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MG MGA - Rear brake adjuster

Perhaps someone can figure this out for me. My right rear brake adjuster will not go tight enough. There appears to be plenty of brake shoe material left, perhaps even more than the left side (not sure, didn't actually measure).

The left adjuster locks the brake at about 8 clicks. The right adjuster barely begins to make contact at 19 clicks and then on the 20th turn it "cams over" back to 1.

What gives?
Steve Simmons

Hi Steve. Perhaps the brake drum was turned oversize at some time in the past? Glenn
Glenn

Actually that's a good thought. I should swap the two sides and see what happens.

DRAT! I just reinstalled the drums and used my only two safety tabs. :( Maybe I can reuse them.
Steve Simmons

Steve - The problem is probably not over turned drums. You have the exact same adjuster ont he front brakes, but with twin leading shoes, there is an adjuster for each shoe. The rear shoes have only one adjuster for both shoes, and therefore each shoe is only going out half as far as the front shoes are at maximum adjustment. I had the same problem on the TD. Go to O'Connor Classic Autos at http://www.oconnorclassics.com/index.html and ask them for the shimmed masks (the four pronged, U shapped piece that the snail rides in). The have them with about a 1/8" shim welded in place. This will cure your problem. Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

Thanks Dave. Do you have any idea why the left and right are acting differently or why the shim is needed at all? It seems like all rear brakes should be identical and functional from the factory. What changed between then and now?
Steve Simmons

Steve - I didn't read your post close enough and didn't realize that there was a difference betweent he two sides. In your case the right side drum may have been turned a bit. Normaly the two sides will wear fairly evenly. If the drum on the right side has been turned and the left one hasn't, you may want to try getting two matching drums (one alternative is to turn the left drum to match the right side, although I don't know if that is an alternative I would recommend). The shims will be needed as the rear shoes wear, because there is not enough adjustment for the rear brakes due to the action being on both shoes, which cuts the amount that each shoe is pushed out in half in comparison to the front shoes. This is something that has been common on the TD through the MGAs. I didn't have a problem with it when we first got our TD, but started having a problem after I restored it, so there may be something different about the shoes that are available today - perhaps thinner linnings or softer linnings. Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

After all these years I have become tired of "making do". I only want to fix it once! I guess I'll take the drums back off and go get them measured. If one is beyond spec I'll just replace them both with new. That's what credit cards are for, right? Thanks for the info!
Steve Simmons

This thread was discussed between 04/03/2006 and 06/03/2006

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