Dear Brickboard,

I've got one of those tricky problems that don't get solved by a simple check-up at the garage (have tried twice). It is this : My 205K 850 from 1995 recently started to produce a very disconcerting crunchy activity when :

a) the car is relatively cold,

b) it stands still or drives very slowly (e.g. when I begin to stop before a red light) and

c) I turn the steering wheel and keep the foot on the braking pedal.

There is no noise, but it is as if my foot is on a part of a mill grinding two handfulls of metal stones rather than on the brake pedal I used to know. It basically feels as if something is determined to break down badly within not so long. It doesn't appear every day, but a few times a week. Two Volvo garages have found nothing, perhaps due to the fact that the problem is teasing me by disappearing before I get to the garage.

Am I hypocondric and just 'feeling ghosts'? Nope, I have two 850s with 200plusK, and I've never experienced anything like this. For the sake of completeness, it is NOT the ABS control system, the sound of which I know all too well.

Would be great if you could help me .. and my mechanic.

Thanks a million,

Peter