Replacing Front Brake Discs & Pads:
Here’s Dacvolvo’s guide to replacing the Volvo S70/C70 front Brake discs and brake pads. This is a simple procedure that takes about 2 hours to complete and the results will ensure you always have secure, safe & reliable brakes.
Please do not attempt to carry out this procedure if you are in any doubt about your ability to work on the brakes. They are the most important safety feature on any car and should not be tampered with unless you know exactly what you are doing.
To begin, put a brick behind each of the rear tyres, turn the steering wheel to whichever side of the car you’ll be working on (gives better access to the caliper), loosen the 5 wheel bolts and jack the car up (Axel stands are recommended at this point). With the car safely in the air, remove the 5 wheel bolts and alloy wheel from the car. With the alloy wheel now removed, you’ll be able to see the brake caliper and brake disc as shown in the piccy below:
Now, using a pair of Long Nose Pliers, simply remove the caliper spring (This is the curved and twisted piece of metal wire you can see attached to the caliper housing in the piccy above). Simply pull each end of the spring away from the caliper and it will come away. You can now store the long nose pliers and caliper spring away safely as you’ll need both for re-fitting later (see piccy below).
Next, the side of the brake caliper housing nearest the engine has two little rubber caps – remove both of these caps and each will give you access to a bolt that requires a 7mm allen key (I used a 7mm head on my wrench). Remove both these bolts as shown in the following two piccys (Both of the following piccys are of the same shot – just taken at different angles for clarity)…
With both caliper bolts removed, you’ll have to “wiggle” the caliper housing towards the front of the car – not up or down, but to the front of the car and directly away from the disc. It may take a bit of effort, but it will come away. Once removed, take away the pads (one has little metal clips to keep it attached to the caliper, simply pull the pad out and the other pad simply lifts off of the disc), do not let the caliper fall to the ground (the attached brake pipe is too short). Instead, simply rest the caliper against a part of the Volvo’s chasis as pictured below:
Next, you have to remove the last piece of metal that is left remaining; stopping you having complete access to the disc, this is the caliper carrier (this is the part the outside pad sits on). Using a 15mm head on the wrench, remove the two bolts (illustrated in the piccy below, the first bolt is being removed. The second bolt can be clearly see about 3-4 inches directly above in the same position).
You can now gently lift the caliper carrier away from the disc. All that remains now is to remove the disc retaining bolt with a 10mm spanner as shown in the piccy below:
Next, remove the brake disc (all that’s holding it to the car will be rust). A few taps with a hammer might persuade the disc to come off if it’s being difficult. When removed, you have a rusting, old brake disc that’s only fit for the bin (see piccy below)…
Next, attach the new brake disc to the car using the 10mm spanner and the disc retaining bolt. You should now have an image resembling the next piccy:
Then re-attach the caliper carrier using the two 15mm bolts that you removed earlier and you should now have the following image:
Now, before the brake pads can be fitted, you’ll have to make sure there’s space in the caliper to house two new pads. Open your bonnet to allow yourself access to the engine bay and take the cap off of the brake fluid reserve, seen in the piccy below:
Go back to the brake caliper and using a pair of water pliers, push the caliper piston back into the caliper housing (this takes a fair amount of strength) as shown in the piccy below. Note, try to push the piston back in using 'even pressure' instead of putting all the pressure on one side of the piston; using a block of wood or a G-clamp may prove to be useful.
Now that there’s more space for the brake pads to sit in, you can apply some copper grease to the rear of the pads. This helps eliminate any high pitched brake squeal noises when driving. I went on to cover the black plates you see below on the rear of the pads. Please note, the pad on the left has a golden metal clip – this is the clip which will fit into the calpier piston.
With the new brake pad (with clip) fitted snugly into the caliper piston and the other pad on the caliper carrier, simply slide the brake caliper housing over the disc. Secure the caliper in place once more with the 7mm bolts and then replace the rubber caps to ensure the bolts don’t rust. Now all that’s left to do is to replace the caliper spring with the long nose pliers and you should have a similar set up to the piccy below:
Lastly, re-bolt the alloy wheel to the car and then lower gently to the ground. With the axel stands and jack removed, ensure the brake fluid level is sitting between the MIN & MAX levels. Put the cap back on the brake fluid reserve and tighten the wheel bolts before standing back to admire:
Please remember to push the brake pedal a few times once you have put the pads and caliper back on to allow the hydraulic fluid to go back to the piston before driving.
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