I drove my 1994 850 Turbo for about a year with hard breaks. I was told I needed a new booster, then a new master cylinder. I broke down and got it done $$$, but when all was done the techs could not get fluid to go to the right front brake, and essentially it (that wheel) was not breaking. They said I probably needed a new ABS system?? (No ABS light). Well, I said let me take it out and see if it stops. I slammed on the breaks a few times going 45-60mph (while no one was around, of course) and the car stopped just fine, not even pulling to one side, so I said I'll take what I have...the brakes were not as hard as before, but still not normal. Well shortly there after the brakes got soft and they keep getting softer. It is still hard to break, and once I stop the pedal continues to go down. I had to put the car in storage to leave town for 6 months. I came back, the trusty volvo started up, but the brakes have, not surprisingly, gotten worse. From what I have been reading on these forums, soft breaks that slowly go to the floor while stopped, is a sign of needing a new master cylinder, but I have one....WHAT GIVES??

 

You might have the dreaded bad new part. It's rare but you may have a master cylinder that although it's new wasn't assembled properly or is defective and is "bleeding" down.
If your master is under a warranty I'd try a second one as it's possible it is bad and if not and you have the same feel to the brakes you can move on to something else.

 

Good thing I moved to a new state over 600 miles away from the techs who did it under warranty....that cylinder and booster job cost over $1,000 so it may be worth a drive. I am so very unlucky with everything I have had done to this car...something tells me it is the car and not the parts.

 

Hi There,

you mentioned that the techs could not get fluid to one wheel... this would lead me to believe then that your brakes have not been bled properly. Is your pedal hard or is it "spoungy"? Air in the system will cause some weird and dangerous problems at times, so be careful when slamming brakes at any speed.

 

I don't normally slam on the breaks. Knowing my breaks, I drive as carefully as possible and keep my distance at any speed. I don't think I would call them spongy. The tech told me that they had bled the breaks. Could they have done it wrong?

Even trying to stop slowly, sometimes I press the break and it seems like the breaks aren't going to work, then the "hard" break hits. There seems to be no pressure controlling the break. Then the car stops and while my foot is on the break at a longer light it will slowly start to go lower. Something else that I have started to have to do about once a day is use the shift lock button next to the gear shift. The car just gets stuck in park.

 

It sounds to me like you may have air in the system... I would try bleeding the brakes fully before ruling that your master cylinder is at fault. Bleeding brakes can be tricky and if you dont know what you are doing you wind up with brakes that work... well as you would not expect them to. Remember, the rule is that you cannot compress a fluid, but you can a gas (air).