My 1995 850 Turbo Wagon has squeeling rear brakes and it's making me insane! For the first 10 mins of my morning commute they squeeling every time the brake pedal is pressed. I just bought the used card and haven't checked w/ the dealer...YET. I noticed somewhere online that this is apparently a known problem. Does anyone have any suggestions to stop the madness?

As you just bought the car I'd guess you don't know if Volvo OEM pads and rotors are on the car or if there was any "anti-squeal" (I know there must be another name for this stuff) put on the backs of the pads when installed.

What's the climate like where you are? If you're so inclined, pull the wheels off the car and inspect the pads. They can be seen through the calipers and you'll know, at least, how much material is left. If you need pads, I recently did a search of the advertisers on this board and found I order (Volvo OEM) all pads and rotors for about $350. I'm sure a dealer would charge more for parts then of course there's labor.

Take it back to the dealer you bought it from and see what they say.
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Erwin in Memphis, '95 855t

Before you get into major surgery with the brakes, try installing some rear brake pad shims. They are made by Beck/Arnley Worldparts and the part number is 084-2013. Although this part number is for the 98 V70 GLT, you should be able to find them for your car at an import auto parts store and they are very cheap. One shim goes between the brake pad and the caliper with the teflon side against the caliper piston. The other one goes between the pad and the caliper housing. I've seen some shims that have teflon on both sides. They quiet the brakes down and I'm even using aftermarket pads and cross drilled brake rotors. I'm sure they will work with the stock rotors. Its an alternative to major and expen$ive brake $urgery. Just my .02

Checking for the shims is a good idea. However, when I bought my car it had the stainless steel (not Teflon) shims, and the rear brakes squealed regardless. I removed the pads and greased both sides of the shims with some anti-squeal grease (Versachem from the local parts store). This mostly stopped the squealing, but I noticed that my rotors were in poor condition (badly scored), and decided to replace them as well. After I replaced my rotors, I haven't had any more squealing at all.

So, first I would check for the shims. I you don't have any, that alone could solve your problem. But take a look at your rotors as well.

Phantom