Friends,
Last Friday, a gentleman asked if it was really necessary to use a Volvo trained mechanic to replace the brake pads on his 240, or if he could trust a nearby brake specialist mechanic. My and others' reply was that there was no reason for not doing it himself. But as with a lot of things, this is a job you know is very easy if you have done it once. But if you haven't, you might be intimidated by the fact that this is your lifesaving brakes, and that you don't know what challenges you will face once the wheel is off.

So when I replaced my front rotor and pads yesterday, I also took a few pictures and hastily put up a web site, hoping it might be useful to others. But as I do not want to mislead anyone, I would be very grateful for comments and possible corrections before I link to it from my main 240 site. Language corrections are welcome too, it is embarrassingly obvious that I'm struggling with a language not my own.

Here's the link: http://home.no.net/ebrox/Brakes.htm

Thanks,
Erling.
--
My 240 Page

Again thanks, your contributions have been most valuable! I have revised the page since my first draft and hope I haven't overlooked anything. But since then a couple of more hints have been offered and I also spot a few linguistic imperfections, so I will do some final revisions shortly, probably tonight. The page is now added to my 240 site.

Erling.
--
My 240 Page

Hi Erling,

Your post is excellent. I enjoyed learning about the genuine Volvo parts too. Very nice!
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.

An excellent job. If you had not mentioned tht English is a second language for you, I would not have guessed.

I began doing my own 240 brakes before using the Brickboard. I used the Volvo Green book for guidance, and sort of figured out things on my own.

The biggest PITA was hitting the hole in the slide pin when inserting the clips. This is how I solved that problem: Install the slide pins such that the holes for the clip is pointing straight out. I do it this way every time, so when I have the clip gripped in the needlenose pliers, I can poke around just a bit and find the hole. Using a mirror and flashlight to find the hole is frustrating to me.

With the pads out, use a flashlight and mirror to inspect the pistons for condition of the dust seals and look for leakage.

With the pads out, use a can of spray Brakcleen to blow out any pad dust. Stay upwind and/or wear a mask, the dust might contain asbestos or other evil things.

Regards,

Bob

:>)

Great, Erling,

One point. There is no reason to remove the caliper until you know you can get the brake disk loose. And if the disk is reluctant to come off, I have found that the most solid place to pivot a prybar against is the inner edge of the disk slot in the firmly-mounted caliper. (That's provided you don't have to get too forceful.)

So, after removing the pads from the caliper, I loosen up the disk bolts a few turns, then break the disk loose -- with the prybar, if necesary -- then unbolt and hang up the the caliper, then finish removing the disk bolts and lift off the loose disk. If the disk won't come loose at first, I treat with PB Blaster and wait awhile. Then more extreme measures start.
--
jds

Great, Erling,

One point. There is no reason to remove the caliper until you know you can get the brake disk loose. And if the disk is reluctant to come off, I have found that the most solid place to pivot a prybar against is the inner edge of the disk slot in the firmly-mounted caliper. (That's provided you don't have to get too forceful.)

So, after removing the pads from the caliper, I loosen up the disk bolts a few turns, then break the disk loose -- with the prybar, if necesary -- then unbolt and hang up the the caliper, then finish removing the disk bolts and lift off the loose disk. If the disk won't come loose at first, I treat with PB Blaster and wait awhile. Then more extreme measures start.
--
jds

Thank you Erling for an excellent posting. I will use this info when I do my front brakes and pads this spring.

Mario
--
'I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane' Waylon Jennings

Thanks for your kind comments and advice, much appreciated! I will do the revisions later tonight, and then put the new version on my Volvo site. The wife says I'll have to come with her to do the weekly shopping now - hope the brakes will hold up. Hm.

Again thanks,
Erling.
--
My 240 Page

Hello Erling,

A couple months ago I did my front brakes ... for the first time.
I had posted here on the board for tips. I printed Tony Hoffman's Volvo Brake message, that was very useful indeed. I had my own advisor right next to me, so much simpler that way for a first timer...

You may want to incorporate some of the wording with your pictures. The advice to do one side at a time to reference the other is a very good one !

Tony's instructions :

"DO ONE SIDE AT A TIME in case you need to reference the other side.

Tire off

Turn the Pins until you see the small Clevis pins that go through a hole in the pin.

Pull pin out, NOTE the positioning of the Spring Wires that hold the pads.

With a pair of Channel lock Pliers, grab the old brakes and the outside of the caliper and squeeze to push the pistons in. (do this to both Pads. This caliper has pistons on both sides)

Pull pads out. take a flat bladed screw driver and scape the dirt from the flat surface that the pads ride on.

use bearing grease or Lithium grease and put a very thin layer on those riding surfaces.

take lite sandpaper or wire wheel to the gack on the pins. a very lite smear of grease on those is a good idea.

slide the new Pads in. put the pins back in with the spring wires.
--
'89 244DL M47 170K miles

Nice job. In Step 4, it looks like you tied the caliper out of the way with a wire. In the text, you say "spring."

Great pictures. I noticed you used new caliper bolts. I think that's a good idea. It's a recommendation by Volvo that is often ignored. I did a survey once, and, as I recall, all, or almost all, the respondents said they reuse the bolts, which is what I have done also. I still believe that in a how-to piece, the best thing is to recommend the safest way, like you did. In fact,next time I'll probably go with new bolts! Nice addition to your web page.
--
Thanks for all the help. DougC. 1981 242 Brick Off Blocks, Turbo bars and wheels, M46. 1990 245, auto, 113k. 1993 245, M47, 154k.

Why exactly is it recommended to use new bolts when putting the caliper back on? I've heard that advice before, but never heeded it... the old ones look just fine (!) Are they designed to distort when installed in order to hold themselves in place?
--
1992 245 w/M47 transmission, 225k miles

Here is what the Bentley book says on the subject:

"WARNING
Do not re-use the caliper mounting bolts. They are designed to be used only once, and become unreliable and may fail when used a second time. When the calipers are loosened or removed, always replace these calipers with new parts."

Volvo is not taking this lightly either, as they include two new bolts with each rotor. All I can say is that the new ones had a paint-like substance on the threads, making them hard to turn. I assume this stops them from coming loose, but I do not know why you couldn't just use Locktite.

Erling.
--
My 240 Page

Erling,
a local volvo mechanic, from sweden too, mentioned putting a small drop or two of touch up paint on the 4 anchor bolt threads of the ball joint.

i would imagine that it can be applied on these threads, too. sticky, yet not overly hardening. just enough to prevent the bolts from loosening up.

you certainly have command of the english language, which is not surprising that many europeans speak multiple languages. here, it's a different matter.

regards,
byron

Thanks for the response Erling...

Yeah, I saw that passage in Bentley but didn't think about it too much.

I guess it makes sense though -- those bolts are under alot of stress whenever you brake. So when you've done enough braking to warrant replacing the rotors, then the caliper bolts have endured enough stress that their strength is compromised.

Could be messy if the caliper bolts gave out while you were braking! (8-o

I'm convinced, better to replace them.

Thanks again,

--Rich.
--
1992 245 w/M47 transmission, 225k miles

Nice write up Erling. I am always impressed by your command of English. To me, it even seems to have a touch of American "flavor".

You might add a caution about the pad springs, which sometimes fly off when the first pin (or the punch) is pulled out.

I have a Norwegian friend, Ottar Loland, who has a one-man Volvo shop in Syracuse NY. Don't see him much any more, but he has given me meny tips in the past. Like blocking the brake pedal down to keep the Master Cylinder from draining when brake lines are opened for any reason. And replacing rotted metal fuel lines (on the older cars) with 5/16" copper refrigeration tubing.
--
Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

I also press the pistons back in step 3, makes wiggling out the pads a bit easier, too. I smear a little 'never-seize' on the guide pins before I put them in.

Nice write-up and good piccies.

Marten

NOT embarassingly obvious!! Very good - only comment I have on that is that
there is an á in there that I don't recognize early in the description.

Also - for repairs it is probably convenient to refer to bolt sizes by the
size of the wrench, it is actually the shank size that defines bolt.
The one you use a 10mm wrench on is probably a 6mm bolt and I would guess
that the one for which you use a 19mm (3/4"?) is a 12 mm bolt.

On the oldtimers the wrench sizes are 7/16" for the ¼" bolts holding the
rotor to the hub (or a big Phillips screwdriver on most of them) and
a 3/4" wrench for the 1/2" bolts that hold the caliper to the spindle forging.

Great job!!
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

nice write up for first timers. that punch you used for removing the guide pins brings back bad memories. last week I was doing a front brake job on a Volvo 240 that had been sitting for 2 years. The guide pins were completely frozen and heavily corroded. I used a punch almost identical to yours. What happened was I didn't realized that the fat side tappered end had run up against the guide pin hole in the caliper. I couple more wacks and the top of the guide pin hole on the caliper broke off.

Morale of the story. Excessive force will usually always get you into trouble and time to start looking for decent calipers in the local junk yard.

Read your punch story with great suspense waiting to hear you didn't realize the punch had split and penetrated your hand. Glad to hear it was only a caliper that suffered.

Rather then pressing the pistons back, in step 10, I do it in step 3.

"it is embarrassingly obvious that I'm struggling with a language not my own."
Don't know what language you're talking about. I saw your page in English. ;)
--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans in Brampton, Ont.

I wish I was that "bad" with a second language; well done Erling!

The only thing that springs to mind, is the fairly consistent advice I've seen here to open the bleeder when you spread the caliper pistons, so crap that has settled in the caliper doesnt' get pushed back up the line and screw up either the ABS modulator or the master brake cylinder seal.

I must admit that by the time I've struggled through a brake job (yeah, I know, it's not that difficult), I don't usually want to bother worrying about it, figuring I might mess up and have to bleed the braks. Do you think such a step is adviseable, or overkill? I suppose that if the brake fluid has been flushed recently enough, it shouldn't be necessary.


--
David Armstrong - '86 240(350k km?), '93 940T(270k km), '89 240(parts source for others) near Toronto

Pretty similar to the way you see most dealership techs do it. They will usually change out the pads first and then with the new pads installed they will remove the caliper from the rotor, change out the rotor (if it is stuck hit it with a big hammer until it comes off) and then reinstall the caliper with the pads still in it. There is enough clearance with the pistons compressed all of the way that you can slide the calipers on and off with the pads still in them.

Mark