When I drive on the highway, my steering wheel shakes and my gearshift lever has a pretty nasty vibration. Actually, the whole car has a vibration. Also, my brakes pulse like crazy while stopping.
Is this my rotors? Calipers? Something else?
I read through the brake section of the FAQ but I think that there's just too much info there for my feeble mind.
Thanks
Don Tibbetts

Hi. The long posting here is pretty comprehensive. I had a similar problem on my '87 760 GLE Wagon. After I replaced the brakepads all round (worn down nearly to metal and crumbling), and also made sure the tire pressure was right, the symptoms disappeared.

Kjartan.

Quick question to your question, HAve you smacked a curb with the car lately?
The previous post is right on the money but if you whacked a curb you may have a bent rim.
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwr and two motorcycles: it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

Unfortunately, you're right. I just got back from trying to have the wheels balanced and all four of the rims were bent. Unbelievable!

Don:

Welcome to the world of Volvo brakes. Yes, the wild and annoying vibration in the gear shift and steering wheel while braking is caused by warped rotors. Front and back in your case. The shimmy or vibration at highway speeds is probably unbalanced, worn or crummy tires. If the rear tires are really in bad shape you will feel the vibration transmitted through the rear axle and drive shaft to the gear shift lever at highway speeds. If you wagon has over a 100k miles on it and you have not done so already, replace the radius arm bushings (the cone shaped ones that never seem to last very long in Bricks).

Also check the following:

Tire balance
tire wear (cupping of the tires will also cause shimmy)
broken belt in tire
tire inflation
front end alignment
rotate tires
brake rotor runout (runout on rotors should not exceed 0.004 thousandths inch)

I found that the tires on my 92 wagon require religious attention in order to maintain good ride quality. Small price to pay for driving a Brick

Hope this helps and good luck