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244 brake bleed valves spec? 200 1988

Do you have a spec for what the front and back caliper bleed valves are supposed to be?

Dorman makes brake system bleed valves that are "supposed" to fit but one is metric and the other is SAE. I have no response from Dorman yet.
--
1988 244 DL; B230F; LH-2.2; Manual 5-speed (M47)








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244 brake bleed valves spec? (applies to 240/740/940) 200 1988

Hmmm, excellent question.

The bleed screw is listed as Volvo p/n 678155 in Volvo parts catalogs, so that's the cross reference you're looking for. Although there are numerous references to that p/n, I can't find the size listed in the Volvo brakes green manuals, aftermarket manuals or anywhere on the usual sites selling Genuine Volvo. You're presumably looking at the various Dorman ones listed on Rockauto, so let's work through this together.

First off, if you stop to think about it, your front brakes are dual piston Girling -> Girling is Lucas -> Lucas is British -> so definitely an SAE bleed screw rather than metric. Having now determined that, be wary of a couple of Ebay listings I spotted.

Referring to the online Dorman brake parts catalog (same thing their tech support people use, easily found with Google), you can go at this two ways. You can either use the Volvo p/n in the parts interchange field or you can do a vehicle lookup. There are two front bleeder screws listed for Volvo 240 front Girling applications that include your year: 13904 and 12703. Both are 1/4-28 X 15/16 for size and thread. 13904 is listed as a brass screw, while 12703 is listed as a steel quick bleed screw with a smaller nut face and 1/16" longer. These should actually fit any Volvo 160/240/700/900 Girling caliper.

Quick bleed screws, also called speed bleed screws, have a check ball valve inside (as noted in the Dorman catalog) so air isn't sucked back in, such as can happen when doing a one man pedal bleed, also a steel screw is less likely to shear off. On the other hand, a softer brass screw makes a better seal when tightened to the lighter torque spec (perhaps making opening easier next time, although issues of having dissimilar metals may be involved), also a larger nut face means you can get a larger handled wrench on it. When opening frozen bleed screws, after a hit with penetrating oil, a combination wrench is by far preferred over using a socket ratchet wrench in order to avoid sheering the head, so I'd probably opt for the standard screw strictly for the sake of future use. BTW the reason we can use metric wrenches on these is that the nut sizes are close enough for a six point wrench. Also, a flare wrench is best for loosening brass fittings, plus you can slip it over an attached bleeding tube and leave it hanging there during bleeding.

Going back to the Rockauto catalog and clicking on Info, 13904 cross references back to the currently listed 41417 screw. Also, there's only one speed bleeder left at a bargain closeout price and I'd want to replace all four front bleeders if I went to speed bleeders.

For future reference, the rear brakes in Volvo RWDs can be either ATE or Girling, mostly ATE in the later models. ATE is German, so you're looking at a metric bleed screw for those, in this case an M7-1.0 bleed screw.

I've only ever broken one bleeder, the first one I ever tried on my old 122S Sport Amazon when I was young. Now that I recall it, I'm fairly sure I traded in that car for my brand new 144 with the broken bleeder still there. You can do a half-baked job of bleeding with a sheered bleeder by tilting the caliper, tapping on it to move air up into the line as you retract the piston and then loosening the hose on the caliper for bleeding fluid -when you're a starving student and don't own a screw extractor it's a good alternative.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now








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244 brake bleed valves spec? (applies to 240/740/940) 200 1988

Thanks Dave.
I have to stop this insane idea things can be easy.

My local Volvo Dealer parts department reports the bleed valves for my '88 are obsolete and no longer available. Not that I am surprised.

The part #s given are:
Front: p# 678155
Rear: p# 686234

The rub now is that the DORMAN corresponding numbers are:
#13904 front / rear Girling Calipers (1/4-28 X 15/16 In.) = OEM#678155-3
#13905 rear w/ATE brakes (M7-1.0 X 34mm) = OEM#686234-6

This confirms your post Dave.

To my memory I replaced the rear caliper with Girling. This is a contradiction I need to sort out.
--
1988 244 DL; B230F; LH-2.2; Manual 5-speed (M47)








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244 brake bleed valves spec? (applies to 240/740/940) 200 1988

If the rears are ATE then the lettersi gcan name normally be witnessed in the hub face of the casting when cleaned and dampened, but you may need to rub them clean first. Also note whether the existing pads have elongated or circular holes (I forget which is which at the moment).
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now








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244 brake bleed valves spec? 200 1988

Dave,

I missed this, so did not look at the brake pad mounting holes.

I did pull the front wheel but there are no marking on the caliper.
There are numbers/letters stamped in the metal obscured with rust.
I am guessing the numbers to be:
1) 4A25 (best reading with magnification)
2) 4425
3) 4445

None of which come up so far in a web search for a Volvo caliper.

What parts reference are you using?

The only contradiction I am seeing is a label in the trunk cross referenced to the a Green Book that indicates the brakes (not specific to location) are ATE.

Not looking forward to guessing.

Thanks
Thomas
--
1988 244 DL; B230F; LH-2.2; Manual 5-speed (M47)








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244 brake bleed valves spec? 200 1988

The numbers in the castings are some kind of production stamps that are likely factory and lot date specific, not product stamps that can be used for reference.

Your front brakes are almost certainly Girling.

Odds are yours has ATE rears being a later RWD year. Apart from the shape of the pad hole, an easier way to tell is by the brake pad pins and pad retainers. The ATE ones use split collared pins and have a metal cross anti-rattle spring plate, while the Girling ones use cotter pins and hair clip wire spring retainers.

The vehicle chassis plate (usually found on the radiator cross brace on 240s) can also tell you which brakes you have and whether the rears are ATE or Girling. It's the 8th digit of the product number (not the YV1 VIN number), with a 2 for ATE rears and a 4 for Girling rears. To doublecheck you're looking at the right number, the 5th digit is the transmission, so in your case likely a 7 for the AW70 trans (no lockup).

There are a number of Volvo RWD VIN decoding charts around, including here in the 700/900 FAQ, but only some have the product plate decoding. Try this one here on the FCP website
https://blog.fcpeuro.com/how-to-read-a-rwd-volvo-identification-plate

If the rears are ATE, the stamped logo in the casting may be completely rusted away by now, but with effort traces can often still be found faintly hiding in the dirt and surface rust. It's almost impossible to see without just the right amount of cleaning (use a scrubby pad), dampening with water, and a good light at just the right viewing angle to pick up the shadow. I knew I had ATE rears and that new calipers had the casting mark, but never could see it until I learned the tricks. I eventually spotted the angled A by referencing a pic of a new one to see where and how big the logo was and after that could find the rest of the logo.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now








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244 brake bleed valves spec? 200 1988

Hi Thomas,

You can email ATE tech support for brakes

Help with technical questions
Via e-Mail:
ate.hotline@continental.com

I exchanged emails with M. Fischer who was very cooperative.
He was thrilled when I gave him the rest of the day off with pay.

Good luck, Bill







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