got a low pedal,

new calipers (J/Y), new pads, 1 new line, new m/c, bled all new fluid through, banged on the calipers while bleeding. can pump up pedal after its been sitting and it becomes quite firm and high, but as soon as you start the car the pedal sinks to the damn floor. im trying to get this car ready for a saftey so i can drive my own vehicle again after 2 years. got any suggestions?

I've got a defective MC once in a blue moon brand new, particularly the cheapie FAG ones suck.

Volvo changed the bleed order several times on the 240s with the dual diagonal brakes for whatever reason. I ziptie the master reservoir down and pump up the power bleeder to ~35-40psi like the volvo dealer bleed tool runs. Those dumb rear restrictor thingies sometimes trap air since the outlet is below the highest point of the chambers inside, the only way I've found to completely bleed a 240 is high pressure, wacking the crap out of those things and massaging the pedal.

Then, you should get a very good pedal if everything is in good working order for a driver and can do a manual bleed with the pressure bleeder hooked up on a race car to really get the last bit of air and moisture out.

All the calipers move well, lines aren't rotted to hell (what year 240? and how many miles?), and the junk-shun block doesn't leak on the a-arm? Did you maybe trip the junction block while bleeding it and get it a little stuck? Bleeders all good?

You get to see a fair bit of PITA brake stuff on old dual diagonal saabs and volvos that sit. This is pareticulary true reviving cars that sit in the PNW where moss can grow on everything and moisture gets in anything from what I've seen.

its an 87, a godly 515kms, apparently recent lines, i replaced the 2 rears which were seized, and i broke all 6 nipples on the fronts so those were all replaced for that reason, im going to try getting a pressure bleeder and taking out the failure switch.

hopefully i can go from there. the m/c is a new unit from p/s, hopefully thats not the kind your describing, but the pedal did get firmer with the replacement, i might note that when the car is off, the pedal feels like it normally should, it only gets soft once the car is running.

i also may need to replace the vacuum lines going to the booster, but i havent hot there yet...

check underneath your steering colum and see if you have any leaks.

Over half a million kms? You might be the high mileage guy in town! My old 245 has somewhere close to that, but I've changed the motor twice (nothing wrong with the old ones, just turbo swap and then back to b23e).

ok, i will check that too

Also check the manual, the actuating rod from pedal to booster may need adjusting, check the manual for the procedure

Probably have a leak showing up once the booster is put into the equation.

On my GT, I pressure bled the brakes at work. I didn't even do Volvo's crazy order. I just went furthest to closest. The guys at work told me to do it and they have been bleeding 240 brakes since 75.

Low and behold I didn't even get a brake failure light on! Nice firm pedal.

This of course, I had the front calipers off, and all the fluid drained out of the system. Once I put every thing back together, I just topped up the fluid, opened the valve and let gravity do the work. I had no problems after this either. This is how I do cars at work. When I replace a hose, I just top up the fluid, crack the associated bleeder, and let her go. No problems.
And it saves about 1.0 hours pulling out, hooking up the bleed tool. Damn, 1.3 hours for 2 front hoses done in .2 if the hoses aren't seized.

Jordan