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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - TF 1500 brakes

Help! We just finished redoing the brakes with new shoes, brake hydraulic lines,redone master cylinder wheel cylinders etc. They were bled satisfactorily and adjusted per the manual. She does not stop in any reasonable fashion. Yes I know she'll never stop
like my BMW 5 Series but it is disconcerting! My mechanic says that he thinks that the shoes from Moss are too hard and are more suitable for power brake systems. I've spoken to Jeff at LBCarco and to Abington and they both say their shoes are better made. any thoughts would be welcome.
Mike Michel
l michel

Did you arc the brake shoes to match the drum curvature? It can make a difference. Mike
MW Davis

Are you sure the master is working? Are you getting good pressure? If you stomp on the pedal, the wheels should lock up fairly easily.
D. Sander

I cannot lockup the brakes. we did not turn the drums but they appeared to be OK. thats probably next. they feel very solid about half way down but will not stop the car quickly no matter how hard I push. I have a 66 corvette with nonpower brakes and it stops like the hand of God grabbed it when I stand on them. so I'm stumped and so is the mech who put them together and he's been working on T series for 20 years.
l michel

Unscrew the fitting on the line that goes from the master to the brass split fitting at the brass fitting. Stomp on the brake pedal a few times then hook it back up. Next unscrew the pipe at the front at the brass fitting then do the same thing, then repeat at the rear. I've seen junk build up at these fittings and restrict fluid. We have a 59 Corvette and a 55 Tf 1500. The brakes are Better on the TF
D. Sander

Sure you haven't assembled the front brakes backwards, so you have 4 trailing shoes? Or even two?

FRM
FR Millmore

FRM may well be right,as well as all suggestions above. However,the rears should lock up with moderate pressure if the fronts assembled wrong. At minimum, sand the drums in a cross-hatch pattern with coarse sandpaper to make them dull looking. Turning removes a lot more metal, but they can't be glossy and shiny to give any grip to the linings. New T-series brakes work really well, not power, but not that far from it. you should be able to easily make four skid marks on pavement. George
George Butz

thanks all, the drums come off this weekend. will advise as to findings and results of corrective action
mike michel
l michel

Hi Guys
We recently completed rebuild of a MG TD in the process completely renewing all the braking system,including new shoes. On testing the brakes they were useless, went thro' the usual checks with everything fitted correctly still no good. So we had a chat with a brake specialist in Cardiff UK and he took one look at the shoes and said we were wasting our time because the lining material was not suitable. We then had the shoes relined with the correct type of original linings, and the brakes are now considerably umproved. Attached photograph.
The top shoe in the photo has just been removed from a 1947 YA which we have just started rebuilding and it is an original shoe. You can see the linings are similar to the ones that we have had relined by the Brake Lining services which proves the point that the material used was similar to the 1947 manufactured original shoe.
Your handbrake is properly very weak as well so relining of the rear shoes would help that also.

Regards
Keith


k harris

I put on Moss shoes a few years ago and they were as good as any I have had on any vehicle... still consider the TD's stopping power as good as my Mazda.....of course more pressure, but still not a bit scary!
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

I've had mine relined locally with good results. Three weekends from now will be the first time with all four wheels having new linings around (prior was either fronts or rears). However, when I finally got the front system all set up the way I wanted it (cured the leak in the bearing/hub seal that was slinging grease out to the drum fouling the pads), I found them to be quite dandy! I'm looking forward to seeing the difference with all four up and running.

Alex
Alex Waugh

"I've spoken to Jeff at LBCarco and to Abington and they both say their shoes are better made"

I don't understand this statement. Jeff Zorn is a great guy (I do business with him & helped run down a wiring short in his trailer at a show), but he carries Moss parts.
Carl Floyd

This thread was discussed between 20/09/2011 and 01/10/2011

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.