Rear Brake Pad Set 0034202820 for Mercedes C-Class CLK SLK

Rear brake pad set 0034202820, FMSI number D873, is the 78 by 63 by 15 mm pad for the ATE and Teves rear calipers on the Mercedes C-Class W202, W203, S202 and S203, the CL203 coupe and the CLC, the CLK C208, A208, C209 and A209, the E-Class W210 and S210, the SLK R170 and R171, the SL R230 and the Chrysler Crossfire, from 1993 to 2012.

The set is four pads, two per side, on steel backing plates with a shim bonded to the back and a chamfer moulded into the leading and trailing edges. The friction material is a low metallic compound matched to the single piston sliding caliper used on the rear of these cars, where the pad does far less work than the front and needs to work from cold without noise. The backing plate has the two ears that locate in the caliper bracket and a notch for the wear indicator on the models that have one. The 78 mm pad height and the 15 mm thickness are what separate this pad from the other Mercedes rear shape sold under a similar number, so the old pad should be measured before ordering if there is any doubt.

How they fail. Rear pads on these cars usually die of neglect rather than wear. The sliding caliper pins seize, the pad is held against the disc, and the inner pad wears to the backing plate while the outer pad still has half its material. That shows as a grinding noise that appears only when the car is rolling, a rear wheel that runs hot, and a handbrake that feels weak because the drum in the disc hat has been cooked. Pad knock back from worn caliper bushes gives a long pedal that pumps up. A wear indicator light on the dash means the sensor has touched the disc, and by then the pad is already below its minimum thickness.

Fitting notes. Syringe a little fluid out of the reservoir before the pistons are pushed back, or it will overflow when they are. Remove the caliper bracket bolts, lift the caliper off, and hang it so the hose is not stretched. Clean the bracket abutments with a wire brush, because rust there is what makes a new pad bind, and grease the slide pins with silicone grease, not copper slip, which dries out and seizes. Fit the anti rattle clips, slide the pads in, and check that both ears sit square. Torque the bolts to the figure in the workshop data, refit the wheels, and pump the pedal until it is firm before the car moves. Bed the pads in with light stops over the first 200 km.

Supplied as one axle set of four pads with shims and anti rattle clips. The wear sensor is ordered separately on models that use one. Twelve month warranty.