Help meh....

So I have a 2003 Volvo S40I have changed out all of the braking system one time and it still seems to not work at all. I have a few speculations on what it could be but I'm really new to this car.. Good to hear what someone who has owned one for a bit can say.. need help

 

What does "still seems to not work at all" mean?

Pedal goes the the floor, brakes don't apply at all, and car will keep rolling with brake pedal on the floor?

Pedal too hard, can't stop car?

Does the emergency brake still work?

 

Not sure what you did to "change out all of the braking system". Based on your comments suggesting an attempted repair, my first guess is you tried to swap out the master cylinder without bench bleeding it...

That said, you can also do a few simple tests. are you getting pressure to all four of the calipers? (ie jack up the car, move the wheel while a buddy presses the pedal). Do any of the wheels lock up prematurely on a moderate stop (you may feel the ABS kick in), does the braking change when you rapidly pump the pedal? Not sure if you are handy but have you taken any of the wheels off to inspect the rotors. Any signs of uneven wear or gouges on on side or the other, or on one particular wheel? The car has a dual diagonal system with an ABS system that has a set of valves to regulate lock ups. That means your master cylinder has two chambers that feeds alternate side front/rear wheels. On the way from the master, the lines go through a valve body for the ABS then to each caliper. SO, depending on what's going on, you'd get a clue as to where the problem may be.

 

From what we have seen it looks great nothing looks worn or bad besides the caliper that was on the left front which we changed and bled the brakes. My girlfriends dad actually helped me with that. The brakes do not lock up they just take forever to stop like the pads aren't making contact with the rotor. We've changed the calipers on the front and the rotors on the back because of the rust from the car sitting for a bit.. but other then that not much has been done. Also I have all new wheels and one of the calipers where actually rubbing on the stock rims ....
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OK - you are saying it is hard to stop the car, not that the pedal goes to the floor. The brake booster amplifies the brakes pedal pressure and helps you stop the car. (there is a vacuum pump also for low speed just started operation)

If the pedal feels too hard (and the car is hard to stop)- the booster is not working. It is powered by manifold vacuum - surely someone in your world knows what a brake booster is and what is should do. There is a vacuum hose from the intake manifold to the booster.

 

So I need to change the brake booster and check on the hose that's connected to the manifold??

 

No, you need to diagnose the problem before changing any parts you might not need!

 

Based on the input, this is one of those (unusual) situations where I'd suggest the OP go to a brake specialist. The rate and quality of the info we're getting indicates the OP is way over his head, and bad brakes can kill you (or others). The fact the brake caliper(s) was(were) rubbing on the wheels means someone's monkeyed with something inappropriately (whether by installing smaller wheels or doing a "brake upgrade" very, very badly).

 

So from what we have done so far is.. looked at the abs module, it looked good. Looks at the brake booster and nothing was wrong. Bled the brakes again. Took it on a drive and all but one tire is getting full pad coverage. The front driver side isn't making contact with the rotor at all.( That's the same side we changed the rotor on). So what could be going on then. Got any other ideas ?

 

What, the abs module is still made out of a black plastic material?

If one front caliper is not "making contact" - the car will pull - as in the car will go to one side of the road dramatically when the brakes are applied. You have not mentioned that - Is that happening?

 

no the car just isn't getting any type of pad contact on the driver side. It doesn't pull or anything just inst getting contact. The others are ,they still really delayed though. I just am lost with her

 

So if you jack the front wheels off the ground and safely support the car. Then have someone press the brake pedal. You can spin the left front tire with your hands but can't spin the right tire? In other words the right brake prevents that wheel from spinning, but the left brake does not? (prevent the left tire from spinning)

 

So 3 calipers work and one does not and its not pulling ? nothing to do with ABS , the ABS if foutly will not activare the entire system so it becomes like a normal system with no ABS
As mentioned braking is a huge safety issue so I thing some crap in the lines , get a high pressure clean of the system , ABS systems need it and using the normal press the brake pedal does not work , take it to a brake chap

 

This doesn't make sense. If one front wheel is getting good pad contact, and the other has none, it HAS to pull... the laws of physics say so. It's more likely that one side has incidental, light contact, and the other has none - so you probably have NO front brakes at all.

Something is drastically wrong, and the OP is probably not going to be able to get it fixed. This is a job for a brake pro, IMHO.

 

OKay man.. thank you ... Will do