Yep, another brakes thread

[baldmosher]

Local indie (Unipart) did my service last week, handbrake calipers had siezed up again (that's twice in the last year) but freed off very easily. Labour costs (about £50 a time) are a bit expensive, so I may try it myself, seeing as it's supposedly "easy" and apparently there is a guide on here (but not found it yet).... but I'm not a mechanic and when it comes to brakes I'm a bit paranoid.

He mentioned the front discs were scored last year (before I bought it) but that doesn't fail MOT, however they are now a bit warped, so he recommends I run the pads down to bare metal (only about 3k miles off) and then replace the whole lot.

MOT is due 1st November, so I presume I might need to be prepared to do all this in October, in case it fails MOT. I don't muck about waiting to do necessary repairs, and he'll be doing the MOT, so I assume he'll pass me if it's a borderline failure in the knowledge I'll be coming back anyway.

But he'd only be able to source OE parts, so this raises the question of what to do.

A search for "brakes" produced around a brazilian topics, but this one caught my eye:

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showth...ghlight=brakes

I've seen mention of the braided pipes but I don't have spongy brakes, they're just not as sharp as I would like, I often have to stamp pretty hard, it does stop pretty quickly, but it just doesn't feel "right". Frankly I've no idea what benefits gen Volvo parts might give me over OE, nor do I have any idea what parts I'll need, so in order to get a price from him and then FRF for gen parts, do I just ask for a kit? I assume front / back can be done separately? Would I need to change the calipers to stop them sticking?

My head is spinning but I don't want to turn up and say "here's £500, just fix it, ta"

[david philips]

most brake issues are quite easy changeing pads and discs,even rotune serviceing,even freeing up sticking calipers are very stright forward,it all depends on yourself do you want to do it yourself,if you can then i would say get a good manual and start and do some of the work, it saves alot of money,and the more you do the better you get and the more you can save.good luck.

[baldmosher]

I only have one car, and I'm 500 yards from the indie garage, up hill, so the risk of putting it in an undriveable condition makes this task a little daunting.

What's a good manual? I have a reasonable set of tools and I freed up my bonnet catch and replaced the cable all by myself, I was quite proud of that.

[andy_d]

ok "pattern" V "gen volvo" on things like Disks / pads

Gen volvo pads
A/fit first time no messing
B/ are not That expensive when bought via "rufe/FRF" off here (link at the bottom(
C/ They work. sure there are "fast road" versions and others about that work "ok" or better under Certain conditions, but not many work as well over all the conditions as the gen ones.
D/ there are Single use bolts on the brakes, after market / pattern kits dont come with those, gen ones do (or at least mine did)

Gen volvo Disks
same a & b as above
100k out of a gen set of disks isnt uncommon, pattern ones Might last that long,but youd be very lucky in my experiance to get "cheaper" ones that last anywhere near as long ,

you can get drilled/groved disks as aftermarket Upgrade items, they mostly cost more than the Gen volvo ones and work a Little better, When matched with suitable pads,,,(more cost)

buying Non drilled ones and drilling them yourself > a bit silly, heat distortion of the disk etc weakens the disk.. not the best idea out there, buy em ready done.

Hoses
yours are up to 9 year old "rubber" hoses, they will balloon a little (or a lot) under use , they May well be at the point that they are going to fail soon if you "stamp" on the brakes ( i know this as mine did) , replace with gen volvo > going to get another 8-9 years out of them
Braided hoses
No ballooning, at all (if you get the Correct ones, ptfe inner /ssteel outer Correct,, Rubber center/braided outer > will balloon, its not the braid that stops the balloon effect its the inner , goodridge or HEL > correct )
Cost,
Gen ones @ £20ish a corner
Braided goodridge £75 all 4 inc next day pre 1300 del, ,,

Calipers
If yours are "shot" and keep siezing up, you can pick up remanufactured/reconditioned ones for about £50 each side rear , smidge more for the fronts. Well worth it.


Personal view
Gen volvo disks + pads (for general day to day any weather / any condition driving)
Goodridge braided hoses
Dot 4+ fluid and Change it all,

Spongey brakes also maybe down to the ABS unit , valve sticking due to "muck" in it from the fluid being pushed back from the calipers.

to help avoid , loosen off the bleed nipple with a clear tube attached to it Before pushing the pistons back in, or push + turn for the rear calipers.

As for the "run em to the metal then replace the lot" ,, no sorry i disagree with that totally, you do not want metal / metal for brakes , you do not want warped disks. bite the bullet and fit new disks + pads As soon as you can. Ok at the moment we have a little bit of a hot spell, but its october next , if theres lots of wet/rain/poor driving conditions "iffy" or known brake problems,, nah not a good mix, front bumpers are a costly item,never mind headlights,,,
DO bed the new pads / disks in properly Before the MOT.


Rufe/FRF

[baldmosher]

That's a lot of info, I hope you copied & pasted that!! :-)

Your opinion matches what I was thinking to be honest, I don't need anything except the ability to reliably stop when I push the middle pedal without having to stamp on it.

I also disagreed with "run em to the metal", especially as the discs are already a little bit warped, and scored at the front but not so badly to fail MOT, but I can stagger the cost if I get the fronts done first then the rears when/if the calipers sieze up again or wear down to plate. That's what I'm planning to do anyway. I'll get a labour quote from my indie before I decide whether to start dismantling everything ;-) he did suggest it'd be about £100 a corner for the genuine calipers.

Further opinions / alternatives would be welcomed, top that at your peril ;-)

[andy_d]

deffinatly do the worse ones first,,and the others "next/later"

cut n paste,,naw with those spelling mistooks

do give rufe/simon @ frf a bell there £'s are Nice.

one other thing ,, the Rear Pipes on yours, get the chap to check them at the rear wheel, theres a mud/muck trap right where the pipes are, and they Do rot out at that point,,

[s40rch]

Originally Posted by andy_d

Spongey brakes also maybe down to the ABS unit , valve sticking due to "muck" in it from the fluid being pushed back from the calipers.

to help avoid , loosen off the bleed nipple with a clear tube attached to it Before pushing the pistons back in, or push + turn for the rear calipers.

Rufe/FRF

Regarding the ABS unit, where is this Valve, and where can i get some clear tube thats the correct size?

How often should the fluid be changed, I do about 16k of hard driving a year.

R

[Dog_Book]

buying Non drilled ones and drilling them yourself > a bit silly, heat distortion of the disk etc weakens the disk.. not the best idea out there, buy em ready done.

unless your an engineer so therefore using the techniques as the ones you buy from brands that use engineering shops to do the work on them :P

[scoobysn7x]

I've had to replace the disks and pads on both my S40 & V40, both times I've used Mintex discs and pads and been most impressed, I did the V40 about a month ago, just brought the mintex brake boxes off ebay was fronts were about £65 & backs about £48 , and I got some HEL braided lines £58 delivered worth doing, was going to do the disks and pads myself but ran out of time before the MOT so just got the local indy garage I use to do them charged £45 (£9.50 of that was the cost of the fluid)to fit them & the braided lines and change to dot5.1 fluid all worth doing and not really that expensive and worth doing...

I really recommend the mintex disc and pads great improvement...

As for the handbrake issue I've had this and it is a DIY fix, I've just had to do mine again today, been away for 2 weeks my dad washed the car and moved it but pulled the handbrake on very hard and its seemed to jam it again (mine is the drivers side playing up).

I don't even bother jacking the car up (as this is the 3rd time I've had to do it) just get under the car at the back, you can see the back of the caliper, and there a little spring there below that there a 13mm bolt try loosening this off 1/4 of a turn, and work the lever back and forth whilst spraying WD40 on it, I also gave it a going over with a wire brush and added some copper grease, I get someone in the car to put the hand brake on and off, just keepl working it back and forth til it starts working smoothly. Really is worth trying yourself took me 5 mins with my dad helping

On mine is quite easy to tell when its needs done as when you lift the handbrake up there no resistance at all, I tend not to pull my handbrake more than 2 or 3 clicks as it seems to stick when it pulled on hard (which my dad did) once done it seems to last a few months, would probably have been ok if my dad hadn't pulled it right up and left it sitting for 2 weeks, I know eventually I'll need to get the caliper replaced (the caliper and handbrake mech is one unit) but I ok sorting it myself for now, will sort it when I've got more spare cash

[Dog_Book]

I have Mintex drlled disc's and pads and i find the pads very dusty on me wheels :P