Handbrake mechanism not working, 06 S40 2.4i

[CedBobKing]

I started down this path when replacing a worn rear hub that was making lots of noise. Replaced both rear hubs with new SKF units. Decided to replace rotors, pads, and fluid at the same time. The hub noise went away.

Noticed that the new brake fluid was almost immediately dark. The next day I removed the master cylinder, cleaned out the reservoir, and replaced the fluid again. Everything was very dirty. Now things look clear.

The car seems to stop with even pressure across the two rear brakes and even pressure across the two front brakes. There is no pulling and all four brakes are engaging when pressing the brake pedal. Stopping power is good. Brake pedal is stiff.

We have two S40s and the other one's hand brake does not travel nearly as much, so I went to adjust this one. Now I have discovered the following issue.

On the left side the hand brake rotates that in-caliper (I am presuming) cylinder (maybe it is just some kind of rod) and presses on the brake pad which in turn press on the rotors. That hub does not spin. On the right side the cable rotates that cylinder the same amount. However, the pads do not move and the hub is free to spin.

Has anyone had this issue, know what is going on and how to fix it?

Should I go pull replacement caliper from a junkyard? Buy a rebuilt NUGEON 9909342B? Buy a (rebuilt?) Volvo 36000903?

If I replace the right, should I also replace the left?

Thanks in advance.

Cedric

[Krons]

There was a recent post on one of the other models, consensus was best to replace both but really not a problem to replace one.

Junkyard part is probably most economical (unless you are in an area with lots of salt), not sure how much the Volvo rebuilt units run.