple of days in hot engine oil.

I thought everyone knew that?
 

television

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My post is removed on safety grounds and anyone not knowing better
 
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grober

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I took delivery of my W212 Sport Estate at the end of September and it's been a superb car so far (although the MPG isn't close to what MB state, will wait until fully bedded-in to make a judgement).

Anyway, car's now done 1800 miles and a few weeks ago I spotted the front and rear calipers were starting to rust. The fronts are worse but the rears are catching up fast. I took the car into the local dealer yesterday and they've now submitted a claim to MB but they weren't very hopeful at all as they these issues are usually knocked back, in fact they said they'd never had rusty caliper replacements approved. I'm hoping they do accept this one as the car is so new but to say I'm annoyed that this can happen to such a new car and an MB as well is seriously annoying especially as it's done such very low miles.

I'd be interested in anyone else's experiences of this issue with their calipers and also if anyone has managed to get them replaced under warranty.

Returning to the OP's original post- all I can say is surface rust on cast iron calipers is pretty much to be expected but your car's braking performance/feel/ unsprungweight/caliper dimensions are probably better due to the materials used in the caliper manufacture. Its perhaps a worthwhile price to pay for Mercedes' usually exemplary braking performance?:D
 

television

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It should also be remembered that just like any other car manufacture Mercedes do not make any brakes, most being supplied from ATE and Bendix.

Probably all cars are affected with rust on them, years ago with small wheels and a more closed design they were never seen.

I presume a car manufacture could choose a finish of some description to be applied to the calipers, but would the average motorist pay more for this product, and that I doubt very much.
 
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