Lesson #1 - The Volvo 240 has eight bleeding points on the brake system (except for the late models with ABS, which have four). These have to be bled in precisely the right order, or you'll end up chasing a bubble around the system. (We send the bleeding procedure with every master cylinder I sell). Often you'll have trouble getting much, if any, fluid out of the rear calipers. Follow the brake line from the rear caliper up to the body. There you will see a cylindrical valve that the line hooks into. Give this a couple of taps with a wrench. Nothing monstrous or brutal, just a couple of zesty taps. This usually gets things going. During the bleeding, make certain you are keeping the reservoir full of fluid, or it's back to square one. I got the air out, and the brakes worked great. Better than new, we think.

Lesson #2 - Volvo 240s have a brake junction valve which sits on the left inside fender, below the master cylinder. It's actually a handy contraption with a shuttle valve that activates the brake warning light when there is a pressure differential in the brake line circuit. The long and short of it is that an old junction block, when presented with strong pressure and new fluid from a fresh master cylinder will quite often decide to blow out and leak. We recommend changing this junction block with the installation of a master cylinder on cars 1986 or older. On models newer than that, just be careful to check the block occasionally for signs of leakage. Other lessons: A few years ago, one of our tech's discovered a certain Mercedes brake pad fits the ATE calipers on the back of 240's. This pad has more braking surface than the Volvo pad, as well as a built-in Teflon shim that rides against the puck on the caliper. It's a quieter, better braking pad than the original and is a couple of bucks less. We've been using them ever since. And for the front brakes, we sell an organic pad that lasts twice as long as the stock semi-metallics, and runs quieter, cleaner, and cooler. They will extend the life of your rotors, as well. Southwest Auto stocks everything you'll need to maintain your brake system.