hey guys, i just bought my very first car last sunday. its a volvo 240 station wagon from 1988. i was born in 1991, so this stuff is totally foreign to me. I got it for pretty cheap, and i was expecting to put a little love (and money) into it to get this beauty running for many years to come.

SO....

i was driving yesterday and i felt my brake pedal get a little soft. i was noticing i had to push it harder and harder at each stop light. then the "BRAKE FAILURE" light just came on. By the time i got to my destination, i had to practically push it to the floor to get it to stop. I had a buddy take a look and he suspected it was the master cylinder because my brake fluid level had not changed at all. The weird thing was...after i let the engine cool down, and i started to drive home, the brake was working better again. towards the end of the ride, the pedal went soft again. Is there a possibility my breaks stop working as everything heats up from a long drive?

even today, i drove a few blocks this morning. and the brakes felt fine, though the light is still on. if i were to drive it a longer distance though, it would go soft again. does that sound like a classic master cylinder failure? is it easy to change on my own?

I really would prefer to learn how to work on it myself, because the quote i got for an hour of work at a local volvo mechanic was 100 bucks an hour. someone help a young guy out. thanks!

 

I have the same problem but my light doesnt come on. I ordered a new master cylinder and I'll change it next week. I'll let you know if it works.

 

thanks purv420. i would really like to figure out how to fix this without dropping my pants to some mechanic who will rape my wallet.

 

Simple as it gets. A dropping pedal without fluid loss is a bad master cylinder. Fix it NOW, it will not be intermittent for long.

 

and flush your brakes! this should be done quite regularlly, like every 2-3 years, as old brake fluid absorbs water from the air, then starts to corrode things from the inside.

 

Also check each caliper for binding. When the car is cold, jack each wheel up and check to make sure the tire spins freely without any binding.

Your symptoms sound very much like an issue I had on my '85 Honda Accord. One of the brakes would bind causing enough heat to boil the brake fluid. This would cause loss of braking until it cooled. Car would drive fine at first but after 20 min of driving I would lose braking ability.

Never had it happen on my Volvos though...

 

I hear a lot of folks on here mentioning binding calipers. That's really rare here in Texas; I suppose road salt must be a big factor.

I re-read the o.p.'s post. Binding brake(s) could indeed cause this issue. ACT has listed the simplest way to check 'em. Old rubber brake hoses can swell and become one way check valves. Pressure will go to the caliper, but when you release the pedal, the pressure doesn't drop much so the brakes don't release properly. Normally, the driver would feel this drag, but in as much as the car is new to you and I'm assuming you may be a new driver, you might not pick up on that.
Pierce brings up a good point on flushing your system. Standard brake fluid is designed to absorb moisture to eliminate condensation and temperamental brakes. Every few years, it should be replaced. There is silicone brake fluid on the market now for hot rodders. It doesn't absorb moisture so it doesn't need to be changed as often. My arguement has always been that I WANT my brake fluid to absorb trace amounts of moisture but meh...to each their own.

BTW, mechanics do not necessarily rape your wallet. I found years ago that if I had at least some knowledge about my car, I tended to get what I brought it in for...fixed. Some shops are not sure which symptom is most important to you and fix that which they think is the worst. It's tough today to find mechanics that truly have a knowledge base on rwd Volvos. Still, your brakes could be accurately diagnosed in 30 minutes or less by a competent mechanic, assuming the problem presents while at the shop.

We have customers come into the shop every day wanting a squeak, rattle or bump fixed. We try to have the tech who will work on the car ride with the customer. Sometimes there will be 3 or 4 different noises that we hear...but only one bothers the customer. A few years back, a van came in under such circumstances. We were slammed and no one could break loose to ride with the customer. Later, we found worn out sway bar end links and replaced them. Got rid of that noise. Customer came and brought it back..still making the noise. We then found his strut mounts were beyond worn out and replaced them. Still wasn't the noise the customer heard. Turned out it was the exhaust pipe rattling. All the parts we found were worn out and needed to be replaced and were making noise...just not the noise the customer heard. So...proper communication is the name of the game. It also helps if you see an old 240 parts car in their back lot!

 

the silicone stuff is way out of favor. has a bunch of fail built in, google it for more reasons, its too early for me.

there's a DOT something thats compatible with standard brake systems but handles higher temperatures, which is suitable for racing use. otherwise stick with standard DOT whazza (4?) that these cars are designed for.


re: binding, yeah, I've not experienced it here on the west coast, either. mostly, I think its an artifact of neglect.

 

Kinda why I mentioned hot rodders. When using silicone based fluid, I'm of the opinion the braking system needs to be totally new...not something you see on $1000 240's often. Racers typically crack all the bleed screws before a run to remove any excess water. The brake systems on my 740 and 140 were 100% new when built. I considered it seriously for the 740...but opted for stainless steel hoses. All the braking I need.

 

the silicone stuff is also incompatible with conventional rubber seals used in brakes

ok, conventional brake fluid is DOT 4
silicone brake fluid is DOT 5
the new improved 'conventional' stuff is DOT 5.1 and has even higher boiling temps than the silicone stuff, yet is fully compatible with standard seals etc.