Dear Dave (and others involved in this storm in a teacup) Thank you for your thorough and gracious reply about my mistaken identity. No hard feelings! I do want to point out that, although the two posts about my brakes seemed to be repeats, they are, in fact, two separate issues, or at least ,were not resolved by replacing the pads and rotors. This has led me to wonder about the competency of my mechanic, especially as today he suggested that the brakes dragging and freezing might be the differential (?!) And I did reply to someone called James, who offered excellent advice about it possibly being the master cylinder. Perhaps I am not using the site correctly, as my reply only showed up in my email. Forgive me for my clumsiness and ignorance...first time being called a troll, tho'! My lack of responses has been largely due to ignorance and shyness, but I really do appreciate all (well, nearly all) your responses..
And kitty, I DO love my Volvo. It has crossed the country a couple of times, been a camper from Yosemite to the Rockies, and currently contains all my painting gear plus several changes of clothes for the Pacific coast weather. I could not live without my Swedish car.
You have not scared me off!