Brake servo pedal seal

[VOLVOBOY]

Hi.
Been following this post with interest.
Research tells me that the seal is the same as fitted to many Mercedes models.
Search e-bay worldwide for "Mercedes Brake Booster Plunger Seal Kit" .
Should take you to an American site where the kit consists of a black EPDM seal
and a length of tubing to fit it with. This seal must be lubricated with silicon grease and nothing else prior to installing.
The Mercedes models are.. W212 , W204, W203, W163, X204.

[woodways3]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

I don't know, as the garage that fixed the issue sourced the part.

Any chance of asking the garage where they bought the seal ?im having a nigntmare finding this part.

[woodways3]

Originally Posted by VOLVOBOY

Hi.
Been following this post with interest.
Research tells me that the seal is the same as fitted to many Mercedes models.
Search e-bay worldwide for "Mercedes Brake Booster Plunger Seal Kit" .
Should take you to an American site where the kit consists of a black EPDM seal
and a length of tubing to fit it with. This seal must be lubricated with silicon grease and nothing else prior to installing.
The Mercedes models are.. W212 , W204, W203, W163, X204.

Yes ive seen this ,What they charge for shipping and import is crazy,a real rip off.One company wanted 78 Dollars in shipping alone.

[VOLVOBOY]

Hi.
My point was .. that you might have better luck trying the Mercedes route and maybe sourcing a seal from Europe.
The only other thing i can suggest is to get hold of a second-hand servo that`s got a serviceable seal on it. You can try to fit the red seal into the spare servo on the bench using a homemade bit of plastic tubing, If the dummy run works you`ve got the choice of fitting the old seal in situ or dropping the engine and fitting the "red seal" servo.

[woodways3]

Originally Posted by b1mcp

I feel your pain. I tried to fit one of those red seals from Poland to a V70 (my daughters car). I spent about 6 hours trying everything I could think of, even cutting small bits off the seal. I could get it 80% fitted but the last bit was impossible.

I've been working on cars for 40 years and I don't give up easily. But this was one where I had to throw in the towel.

I think the problem is the red seal is too hard and will just not compress enough to get it in. You might have more of a chance with the servo on the bench, but in situ I thinks it's impossible. I'm doubtful even on the bench.

I've seen black seals for sale in US and wondered if they might be softer and easier to fit? I couldn't get one quickly enough at the time.

I bought a new Servo, dropped the engine and fitted it. Expensive but done in much less time than the messing about with the seal.

Hi how long did it take to lower the engine and get the servo out????

[woodways3]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

I had the same issue with my car. I researched doing the job myself & to be honest, I just knew that it was going to be a right pain with limited access etc, so I bit the bullet & brought my car to an independent specialist to investigate. They confirmed the seal was the issue, but they wouldn't faff around replacing it either & said a second hand servo was the best option, which they sourced for me. The servo cost £80 plus labour to fit (I think it come to around £150 in total if I recall correctly & the servo itself was tested to be in full working order).

Being honest, I imagine there wouldn't have been much difference in terms of cost if they were to fit just the seal on its own, taking labour rates into account. I thought £150 was a fair price to fit a second hand unit & it was my only real option, as I wasn't going to tackle the job.

Maybe that's an option for you to consider?

HI do you know how long it took to lower the engine and remove the servo???

[woodways3]

Originally Posted by VOLVOBOY

Hi.
My point was .. that you might have better luck trying the Mercedes route and maybe sourcing a seal from Europe.
The only other thing i can suggest is to get hold of a second-hand servo that`s got a serviceable seal on it. You can try to fit the red seal into the spare servo on the bench using a homemade bit of plastic tubing, If the dummy run works you`ve got the choice of fitting the old seal in situ or dropping the engine and fitting the "red seal" servo.

After a lot of leg work the only place to buy the seal is from USA. Apart from the impossible to fit Red Polish version.

[woodways3]

Originally Posted by woodways3

Yes ive seen this ,What they charge for shipping and import is crazy,a real rip off.One company wanted 78 Dollars in shipping alone.

I have one of these US seals,Impossible to fit in situe.Could not believe their design the bottom of the seal splays slightly outwards unlike my original ATE one which as you expect sloops inwards.Crazy.

[b1mcp]

Dropping the engine sounds more difficult than it is. I think it took me about half a day for the job (but I'm not very quick).

You need to drop it about 10cm. You will need some M14 threaded bar. 4 pieces about 250mm should be fine, plus some M14 nuts and washers. I brazed a flange nut on the end of the bars to make it more of a bolt. It makes it easier to screw in but isn't needed.

You take out the subframe bolts one at a time and replace with the threaded bar and a nut/washer. When all in, you then slacken off the nuts a little at a time to lower the whole subframe and engine.

It's important to remove any parts that go between the body and engine that don't have enough slack to absorb the 10cm drop. I found the steering column to rack connection was the only thing that was a pain.