Brake issues, tried all the fixes

JKRayl · Post by **JKRayl** » 25 Nov 2019, 19:02

Hi all,
I have a 2004 V70. I had decent brakes but the pedal seemed like it had a long travel and maybe a bit soft.

So, I put new rotors and pads all around. Pressure flushed the system using a Motive unit, bleeding as VIDA instructs (LF, RF, LR, RR). Everything went great.

Took it for a test drive and was disappointed. Same long travel, same softness. Stops fine though, but not what I expected.

Dug through YouTube and every forum I could find. They all pointed to the retaining springs being installed wrong so I removed all 4 wheels to check them. All 4 were correct. Also bled a 2nd time with no air present.

Second test drive was no better than the first. So, what could I be missing? I'd really like firm brakes with a shorter travel. Help!

Post by **cn90** » 25 Nov 2019, 19:13

Have you checked the FRONT brake hoses?

I replaced mine around 100K using ATE hoses (about ? $15/each) from FCPEuro.

JKRayl · Post by **JKRayl** » 25 Nov 2019, 19:26

Checked all 4 hoses before I order the other parts. They all look brand new. The receipts that I got with the car indicate they were replace about 40k miles ago.

Post by **cn90** » 25 Nov 2019, 19:41

How many miles in your car?

JKRayl · Post by **JKRayl** » 25 Nov 2019, 19:54

214k and, knock on wood, she runs great!

Post by **cn90** » 25 Nov 2019, 19:59

Maybe it is bad Master Cylinder...

JKRayl · Post by **JKRayl** » 25 Nov 2019, 20:09

Ugh. I did look at how it was mounted. Looks like it'll be a pain to replace.

Post by **jimmy57** » 25 Nov 2019, 21:09

I had a 2004 V70R. It had great brakes. If I drove my truck for a while then my V70 felt like it had too much travel. After a bit it seemed great until I drove the truck again. Is your feeling of too much travel based on comparison to another vehicle? What vehicle? To measure travel is tricky. Sitting still you will apply force that would brake the car at a frantic pace as you have no feedback when not moving as to how hard to push pedal. I have stopped the car and then carefully kept my foot still, pulled up park brake and then compared height of pedal to the height of accel pedal as reference. I thought my V70 was going 3 inches for a quick but not panic stop. It was going about 1 1/2 inches. My truck goes about an inch. I think all P2s have more travel and my 2010 XC60 (P3) is much less.

JKRayl · Post by **JKRayl** » 26 Nov 2019, 05:44

That could be the whole issue. The wear on the new rotors is nice and even all around and she stops fine as before. I certainly have been comparing it to other vehicles as to travel. My company van, a Promaster, is more like a switch, practically no travel. The wife has an Elantra that seem normal to me and it's less travel than the V70. Our Mini Cooper S had very little travel.
So that may be what's throwing me. This is my first P2. In fact, this is the first P2 I've driven. My Volvo experiences have been with Amazons, 240s and 740s. I can remember they ALL had shorter travel and a firmer feel, but didn't stop any better.

Zolll · Post by **Zolll** » 26 Nov 2019, 08:56

Hi JKRayl, I had the same feeling with my '04 XC70 - it felt like the brakes were just adequate and the pedal had a long travel that didn't provide much reassurance. I swapped the rear brakes for XC90 calipers and rotors and that completely transformed the vehicle into what it should be. They're not like a 'switch' as you described for your Promaster (which I find to be not very refined), but they're more responsive and progressive.

I truly believe that the reason for the soft / long travel of the pedal was caused by my original rear calipers that were not working at an optimal level. They would operate but would not produce much friction against the discs (it felt like the rears were responsible for 20% of stopping power). I now feel like the rears are responsible for 40-50% effort in stopping the vehicle and the brake pedal is more responsive.