New member here and I am glad I found this site. There is a lot of experience here that I hope to contribute to in the future. I am an experienced garage machanic and ex-engine builder and I now own a 2005 S40 T5 (my first Volvo) and have never seen rear calipers that do what mine are doing. I decided to change the rear pads (easy enough by my experience). The piston has holes on the face, which seem to me that you would turn it to get it to retract to accept the larger (new) pads, butit isnot collapsing. In fact, it is now fully extended and I cannot even get the old pads intofit around the rotor. I have tried a piston spreader and this is not working either. Is there any advise out there?!

Andy

 

Read this

Rich

 

Thanks for the info!I was on the right track,I just had to do alot more pushing and turning to get the piston to collapse.I was unable to quickly locate a universal tool for compressing the piston, so I had to use the plier technique. I must have gotten air in the system, nowI get the joy of bleeding the system. Do you know of any good one-man-bleeder systems out there? Thanks again!

 

When I posted that thread I made a clear warning to make sure you know what your doing if you choose to bleed the lines yourself. Please man be careful!!! Air in your system could cause major problems! If you can I recommand getting a friend to come over and help you pump the pedal while you bleed the lines.

This way he can pump the pedal as much as you want to insure NO air is in the lines. Just please be careful when doing it, k man!

Rich

 

Hi,

When I did mine, I used Motive Products' one-person pressure bleeder.

http://www.motiveproducts.com/index.html

As to the fluid, I used ATE (a German brake component mfg that supplies quite a few brake components to Volvo) Super Blue Racing, DOT-4 brake fluid. Brake fluid should be replaced at every 2 to 3 years, which 90% ofdrivers on the road neglect.

I bought the fluid from:

http://www.fcpgroton.com/SV40/sv40brakes.htm

"Blue" and "Amber" are pretty much the same, the colour difference is simply used to indicate that the system has been bled completely. You will want to prepare at least 2 quarts, as I only boughtone quartand it was just enough to do one car.

euro3b is 100% rightin his opinion.

Good luck and safety first. When everything is back together, be sure to drive slow and test for proper brake operations, which I'm sure you know.


JPN

 

Thanks for all the help, guys! The bleeding went fine and the brakes are nice and solid now. I ended up installing EBC Ultimax Premium Street Pads. These are considered to be an OEM replacement with a claimed 30% less dust. I consistanly had more brake dust on my rear rims than the fronts, soI am interested in seeing the difference with the EBC pads. Unfortunately, I do not drive the car much, so it will be a while until I see the results. I do get the joy of takingthe carto the dealer now, my passenger side airbag sensor has malfunctioned. I get a warning now every time I start the car that the airbag is not on. I will let you know what they say. The car is still under warranty so hopefully they will fix it on their bill $$.

 

Super!!


JPN

 

your welcome

Rich

 

Im working on a 2005 s40 T5 and the rear brake calipers wont expand as I turn them. i read the earlier post and realize that I must apply pressure while turning. Correct? The brake.tool I bought doesnt fit either. I thought to buy one specifically for Volvo but said...nah. Foolish me. Any helpful tips are appreciated.

 

Im working on a 2005 s40 T5 and the rear brake calipers wont expand as I turn them. i read the earlier post and realize that I must apply pressure while turning. Correct? The brake.tool I bought doesnt fit either. I thought to buy one specifically for Volvo but said...nah. Foolish me. Any helpful tips are appreciated.will a giant C-clamp work?

 

Turn the piston while pushing on it. Remove the cap on the brake fluid reservoir so the fluid has a place to go as the air is displaced. It was a PITA but mine finally grabbed a thread and turned in like they are supposed to. I used a pair of needle nose pliers to fit the holes in the piston face. Now you have to be careful you don't slip and drive the pliers through your hand. Fun times, eh?

 

I have this tool and it works very well for the rear brakes.

Auto Brake Caliper Wind Back Tool Kit

Harbor Freight has a similar tool

Disc Brake Pad and Caliper Service Tool Kit 18 Pc

 

Thanks guys. I was beginning to loose hope. That tool looks like it'll do the trick. Advance auto probably loans it out.