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MG TD TF 1500 - Brake shoe lining

I had my old shoes relined by one of our local suppliers and all seemed well until I put them on the car and realized something just didn't look right.
I think they forgot to cut short the trailing end of the lining. Nor did they shave (taper) the ends.

Should I use these as is or trim them short.

Thanks, Dan


Daniel Nordstrom

They should be OK. If you start getting excessive "squeal" taper the leading edge.
... CR
C.R. Tyrell

After a few drives take a look at them and see where they are making contact the most.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Thank you gentlemen,

I was worried that without a taper or a short cut they could lock up.
Think I will make the taper just to be safe.

Thanks, Dan
Daniel Nordstrom

Hey Dan, Did your sister get you those wheels yet? PJ
Paul S Jennings

Paul,

Due here Sunday or Monday.
We were just wondering how you were getting along during all the rain storms. So far their home has dodged the bullet(s).

Dan
Daniel Nordstrom

Whilst on the same topic; I recently was "forced" to do an unscheduled brake job on my TF.

The "special" offered by one well-known West Coast mg specialist consisted of bonded shoes and not riveted ones. In any event, I was applying the brakes and suddenly, all hell broke loose.

Upon inspection, I found the detached brake shoe, circulating with the drum. Fortunately I had some spare shoes and fixed the problem right away; which brings me to my point ...

Why is it so difficult to find someone to rebuild brake shoes with riveted attachments? Obviously the glued shoes can't be relied-upon.

Tom (Lange) - maybe this is something you might want to get involved with.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark

Most shoe rebuilders went away due to liability problems with asbestos. Our local Utility Trailer franchise is now gone, they would do them as long as they were "trailer" brake shoes. Also almost all cars are 4 wheel disks, so not much market. George
George Butz

I still have riveted shoes on my car (she's been sleeping for 45 years) & a set of riveted spares in my collection of bits. After reading the problems experienced by others on this forum there's no way I'd ever use bonded linings. Is it the lining material that makes it difficult to rivet or is it just that bonding is quicker & therefore is cheaper? Does anybody know of a local manufacturer in Oz who can replace riveted linings? I'd like to always have a spare set ready to fit.
Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

There sure seems to be a lot of opinions about bonded vs riveted throughout the BBS. I don't have one so I'd just like to offer the following:

I have worked on a lot of old american cars from the 50's thru the 70's and in all cases the drum brakes were of the bonded type. I myself have driven many of them without a problem.

So why is there such a strong opinion here, in the MG world, against bonded? The ones I had done locally are of the bonded type and you guys have me very concerned.

Is this just an MG/British thing? Or ?????

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Dan

Oh, I am new to MG's and British cars in general.
Daniel Nordstrom

The ends should be beveled. If the proper adhesive has been used and the correct lining thickness, then all should be well.

Brian W.
ZBMan

Our TD two months ago.

Matthew.


M Magilton

Matthew,

That is pretty strong evidence, I must agree.

Did they just fall off or were they frozen to the brake drum? How old are they?
Daniel Nordstrom

Daniel, they were replaced by my late father-in-law less than 10 years ago, before we inherited the car so I do not have the full history on these.
We felt a "clunk" when driving and limped home with scraping noises coming from the drum. They fell off when I took the drum off.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Thanks Matthew,

I see what appears to be a layer of rust on the bonded surface which leads me to believe the car spent considerable time just sitting. Excessive moisture would very likely contribute to a break in the bond.
There doesn't appear to be any bonding (epoxy) visible in your pictures.

Thanks again.

Dan
Daniel Nordstrom

There appears to be very little bevel on them as well - does this not raise the load on the lining end, when it ehould be on the middle.
Dave H
Dave Hill

There is some very slight rust. Maybe the symptom rather than the cause? Kept in a fairly dry conditions. The glue stayed with the pads.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Well this is all very interesting.

When I took my TF apart after sitting for over forty years the front (bonded shoes) had separated. The rears were still attached. Go figure.

Thank you all for your input.

Dan

Daniel Nordstrom

Personally, I've never had a brake shoe become 'unbonded'. A few years ago I found that I could buy the shoes, rivets, etc., for a good bit less than the price of a set of new, bonded shoes. I bought the parts and got started installing them. Then I spotted something odd -- I did a bit of arithmetic and learned how little brake lining is available when riveted. Measure the depth of the rivet hole and subtract the thickness of the rivet's head -- there's not much left. Try it. Bud
Bud Krueger

Bud,
If my old memory is worth a hoot that is one of the reason we all went to bonded linings. In the days of rivets we had a built in set of squealers.....sort of. :)
Daniel Nordstrom

Fortunately, Dan, they were brass and didn't raise too much havoc with the drums. Bud
Bud Krueger

This thread was discussed between 29/05/2015 and 05/06/2015

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