1996 850 Turbo - Aftermarket front brake caliper?

bugs11 · Post by **bugs11** » 03 Apr 2017, 10:06

Who make the best aftermarket front brake caliper? And should I replace both calipers in the event one is bad? I suppose I could just rebuild the bad caliper; how difficult would that be?

Car developed an intermittent pulsing brakes, seemed to get worse with warmer weather. I replaced the front control arms this weekend and since I was in there I thought I pull the front calipers and inspect the pads and put some fresh lube on the guide pins. Right (passenger side) front was fine, right at a ¼” of usable pads left. Left front was not fine, the boot was messed up and the cylinder was pretty much froze up – I had to tap and pry to get the caliper off. The pads on this side were about 32nd under a ¼”. So I’m thinking about replacing both calipers, rotors, and pads; start fresh. I was going to service the brake fluid in the near future anyway. I’m guessing the car had new front brakes put on just before I bought it for the kids to drive to high school back in 2011. I replaced the rear rotors and pads 4 years ago.

Post by **erikv11** » 03 Apr 2017, 10:27

Lots of discussion recently about calipers. For the fronts I went with painted Cardone calipers from Rockauto.com, $32 each plus about $8 to ship the 2 cores back to them. In my opinion while it is a fun exercise to rebuild the caliper it is just not worth the time. Given how cheap a good quality rebuild is, you don;t save a whole lot of $ by rebuilding.

You don't need to replace both calipers at the same time, but it is good practice as sometimes the other one will freeze up soon after. Of course in a pinch just let the other one ride, sometimes the other one works fine for years. The fresh start is a good idea though for front brakes especially. Be sure to check brake hoses on both sides too, replace those with ATE or FTE brand only. Otherwise they will crack again within a year or two.

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 03 Apr 2017, 12:24

I second erikv11's input. Make sure you get the painted ones, the unpainted ones will start to rust within 48hrs. I really am dying for someone to pick up a set of the "gold-plated" Centric rebuilt ones.

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I'm also a fan of preventative maintenance. I'd replace both if you have the means. You have to put the car on jackstands anyway... And besides, that way you can bleed the brakes and use up a whole liter bottle!

bugs11 · Post by **bugs11** » 03 Apr 2017, 15:13

Thanks guys.

Two, a left and right front, CARDONE Ultra Premium Caliper w/Bracket & Installation Hardware Exclusive Weatherproof Coating are inbound to my location. Couldn't bring myself to order the gold Centrics. Now to prep the caliper bracket bolts for extraction.

bugs11 · Post by **bugs11** » 07 Apr 2017, 09:32

Is there anything special about the brake caliper bracket mounting bolts? Can I just get some M14 X 2 bolts at the local Ace hardware store? ACE has an impressive assortment of bolts, etc...

I thought the reman calipers from RockAuto would come with new bolts, but they didn't. I can't source the specific Volvo bolts locally.

Post by **abscate** » 07 Apr 2017, 09:42

bugs11 wrote: 07 Apr 2017, 09:32 Is there anything special about the brake caliper bracket mounting bolts? Can I just get some M14 X 2 bolts at the local Ace hardware store? ACE has an impressive assortment of bolts, etc...

I thought the reman calipers from RockAuto would come with new bolts, but they didn't. I can't source the specific Volvo bolts locally.

Clean up your old ones with a wire brush and put them in with some blue (removable) Loctite.

PLan B is (and what I do) clean with wire brush, lube with seize compound,and torque to 80% of spec. Inspect after one week of driving to make sure they stay put. Use a punch mark or sharpie (tm) to index.

bugs11 · Post by **bugs11** » 10 Apr 2017, 09:12

Installed the new Cardone front brake calipers, rotors, and pads this weekend. No more pulsating during braking.

Everything went pretty good, had to use the jack trick to break loose the right front caliper bolts, both bolts were at an angle such that I couldn’t get a cheater bar slid onto the breaker bar. When I bled the front brakes the fluid that came out was medium amber in color, the DOT 4 going in was clear like water. The brake pedal feels slightly soft now, but I can tell the engage as soon as I push on the pedal. I still need to bleed the rear brakes. After I do that I’ll bleed the front brakes again – see if that makes a difference to the brake pedal feel.

bugs11 · Post by **bugs11** » 10 Apr 2017, 09:16

Oh yeah, I re-used the bolts per abscate's suggestion though I marked/indexed the bolts with a white out pen rather than a Sharpie.

Post by **abscate** » 10 Apr 2017, 10:08

Torque (dry) on the caliper mount bolts (not the caliper bolts, but the bolts that attach the caliper slide) is 100 Nm on my 1999.

Thats really tight - you definitely need at least 12 inches of ratchet handle to get that torque...probably more.

bugs11 · Post by **bugs11** » 10 Apr 2017, 14:18

Yeah, I was referring to the caliper bracket mount bolts. My Haynes manual specified 74 ft-lbs for the caliper bracket bolts. I have a 10-150 ft-lbs 1/2" drive torque wrench. I torqued them to 60 ft-lbs. Also, I used a 15mm impact socket. I'll check the bolts next Saturday, after a week of daily driving.

The caliber slide pins torque specs are 34 ft-lbs.