V70 Front brake weirdness

vegasjetta · Post by **vegasjetta** » 16 Jun 2010, 14:39

Hey guys, I am new to this forum and Volvo's in general. As you can see by my username, I am a VW guy, have been since the early 90's. I am no idiot when it comes to cars, or fixing them. Then I got this 98 V70...

The front brakes are new, including pads and rotors. After a few short runs (I drive it for work), or even just driving around doing errands, the brakes get crunchy. It feels like grinding, almost metal to metal. I have pulled the wheels off and everything is fine, there is no abnormal wear. What I have noticed is alot of brake dust on the stupid hubcaps, so I was toying with the idea of using different pads.

When doing brakes on my VW's, I know that factory performance stuff can be swapped onto the lower models. Is it the same for these cars? What model Volvo will have brake parts that are better than what I have on the NA V70, and are easily accessible?

Also, what pads are you guys running on these cars? I need good braking, long lasting, and NO MORE GRINDING!

Pic for clicks, the V70 babycarrier and my 86 Jetta in the background:

Post by **IVIUSTANG** » 16 Jun 2010, 14:48

No cross model brake upgrades for these cars, the T5s with the 16" rims have 302mm rotors on the front versus 280mm for everything else. Akebono Euro ceramic pads are generally regarded as the best pads for these cars. I have cheap Chinese cross drilled rotors and "Lightning Industries" pads which work great for me on my T5.

Check the rear brakes, in light city driving these Volvos love to have rear biased braking for some reason.

- Jesse

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 16 Jun 2010, 14:53

vegasjetta wrote: When doing brakes on my VW's, I know that factory performance stuff can be swapped onto the lower models. Is it the same for these cars? What model Volvo will have brake parts that are better than what I have on the NA V70, and are easily accessible?

I'm not sure what you mean by that. However, does the grinding only happen while braking or does it happen with your foot off the brakes as well? Have you jacked up each wheel and spun it to see if you can isolate which wheel(s) are causing the sound? As far as pads and rotors, I am running Zimmerman cross drilled rotors with Akebono Euro pads with braided SS lines.

vegasjetta · Post by **vegasjetta** » 16 Jun 2010, 17:09

It only happens in front when braking. The rears are new, they were replaced when the fronts were. After a few short trips, it gets bad. Just now, I could swear there were no pads and it was rivets on rotors with the way it was grinding. If I let it sit for an hour it will be fine until they get hot again. Also, it won't do it when it's raining.

I have akebono organics in my 16v jetta gli, they are pretty awesome. Where do you guys get Volvo parts from online?

Post by **IVIUSTANG** » 16 Jun 2010, 17:16

All my parts come from either eBay or FCP Groton and sometimes IPD for upgraded parts. Have you considered a bad wheel bearing, I just did one of mine and it grinded pretty nicely, weave your car decently hard while driving and if the grinding goes away turning one direction then my bet it is a wheel bearing. Mine grinded really bad when accelerating it may be possible that braking puts forward load on the bearing and makes it grind?

- Jesse

vegasjetta · Post by **vegasjetta** » 16 Jun 2010, 21:32

No, it's not a wheel bearing at all. Like I said, I am no noob to cars, this is brakes for sure. Tonight it was raining out, and the whole time I was driving in the rain, there was no grinding. As soon as it dried up, the grinding started again, but only after a 15 minute drive across town.

I am going to pull the wheels off again and see if anything has changed since last time.

Thanks for all your advice, guys. I like when a forum is new to me and people are cool on it... I have been to other forums that just criticize everything because of a low post count, and don't even give you the time of day, they have no idea who I am!

Post by **jblackburn** » 16 Jun 2010, 22:25

Yeah, I came from a forum like that trying to ask for some help with my car that was acting weird. I was no new guy to cars either, but something just had me stumped, and some folks just won't give you the time of day to answer with an intelligent answer. Then I ran across this place!

I would blame shims on this one. Make sure they are properly fitted, or if it has broken loose from the mounting, you will need to buy new ones. They are scraping along the hub and causing that sensation to happen. Get some grease to coat the backs of the pads with to keep them from squealing, Volvos love to do that.

Post by **cn90** » 16 Jun 2010, 22:28

1. check for foreign bodies (rocks in the brake shield).

2. binding of the caliper (usually rotor is hot after a run).

3. Try new brake pads. I use Pagid and have no problems.
Or try Volvo OEM pads.

www.autohausaz.com

vegasjetta · Post by **vegasjetta** » 27 Jun 2010, 12:59

Ok so I did an oil change and pulled the wheels off. The rotors and pads were all brand new (replaced in February). They used crappy semi metallic pads, and that is what was causing this grinding sound when hot.

I went to napa and got their ceramic pads for $45, and swapped them on. Very easy job, took 1/2 hour to do. There was nothing else wrong, nothing stuck, etc.

The car now stops better, ZERO noise, and hopefully MUCH less brake dust. My hubcaps are VERY dirty from the old pads.

Thanks for all your help and advice, guys! This is the best Volvo site on the internet!