Having an unusual and potentially unsafe braking situation on my 87 245:

When driving here in the hot Texas summer, sometimes when going through a parking lot where I have to brake a lot, the power brake assist seems to intermittently fail, requiring me to use a much greater amount of brake pedal pressure in order to stop the car, and as a result increasing my reaction time for braking and the stopping distance. A few seconds later, the problem will be gone. Then it might come back again.

I've never experienced the hard braking problem during cooler weather, so I think the heat may be a factor. It's also been raining a lot here lately, so the moisture in the air may be a factor. The Volvo lives outside throughout the year.

The hard brake pedal feeling is the same feeling you would encounter if you tried to use the brakes with the engine turned off.

I'm looking for folks who may have experienced this before, and good places to start with diagnosis and repair.

Brake pads and rotors are less than 1 year old on all four wheels. Master cylinder is three years old. I supposed I could start with bleeding the system and go from there--advice?

Let me know what you think...

kourt
87 245
Austin, TX