Volvo Repair: Brake pads, caliper operation, caliper piston


Question
QUESTION: My brother and I were changing rotors on my 940 Volvo yesterday. We did the drivers side no problems. Going to the passenger side, when removing caliper assembly, a small flat brass-like part fell from the caliper. We failed to figure out how this part fitted into the caliper. Is this piece critical to the caliper operation???
Regards,
John

ANSWER:    Geez, John, I'd have to see the piece. Can you upload a photo? I'm suspecting it's just an anti squeal pad shim. See if it looks like the one still attached to the back of the new pad. To avoid squeal and headaches, ONLY use GENUINE VOLVO pads. You'll be sorry otherwise. Trust me.

Mark

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

Front Brake pad shim Volvo 940
Front Brake pad shim V  
QUESTION: Hey Mark, I've come to realize(after research) that not all shims are alike - this one does not look like a volvo oem. See attached - I believe you are correct with your assumpt that it is a shim. My issue was - where does it fit in the caliper? Unfortunately, it dropped out at disassembly and we didn't get to see where it was located - we totally missed it. Note that we have re-assembled everything back together "without this shim". Pads are like new and breaks work like a charm during test drive.
Regards,
John

Answer
    John, glad to hear it worked out for your breaks(brakes). The shims go on the back of each pad on the steel backing plate and sit between that plate and the caliper piston. New ones should come with them installed (glued on the back) In the old days, you reused them. Now just discard the one you have and thanks a lot for the picture. So much easier to help that way!

Mark