Is the following a symptom of Servo failure

360 gle 70k pads and shoes checked regularly also fluid levels and leaks but after faultless service for 2 years there has been a slight but noticeable loss of performance not that I can't stop the car but on gentle braking after a couple of seconds there is a bit of extra drop in the pedal without my putting any more pressure down .The pipes to the servo look OK Is 18 years about time for the servo to go?

cheers mickt

Hello, if the brake pedal drops a bit it could be the master cylinder. If the servo packs up or does not work very well, the pedal feels very hard. I think if the pedal pressure still feels normal, most probably its the seals in the master cylinder.

Thanks I should have remembered how hard the pedal is when the engine is not running Will follow the master cylinder now Thanks
cheers mick

How common are brake master cylinder problems on a 300? I've only ever experienced complete failure once - on my 32-year old Merc which had been standing for several months ...

Tom

My Mk2 GLT had a knackered master cylinder when I first bought it. It had only done about 43,000 miles in 22 years and probably very few in the last few years before I got it. Lack of use means the seal dry up and go bad.

There used to be a seal repair kit available but impossible to find now I think. Better to just replace the whole M/C. They come up on ebay now and again for about 20-30 pounds, Volvo charge closer to £100 IIRC, if they supply them at all.

Yeah, most probably your master cylinder seals. Mine has the same problem: every now and then the pedal travels further under the same force and the master cylinder leaks brake fluid onto the exhaust. You should also find (probably) that after this happens, the pedal doesn't return to the full height.
Haven't bothered with fixing it yet, I don't think it's a particularly hard thing to do, just expensive.
My car's a mk2 340 which I got aged 24 with only 39000 miles on the clock, and it's had the problem since I got it.