My 96 850 wagon needed new front rotors, so I put them in along with new aftermarket pads (Aussie).
I've done all this before, so not expecting a problem.

Shortly after, it developed the WORST brake squeal (and I've had 7 Volvos). I immediatly replaced pads with authentic Volvo pads, but no improvement.

First things first: How do you tell which wheel is the shrieker?

What can I do to suppress squeal? The car has 125K miles, and I see some wear on the caliper, so that
pad has a little freedom. Never replaced caliper bolts. Would that help? How about the spring clips?
Do those ever need replaced? I put high-temp grease on the contact surfaces of the pad, like on the piston-bearing surface, and the guides at top and bottom.

How about the caliper mounting bracket?

I spent alot on parts to refurb my brakes, and it really sucks that they squeal so bad.

Can anybody offer a cause and effect explanation, as well as repair ideas??

PB

I see people on this list and others all the time making the recommendation to put brake caliper grease on the backs of the pads. That's not what that grease is for. It's for the caliper guide pins, and is necessary to reduce wear and corrosion and to assure proper caliper motion and even pad wear.

But the real fix for brake pad squeal, whether OEM or aftermarket, is to properly use a decent anti-squeal adhesive on the backs of the pads. I happen to like the spray-can version of Permatex "Disc Brake Quiet."

http://www.permatex.com/products/automotive/specialized_maintenance_repair/brake_maintenance_repair/auto_Permatex_Disc_Brake_Quiet.htm

There are plenty of other similar products at your local auto parts stores.

Just make sure that you thoroughly clean the backs of the pads before applying this stuff, because it won't stick to grease or brake dust.

--
Jim Rothe, '99 S70 T5M,
http://www.jimrothe.com/volvo/index.html

Most likely the caliper guide pins. Make sure to take them out, clean them completely and grease them with lithium grease as well as the back of the pads with plenty of grease. Did this with my brakes recently and no squeeks at all.
--
1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic (125K), 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red (45K), Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon (Sold at 140K and miss her). My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.