door brake

As rare as gold....

Quite hard to find one over here...and don't even think of a new one.
I hope some US member can help you to avoid spending a lot of money.

A used item reached 150 euros lately on the net...
The good news is left item can go on the right....if I remember well.

BMW sold replacement item that was not very good..

Good luck in your hunt ...

Marc.
 
Hi;
I did some research on this topic and found an article on this forum about using Mercedes door brakes that were much better.
Maybe someone on the forum will remember.
Koopman
 
Yeah John, that is what I have on my E3. Mine squeak really bad though. I tried some White Lithium grease but it's not really working great. Having a hard time getting to affected area. Did you have the same issue? As for as how they work, they work great other than the noise opening and closing. I may tackle that again tonight and see if something else works better. I have just been living with it. Suggestions are welcome. Maybe just some good ol' fashioned WD-40?
 
synthetic grease

I haven't had any noise problems with the ones on my car. I lubed mine with Mobil-1 red synthetic grease before I installed them. I don't care much for the white lithium grease because it seems to harden up as it ages. I've been using modified Mercedes door brakes on both of my 2002tii's for quite a few years and no squeaks on those ones either. Again, Mobil-1 synthetic grease. Did you buy the 'real' Mercedes branded door brakes or some other after market brand? I know that there's a big difference in the quality of the parts I've seen. Also see the thread above for pictures of the nylon spacers that I used too.
John
 
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I also read a thread re Mercedes door brakes ages ago (i think it was Chris Macha ??), and got some from a local wreckers for $10 ea. Work a treat - A much much better set up. Frankly, even if I could get them I wouldn't use the original brakes, mine were broken and they just seem so complex for a simple act.
One day :rolleyes: I'll get the correct size pin to stop the little kick at the end of the opening cycle.
 
Merc brakes work well though the action is stiiffer. You'll need to sleeve the pin. I used the hard plastic coating from my electrician's phillip's head screwdrivers, just cut off what I needed and drilled them out to fit - perfect.
 
I used the MB door brakes on my '74. I put a little Superlube on the movement before installation, and they actually work easier than the original e9 brakes (one of the OE's still functioned). Small plastic sleeve for the pin (got new pins for installation), and it works perfectly. I also like the fact that you have two distinct 'stops' for the opening on these brakes.
 
After the two brand new and expensive BMW brakes I put in broke again after a number of years, I did without for a while. Finally ordered two of the (again expensive) updated ones from BMW and they wouldn't fit, too short and the piece attaching to the A-pillar was also wrong.
I had some issues giving them back to the dealer (special order part) but could convince them they had supplied an incorrect part. They even ordered a third one to ensure that there was a stocking issue.
This was a couple years back, so BMW fixed that problem by now.

Because of the part issue and no path to resolution I finally went with the Merc brake, part# A 129 720 01 16. I did not want to have to deal with this stupid issue ever again. :p

The Merc brake was (and is) cheaper and closer to original in appearance from what you see in the door hinge area, and comes with the drawback of having to think of something to work as a plastic bushing as described with the screwdriver trick below.
 
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I installed the new version back when I got the car, fit and function were fine.
The door was a bit noisy so Don put the 320 version instead. I pushed the slider back in place and do not see anything wrong with it. If somebody wants to lubricate and install it I am sure it will work.

See picture.
 

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I installed the new version back when I got the car, fit and function were fine.
The door was a bit noisy so Don put the 320 version instead. I pushed the slider back in place and do not see anything wrong with it. If somebody wants to lubricate and install it I am sure it will work.

See picture.
My passenger door brake just broke with a loud noise like a spring broke. I looked in the stuff the previous owner sent to me from Hawaii and found 2 of the brakes. One was completely painted dark metallic blue and the other is golden bare metal. I remember replacing the door brake on the 2002 and they didn't look like these.
A REAL OEM search found the door brakes for CS are indeed different than the 2002 brakes. Part # 51 21 1 819 364 was superseded with # 51 21 0 301 600.
I have not pulled the door apart to make the repair. Here's a pic of mine with the correct rivet that matches Arde's and the pic I found on Google.
What other door brakes fit our CS ?
 

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