I am going to be replacing my front axle, so I will have one of the two front brakes apart. I decided to replace the rotors and pads while I am at it. The rotors are original and are showing their age. Pads are a second set (120K miles on the car, but it's manual, so brakes wear slowly). I have ordered Volvo rotors from Tasca for wife's '93 945 a while ago and they came in Volvo package that said "Made in China". These words scare me and I am wondering if the FWD rotors from Volvo are also Chinese there days. Any experiences out there in the trenches? Also, any tips would be appreciated. I've done pads on this car before, but not the rotors.

Thanks in advance!
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Vladimir. '98 S70 base, 5-speed manual - his, '93 945 - hers

I completed the brake job on the S70 yesterday. I was replacing the left side drive axle because of torn CV boot, so I did the brakes also. I went with ATE rotors at $60/each from a local indie auto parts store. These particular ones are made in Italy and look great. I went with Volvo pads from Tasca at $58 shipped and these are made in India as previous sets I got. These usually work great. Everything went smoothly, but I noticed a brake flex line on the left was a bit in rough shape. Not leaking, but the outer rubber sheathing was damaged at the caliper side. Getting a new one today and will probably put it in over the weekend.
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Vladimir. '98 S70 base, 5-speed manual - his, '93 945 - hers

Got some updates. I ordered a rebuilt axle from Axles Unlimited in NC. Spoke with the owner and he said he uses US-made parts (CV joints) to rebuild these and they should be better than new. Cost $175 including shipping. There is a $75 core charge that is going to be refunded once I return my axle to him (he provided a paid UPS label for return shipping). I also bought an axle seal for $20 just in case.

Bought brake pads from Tasca. They are made in India as several previous sets were. Cost $58 including tax and shipping.

Brake rotors came from a local indie auto parts store. I got ATE and they are made in Italy. Cost $60/each.
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Vladimir. '98 S70 base, 5-speed manual - his, '93 945 - hers

I just put a set of pads and rotors from Tasca on Mary's V70. They work fine.

Greg

Ever since China dumped steel on the world markets in the 1980s and caused a lot of mills to go out of business, I doubt you will find any countries that make rotors. At least the OEM rotors come with new bolts for the calipers, pre coated with red locktite.

I always suggest replacing rotors after the second set of pads are worn out.

If you are having a battle with brake dust, Akebono pads are pretty good.

Get a large can of brake cleaner. Clean the side of the rotor that faces the car and put the rotor on without touching the cleaned surface. Then clean the outside of the rotor surface. Use an old clean T shirt or clean shop cloth with the brake cleaner. Wear latex gloves as skin tends to absorb grease and also imparts oils - much cleaner that way.

I use a large set of channel lock pliers to compress the caliper piston before sliding on the pad. The inboard pad must not be loose and inserted before putting the caliper on. Don't forget to tighten the caliper bolts before you put the wheel back on.

Klaus, thanks for the reply. I have some thoughts about the whole Chinese dumping steel, but I'll keep them to myself. Suffice it to say that I know that Chinese steel CAN be good stuff. as in some pocket knives I bought, which were high end-ish, but still cheaper than US made blades. Good steel, good finish, good blade. So, based on that I know that Chinese made Volvo rotors do not HAVE to suck, but I also know that they CAN. This is the crux of my question. I see the following pricing:

Volvo rotors from Tasca: $55/each (+shipping)
Volvo rotors from FCP: $79/each (free shipping)
ATE rotors from FCP: $66/each (free shipping)
Brembo rotors from FCP: $57/each (free shipping)

I am not sure what to choose. In good old days I would not even hesitate and buy Volvo rotors from Tasca (because of better price). Today, however, I am not so sure. I am inclined to go with ATE from FCP (free shipping almost makes up for the $11/each difference between them and Volvo from Tasca). Am I wrong? ATE used to be an OEM supplier for Volvo brakes for many years and I am pretty sure they were not made in China before. Now I am not sure where they are made. It's not easy to figure that out. And even if I knew I would still question the quality of ATE vs. Volvo branded rotors form China. I think I can easily dismiss Brembo as they've gone to crap a while ago. I am not considering any obvious CCC stuff like $30 Meyle.

For a while (until a few years ago, actually) Volvo rotors used to be supplied by ATE and they most certainly were not made in China. Prices were also higher. Now that Volvo is a Chinese company (passenger cars) I can see the change, but not sure if the quality will go down. I had high confidence in Volvo branded brake products and used them as much as possible (paid the premium). Now I see that ATE rotors at FCP are more expensive than Volvo rotors (at Tasca). Hm....

Anyway, I'll be getting the Volvo pads for sure. I never use anything but Volvo pads on Volvo cars. It's just one of those things I do...

As far as caliper bolts, well... I guess I'd rather get new ones, but I've re-used them before. I know, I know, they are the stretch bolts and are supposed to be disposable. Something to think about. I could also just get the bolts from a hardware store (grade 5 or grade 8?). Red locktite is not a problem and is hardly necessary.

Thanks for your help and if you can sway me in my decision on rotors, I'll be grateful.


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Vladimir. '98 S70 base, 5-speed manual - his, '93 945 - hers

I am just stating what I think I know. I used Tasca for my rear brakes and the rotors are clearly stamped 'Made in China'. They seem to do what they are supposed to do but there isn't a lot of miles accumulated since the replacement. I guess I should have looked closer at the originals before I threw them away, it would have been interesting to the the maker back in 1996.

The bolts are NOT stretch, just locked. And I have reused the bolts on my other Volvos without problems. I don't even torque them, just make sure they are on real tight (gorilla stuff).

Cleaning the new rotors is the most important part. I even used cleaner on the pads, just in case my fingers got dirty. IE., replaced the shoes once and they didn't lock up on a dirt road because my dirty fingers coated the shoes. After I took the rotor off - again! - I cleaned the pads and drum and the brakes worked like they should.

BTW, Japan used to be like China back in the 50-60s. Then, when they started making cars for their own market their quality increased greatly. Don't want the natives to get junk when buying homeland products.

I hear you on the oily pads and rotor. I have taken to always wearing nitrile gloves when working on cars now. This helps because I can just take the greasy gloves off and put on a new pair when it's time to handle the disk and pads. I also have brake clean on hand for these jobs and plenty of paper towels.

As far as Chinese made stuff, as I said, I know it CAN be good, but just have little trust in being SURE. The original disks in '98 were ATE made in US, Germany or Italy, I don't remember. I just checked and I am pretty certain modern day ATE rotors are also Chinese made. I don't think you can get away from this unless you specifically pay the 50% or so premium for Made in Germany (Zimmerman rotors). From the pictures (sad day when I have to judge a brake rotor that way, but it's 21st century out there...) ATE looks better to me than Volvo, which looks very much like a cheap Chinese rotor with a painted hat. Again, I can not make a judgement of which will be better, but my gut tells me to go with ATE. They are a first tear brake component company and has reputation to uphold, whereas Volvo passenger cars are now Chinese owned. It pains me to say this every time, but Volvo is no longer a "safety" brand in my mind. They are a Chinese sellout. Their cars have not been my favorite since the MY2000 anyway and I highly doubt I will ever buy a Volvo that's newer than '98. Nightmares of fly by wire throttle and other electronic crap just keep me away from those. In fact, I would be happy if I could trade my '98 S70 for a '93-'94 940 wagon. we own one of those as well (wife's chariot and she loves her). Last of real Volvos, IMO and an absolute tank that's fairly easy to work on. Alas, the rear rotors for that car that came from Tasca in a blue box were also made in China :( So far so good after about 15K miles.
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Vladimir. '98 S70 base, 5-speed manual - his, '93 945 - hers

As for ccc I contacted Baer Brakes earlier today. They advertise "made in the USA". They have rotors and pads that are replacement for OEM. They are slotted and drilled but they're advertised as OEM replacements. The contact there said that they get their castings from both US and Chinese companies and have no problems with the Chinese product. I'm sure there are various casting mixes and performance standards with the other suppliers but I thought his comments interesting. They do have OEM replacements for the early S40's and all the XC90's. They sell them in pairs, by axle and the XC90's are approx $220 an axle, so $100 per rotor. I'm not sure where that leaves you but it's just another piece of info for the decision making process.

Well, this is a 15 year old car I am maintaining. I do not own it for its vintage value, but because I can afford it. To keep it affordable I need the prices of parts to be reasonable. I can get German-made Zimmerman rotors for $100 each, but I choose not to. I finally went with ATE (unknown country of origin until I have item in hand) for $60 each (Volvo CCC is $55 each plus shipping from Tasca) from a local indie foreign auto parts store (I like those guys, they are honest and owners work there). They'll have them tomorrow (they mostly sell to Jap car owners and rarely stock Volvo stuff, but usually get it the same or next day). Pads had to come from Tasca at $44 + $13 shipping and tax. My local guy can get the Volvo pads, but he can't do better than $70. So I am going with ATE rotors and Volvo pads. Will update as to where the stuff comes from when I have it in hand. I believe the ATE rotors are from China, but not 100% sure.

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Vladimir. '98 S70 base, 5-speed manual - his, '93 945 - hers