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Grab and release when braking 1994 Volvo 850

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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sonydst
Posts: 7
Joined: 6 March 2010
Year and Model: 850 1995
Location: California

Grab and release when braking 1994 Volvo 850

Post by sonydst »

When braking, the stop is not smooth. There is a noticeable grab and release feeling when braking. Slight vibration in steering wheel but the main symptom is the lack of smoothness when braking.

I have read a lot on this forum about the tendency for the rotors to warp. Is that what is going on with my Volvo 850? If the rotors should be replaced, would you recommend just the front or the rear or both? What replacement brand would you recommend and do slotted/vented rotors make a difference in preventing warping in the future?

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

polskamafia mjl
Posts: 2640
Joined: 1 April 2009
Year and Model: 1995 Volvo 854 T-5R
Location: Hershey, PA
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Post by polskamafia mjl »

The vibration sounds to me like your rotors are in fact warped. I would suggest replacing all 4 corners. I am running Zimmerman cross-drilled rotors and Akebono Euro Pads. Some people swear by cross-drilled or slotted rotors while others prefer the OEM style ones. The most important thing to prevent warping is to prevent the rotors from overheating. When sitting at a stop light roll forward every 5 seconds or put the car in neutral and set the e-brake. When you keep your foot on the brake for an extended period of time, then only one part of the rotor absorbs the heat from the pads. When this happens, that one spot warps creating vibrations and weak brakes. If you can spread that heat around the rotor then the risk of warping is significantly lowered.
'All my money is gone and I have an old Volvo.' - Bamse's Turbo Underpants

Current: 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R Manual - Bringing it back from the brink of death
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Pauloil
Posts: 1038
Joined: 21 March 2006
Year and Model:
Location: davenport, IA

Post by Pauloil »

somewhere is a post about conditioning rotors, over on volvospeed
here's some other ideas:

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.ph ... ntry389280
99 V70XC 158K

95 850glt 188K

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