Volvo 240 Front Brakes..girling Or Ate?

[CarVolvo]

I always get this question when i order brake parts. Normally i find the last four 240's i had were ATE and the manufacturer was stamped on the caliper somewhere.

Unfortunatly thats not the case on this new acquisition. I think its an ATE but ive never seen a Girling... i prefer Women over girl..... **lol**

Could someone kindly let me know if they can determine these from the picture? or is there another way to tell by a product code hidden somewhere on the chassis?

Secondly do you guys normally use vented rotors in the front and solids in the back?

Thanks in advance

[Three Fat Tigers]

That is a Girling caliper.

With Girling normally you have vented front rotors. Most, if not all, 240s came with ATE rear calipers, all came with solid rear rotors.

[Three Fat Tigers]

That's not to say you couldn't find solid rotors with Girling calipers, as that combination could be found from '75-'87, though the calipers are different from the ones used with the vented rotors.

IINM, ATE front calipers always came with solid rotors, and were not as nearly as common as the Girling calipers.

I have heard of Girling rear calipers for the 240, but have never seen one in person or in photos.

[CarVolvo]

That's not to say you couldn't find solid rotors with Girling calipers, as that combination could be found from '75-'87, though the calipers are different from the ones used with the vented rotors.

IINM, ATE front calipers always came with solid rotors, and were not as nearly as common as the Girling calipers.

I have heard of Girling rear calipers for the 240, but have never seen one in person or in photos.

Thanks 3FT !

Is it possible to replace some used ATE on the Girling system? Or is the configuration on the spindle different?

Are the rotors different on these systems too? IE is an ATE rotor the same as the Girling on the fronts?

Which ones do you prefer?

[Three Fat Tigers]

The Girling is a better design, the vented fronts are notably superior to the solid type for reduced warping and overall performance.

The solid rotors are the same for both ATE and Girling. I'm not aware of any ATE vented front brakes, at least not on the 240. The rotors themselves are all the same, all 1975-1993 240 solid rotors are the same part, as are all 240 vented rotors.

I believe the ATE and Girling calipers mount on the same spindle, just not sure if they both use the same hard lines (as in bent to line up in the same locations on the caliper). The '79 and newer cars used different hard lines than the earlier cars, I'm not sure exactly what the actual change is though.