Bought this car, 2 mths ago, when test drove had to push hard to brake as pedal went down to floor. bought anyway, thought mechanic that services other 240 could fix. He replaced brake vacuum booster and brake master cylinder, didn't fix it . says rotors and pads aren't bad, thinking ABS? Mechanic gave up, have appt. with dealer. ChaChing. Help would be appreciated.

 

STOP! Before I dropped big $$$'s at the stealership, I'd try another mechanic who knows something about brakes. ABS failure in the 240/740/940 will NOT impair normal braking. Low brake pedal is never the booster, it is in the hydraulics. The booster merely makes braking easier and use less leg power. Low pedal is typically air in the system and/or low fluid/and or failed hoses/and or failed/air locked modulator valves at the rear of the car. Now IF the replacement master cylinder was a new unit and not a JY one, I'd say the first thing to do would be to physically inspect the brake lines looking for seepage anywhere...from the lines at the master cylinder to the rear wheels. Assuming there are no leaks, then it's possible the system merely needs bleeding correctly. If the car is difficult to stop, I guarantee there is an issue in the front brakes. The reason I say that is I drove for 6 months in a 240 with NO REAR BRAKE function! It stopped quite well except when loaded. It isn't that difficult to bleed 240's, but it is important to do it properly...including the ABS. Should you determine that it IS the ABS (I really don't see how it could be unless it just won't bleed) I have the ABS pump as well as computer module listed on eBay for cheap. If you buy that stuff from a shop, you will pay an arm and a leg!!

 

You may want to also check the brake hoses to make sure they are not deteriorated and blocking fluid . I would also suspect air in the system which any good mechanic can bleed out.

 

Thank you swift justice and jag toes for getting back to me, going to cancel dealer appt. or as you say stealer (thats good). The mechanic I had work on it was not that familiar with volvos, he did not have a power bleeder, he bled them twice though, the second time having someone inside car pushing pedal all the way down, while he went to each outlet. Don't know . going to check the things that you both mentioned. thank you. will keep posted. sancy

 

When he changed the master cyl. do I assume he bled it before he installed it. Also if he did a peddle bleed he should have felt a hard peddle at some point during the process. Are you saying after he bled the system and you stepped on the brake the peddle went to the floor? Also did he check for leaking brake calipers and maybe rusted leaking brake lines. If the system doesn't hold then you have a leak someplace. You may want to check the bias valve also. Is your brake light in your dash on all of the time? Keep looking you'll get it. There is nothing special about volvo brakes. You do 1 and you can do any.

 

This is what he said and did, calipers in front work fine, Pads are ok. Rotors new on back and pads on back new. New (rebuilt) vacuum booster and master cylinder. checked the master cylinder, it held just fine. Bled all lines. No bad hoses or leaks. No lights on at dash at all. Could ABS fuse be blown or out? 10 amp. ?Where is it located?Thanks.

 

OK...once again, failure of the ABS sustem will NOT impair braking so don't worry about fuses. It IS possible there is air trapped in the ABS pump that did not get bled. Generally, the mechanic will notice softness in the pedal and, after ruling out all the more common areas for air in the system, will bleed the ABS. My personal technique, which I do not recommend anyone trying on their own with weak brakes, is to take the car out tothe huge paved empty parking lot behind the shop and lock up the brakes 3-4 times to engage the ABS. Often, this will pump the air from the ABS and into the general system. Then I bleed the brakes again...air bubbles in the fluid tell me I was successful. I'm sure Volvo has a more civilized method! I'll look...