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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - new brake shoes adjustment

Morning All,
Please can you give me some advice on adjusting new brake shoes on a 1500. I have fitted the shoes by the book. I've done it a number of times before so all the springs and widgets are in the right place. Adjusters are free and have a dab of copper grease. Handbrake cable is freed right off. Shoes centralised by pressing brake pedal a few times. The problem is that on one side the brakes are binding, and on the other side they won't lock-up on the adjuster, to find the "just right" point.

Anyone got any ideas? I was wondering if the tolerance on the shoe lining is poor so they are different thicknesses, but that seems unlikely.

Any advice would be much apprieciated.
Cheers,
Ben.
B Whiteley

All we can do is ask you to check what you've already done, e.g.

- check shoes are 4 matched shoes of exact same size

- spings in place to pull the shoes together (top and bottom)

- adjustment wedges in so that their taper fits over the taper of the adjusting screw; shoes fitting against wedges correctly (is there a step on them?)

- shoes positioned so that the bare metal part of eacg shoe is the leading edge

- drum is on square and its face is up against the hub

- what else??

A
Anthony Cutler

are the brake drums scored?
David Cox

Thanks for your ideas.
Anthony, the wedges are stepped, but the shoes are located in the step correctly.
David, the drums are nice and smooth, not scored.

Thinking about it, the car has sat idle through most of the winter. I'm wondering if the pistons are not fully retracting in to their cylinders. I shall have a check when I get home tonight. Just writing this for other people helps you think about it in a logical sequence.

Ben.
B Whiteley

I have had trouble adjusting shoes when the adjusters are badly worn... Might be worth checking?
James Bilsland

AHhhh I cant wait for that amazing pay off.

No BS brake adjustment on the Rx-7 rear axle...Did I mention it will have disc brakes...LOL
Prop

Prop

Good luck connecting the handbrake...

:)
James Bilsland

Ben, are the drums new or resized? Sometimes when a drum is turned the diameter just won't match up with the arc of new shoes and you get interference on the leading and trailing edges and no contact in the center. Could be part of the problem you have if the drums are different IDs. You might try swapping the drums from side to side and see if that changes things.
Prop, you won't need rear brakes of any kind unless you get it running. LOL I can't wait until you try to fit your 13" wheels over those rear brakes, hope they clear! And then of course you'll have to install a brake bias valve in the system to get the balance right, that is if the rear calipers don't take too much pedal movement to move and cause a low pedal. Changing rear brakes is more than a bolt in operation unless you've sussed out all the variables in the system.
Bill Young

O.K. - Now that this thread popped up just before I plan on replacing the rear brakes on my 1972 RWA midget - I'm going to jump in here with a photo AND a question...[ I have no idea where I got this photo and that yellow floor jack doesn't look too bad either...]

Is it correct to position the rear shoes with the "empty" portion in effect "meeting" the inner surface of the drum assuming forward movement of the vehicle? NOTE: this photo is not mine (nor the narrative on top...) but it illustrates an issue that still confounds me...apparently either way stops the car - but which position of the rear shoes gets me the greatest efficiency or "grip" ??

Thanks for any tech advice on this - my car is still in the warehouse but Spring temps have arrived on the shoreline of Lake Erie...

Mike P.
Nickel City, USA



Mike Pelone

essentially that is "right"

The bare metal "land" faces the rotation on the drum

do you know what car it shows?

it isn't like my Midget :) has an anti roll bar by the look of it and no prop sshaft

nice little yellow jack and properly supported on axle stands

bill sdgpm

late MGB at a guess...

See the other 'Brake Diagram' thread where this point is done to death...
James Bilsland

MGB but not a factory AR bar.

FRM
Fletcher R Millmore

The binding brakes are now sorted out. I took the drum off, removed the shoes, put them back on again and set up all the spings, and now it is working fine. Don't know exactly what the problem was, but what ever it was is sorted out.

However, the problem remains on the other wheel of the adjuster not shifting the shoes enough. I can't get that side to lock up using the adjuster. I think the adjuster lobes must be worn. Is it possible to fit a new adjuster, or do I have to fit a whole new backplate with the adjuster as a built-in part? Alternatively I'm tempted to try the idea of swapping the drums and seeing if that equals things up a bit. Anybody got any ideas?
B Whiteley

Fit a new adjuster and wedges - you have to wind them in to the backplate (ie with the drum and shoes off) to get it out...

JB
James Bilsland

This thread was discussed between 24/03/2010 and 25/03/2010

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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