Ed, I've never done any brake work. I've never had a brake failure before that Ford did its thing. Very scarey indeed. I came >< that close to a terrible collision. If it had happened another mile down that road, I'd have been on an overpass with no place to go but through the car that had cut in front of me or through the railing.

I still have a bit of problem feeling confidence in that Ford, to tell the truth. I might end up in court with the first shop. They "fixed" the leaky rear cylinder, but failed utterly to look at the master cylinder. I came in with failing brakes - and $400 later, left with brakes that failed within two blocks. The second shop looks better but once you've had a service failure, it's hard to build faith again. The fear might have generalized a bit already. I noticed yesterday I was hesitant and really twitchy about the brakes in a whole other car that's never given one ounce of trouble. I found myself staying as far from other cars as I could and looking around nervously for emergency exits/shoulders, etc.

You can see why I'd be really REALLY hesitant to play around with rusty brake parts in the 1800E. I mean - those are original parts, 27 years old. My brain tells me Volvos have a better backup brake system, but... I still remember the slam into first gear in that Ford, when the pedal went clear to the floor in one sudden, sickening lurch. I never want to feel that again.