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MG MGA - Front brake grabbing

My 1959 1500 is a rather late one, on disc wheels, and there can't have been many more to come before the change to the 1600, with its disc brakes. I want to keep mine on drum brakes for originality reasons, though I am much tempted to fit disc brakes, particularly now someone's advertised some nearby. The reason is that I cannot seem to get rid of the current set-up's occasional locking-up of the off-side (right) front brake. Linings and cylinders were new at completion of the car only a couple of years ago, the system runs on silicone fluid, and it still all looks as good as new in there as the car hasn't been used a great deal. I've cleaned up the drums with cellulose thinners or petrol a couple of times, chamfered the leading edges of the linings, and changed the drums at the front side-for-side, and yet I still get these random but unnerving occasions where the offside front brake will lock up and try to swerve the car towards oncoming traffic. This is definitely putting me off driving it. Over the coming weekend I shall be conducting my annual strip-down and re-assembly of the front suspension (I find this is the best way to see the trunnions properly greased), so is there anything else I could usefully look at while I'm doing this?
Gus Gander

Have you checked out the rear brakes? - sounds as though they are not coming on enough so that the front is taking all the effort - Cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

Cam could have a point. My not too dissimilar thread a couple of weeks ago had me looking at my front nearside disc. Swapping the rear drums over side to side cured the problem that included the 'unnerving swerve'.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Gus , I had a similar problem with the discs on my MK11. It turned out to be the brake hoses. They had become thin on the inside, like a blocked artery. When you applied the brakes they worked OK but occasionally wouldn't let go,locking one or both of the front brakes. New hoses fixed it instantly.
Regards
Cameron Wild

This thread was discussed on 05/01/2007

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