Yep, another brakes thread

[baldmosher]

@scoobysn7x - Thanks very much, I will try that next time it siezes. The Wife™ is a mechanical engineer so I'll sit in the car pulling my handbrake while she gets down and dirty under the chassis.

@Dog_book - I had very dusty brakes on my Golf, it was annoying having black wheels after a month, although I do wash the Volvo more often (hehe), so thanks scoob for the Mintex recommendation but I'll be doing Volvo unless it's ££££££.

eBay has Goodridge kits for £57 all inc, I've ordered a kit. There are HEL kits for £69, and I don't suppose there's any appreciable difference in quality/longevity between the brands. The HEL kits are coloured lines and with TUV approval (labels) but I'm not bothered enough to pay £12 extra and wait for them to be built specially....

[scoobysn7x]

Originally Posted by baldmosher

eBay has Goodridge kits for £57 all inc, I've ordered a kit. There are HEL kits for £69, and I don't suppose there's any appreciable difference in quality/longevity between the brands. The HEL kits are coloured lines and with TUV approval (labels) but I'm not bothered enough to pay £12 extra and wait for them to be built specially....

To be honest I was going to go with goodridge but the ebay seller couldn't confirm which kit would fit the T4, I went to goodridge direct and they could not confirm which kit was needed and advised I would have to measure the line on the car to ensure the correct kit was purchased (not helpful!!!) the website I used (brakelines.co.uk or something) to get the HEL ones were great guaranteed fitment as the HEL are made to order, they had a discount and free postage so it was £58, really good quality and really quick took about 5 days from order to delivery and got update on the order satus well impressed with the service, I got the silver carbon fibre effect cover and they are well smart well worth the cash.

Re the discs and pads I think the volvo one will be a lot more, the motor factors in glasgow could supply pattern parts for less than the Mintex brake kits and they was some crappy makes I'd never heard of the disc were more than the mintex discs and pads!!!

I don't really notice any more brake dust than usual...

[baldmosher]

Aye, that is slightly concerning, although I did ring the seller (I always ring them in advance for advice if it's for something like this) and he did confirm that the kit in stock was for the "S40/V40 1997-2004". I can't imagine there will be a problem if this kit is specified to fit both phase 1 & 2. I would imagine the T4 is the same as all the rest? If not, I have Distance Selling Regulations and my statutory rights on my side.

I'm planning to call FRF tomorrow for their price before I decide what to do. If it's hundreds different I'm not that fussed about going genuine.... I'm expecting a few tenners.

[baldmosher]

One more question, is there much difference in quality between "OE" (i.e. Unipart) and "Volvo Genuine"? Are they basically comparable quality, or is it a case of pays yer money?

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by baldmosher

One more question, is there much difference in quality between "OE" (i.e. Unipart) and "Volvo Genuine"? Are they basically comparable quality, or is it a case of pays yer money?

depends on the bit
borg warner clutch kits > excellent
unipart ,, usually pretty not bad really

"halfrauds" own brand "direct oem replacement" ,,usually as good as wet tissues

[baldmosher]

Noted, I'll give my indie a ring tomorrow too and get prices for Uniparts.

[mjbv40]

I used Mintex discs & pads on my old 406 (RIP) and was very impressed.
I've heard good things about Pagid kit which eurocarparts sell, I'll be getting some myself soon because the rears discs are a wee bit lipped!

[benf]

Originally Posted by mjbv40

I used Mintex discs & pads on my old 406 (RIP) and was very impressed.
I've heard good things about Pagid kit which eurocarparts sell, I'll be getting some myself soon because the rears discs are a wee bit lipped!

Thumbs up from me for Mintex red/black boxed plain (e.g. non-drilled) pads and discs ... When I got then fitted at the MOT centre could not belive the cost :P something down the lines of 'there are good as the pads and discs we normal source and half the price!' I got mines from 'quality.car.parts' seller on ebay.

[baldmosher]

I couldn't find any Mintex kits for the S40/V40 on eBay, but kits for similar sized cars are coming up at about £120...

Pagid on ECP about £140 in total....

FRF quoted for a full set of Volvo discs + pads, a shade over £150, + £20 delivery (for two boxes)

Frankly, I don't think that's very much at all, and is much less than I was expecting. I'm very impressed. Even my indie sounded surprised, I'm waiting for a price from him on Uniparts tomorrow but I doubt they'll be much less.

I'll be asking FRF if I can send my own courier to collect though...!

[mjbv40]

You can't go wrong at those prices, I'd be interested to know who makes the gen volvo ones!