Volvo Owners Club Forum - View Single Post - Brakes:

Tannaton · Jan 14th, 2019, 12:38

It's all been said except if you do have to replace the front discs and pads - use genuine Volvo parts only. You can buy a kit of discs and pads from Volvo dealers who sell on e-bay for around £160-£170.

The 2.25T XC90 is very heavy on brakes and suspension and we frequently see new members on here frustrated at constantly warping discs - usually cured by fitting genuine parts.

The parking brake can be very tricky to get working and adjust correctly - again genuine parts (or at least genuine parking brake shoes) are the key.

When adjusting the in-drum adjusters - my preferred method is to tighten them up as much as you can and then start to slacken off until you can just turn the wheel by hand. Then apply and release the parking brake a few times and keep slackening off by small amounts until the first point at which you cannot hear a knock when you rock the wheel between clockwise/counter clockwise rotation. There is a small amount of clearance between the shoes and the stop and if you rock the wheel and the shoes are in contact - they will rotate slightly and knock on and off the stop.

When adjusting the in-car cable adjuster, if you don't have the correct tool use a 10mm and 11mm open ended spanner to force it open. When you have forced it open enough - shove a 12mm spanner in betwwen the 10mm and 11mm and go again. Count carefully the number of clicks you hear as you open it - keep checking the wheels rotate back and forth without the knocking noise, if it comes back then you may have gone too far, in which reset the adjuster and open it again but one less "click".

When complete, drive the car approx 100 yards with the parking brake on, then let it cool and repeat once or twice to bed the shoes it. You may need to check the adjustment again after than.

I done a few XC90's and for some reason some cars are easy and you get a good parking brake effort that almost locks the rear wheels - other cars you struggle to get it good enough to pass the MOT (which isn't a a particularly high bar) so I do wonder if the pedal mechanism wears (I always check the cables).

Check also that the pedal is not fouling the carpet - on some cars the pedal release cable from the dashboard catch pulls the carpet into the footwell and fouls the pedal as you press it.

It can take 2 or 3 goes to get it working the best if you haven't done it before.

Guess what I was doing most of Saturday morning :-)

Jan 14th, 2019, 12:38	#4
Tannaton Bungling Amateur Last Online: Today 10:05 Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Beverley, East Yorks	It's all been said except if you do have to replace the front discs and pads - use genuine Volvo parts only. You can buy a kit of discs and pads from Volvo dealers who sell on e-bay for around £160-£170. The 2.25T XC90 is very heavy on brakes and suspension and we frequently see new members on here frustrated at constantly warping discs - usually cured by fitting genuine parts. The parking brake can be very tricky to get working and adjust correctly - again genuine parts (or at least genuine parking brake shoes) are the key. When adjusting the in-drum adjusters - my preferred method is to tighten them up as much as you can and then start to slacken off until you can just turn the wheel by hand. Then apply and release the parking brake a few times and keep slackening off by small amounts until the first point at which you cannot hear a knock when you rock the wheel between clockwise/counter clockwise rotation. There is a small amount of clearance between the shoes and the stop and if you rock the wheel and the shoes are in contact - they will rotate slightly and knock on and off the stop. When adjusting the in-car cable adjuster, if you don't have the correct tool use a 10mm and 11mm open ended spanner to force it open. When you have forced it open enough - shove a 12mm spanner in betwwen the 10mm and 11mm and go again. Count carefully the number of clicks you hear as you open it - keep checking the wheels rotate back and forth without the knocking noise, if it comes back then you may have gone too far, in which reset the adjuster and open it again but one less "click". When complete, drive the car approx 100 yards with the parking brake on, then let it cool and repeat once or twice to bed the shoes it. You may need to check the adjustment again after than. I done a few XC90's and for some reason some cars are easy and you get a good parking brake effort that almost locks the rear wheels - other cars you struggle to get it good enough to pass the MOT (which isn't a a particularly high bar) so I do wonder if the pedal mechanism wears (I always check the cables). Check also that the pedal is not fouling the carpet - on some cars the pedal release cable from the dashboard catch pulls the carpet into the footwell and fouls the pedal as you press it. It can take 2 or 3 goes to get it working the best if you haven't done it before. Guess what I was doing most of Saturday morning :-) __________________ 2011 XC90 D5 Executive 2003 C70 T5 GT 2012 Ford Ranger XL SC 1977 Triumph Spitfire 1500 1976 Massey Ferguson 135 Last edited by Tannaton; Jan 14th, 2019 at 12:43.