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Brake shoes rub

Dan_Willert

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Attempting to reinstall rear brake shoes and drum after replacing the cylinders. Difficult to get on and drum will not turn freely even tho the adjuster is all the way down. Emergency brake cable has plenty of slack, springs and shoes are correctly installed.....but I'm starting to wonder.???
 

PAUL161

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Dan_Willert said:
Attempting to reinstall rear brake shoes and drum after replacing the cylinders. Difficult to get on and drum will not turn freely even tho the adjuster is all the way down. Emergency brake cable has plenty of slack, springs and shoes are correctly installed.....but I'm starting to wonder.???

Are they newly relined shoes,(lining too thick)? Are the cylinder pistons fully retracted?
 
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Dan_Willert

Dan_Willert

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Shoes are good, but not new. Seemed like the retraction issue was a logical point, but I think they are. One clarification: the cylinder has a groove/indentation on the side that matches the brass plate/piston unit(supporting the adjuster). Currently is about 1/4 inch above the groove. Should that piston/brass plate move all the way down to the groove? It does not appear that the cylinder arm can be moved any further.
 

PAUL161

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Dan, the shoe end is supposed to be in the slot, if their not going in, then theres a bind somewhere. Here's a video of a brake repair on a MGB. Hope it helps. PJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpxQN2esZnU
YouTube - Rear Brake Job
 
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Dan_Willert

Dan_Willert

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PJ: I think I may have mislead you. The brake shoe ends do in fact fit into the slots (cylinder end and the other end). The slot (or groove) that I'm referring to, is on the side of the cylinder that more or less matches the profile of the lower part of the brass plate fitting that rides on the top of the cylinder and accepts the adjuster cam. Is this plate supposed to return all the way down to match with the profile on the cylinder when the pressure is off the brake?
 

PAUL161

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Hmmm, I'm a little confused. Dan, what car are we talking about here? I thought we were talking about an MGB, but are you talking about an "A"? Can you pick a number on the corrisponding part, A or B your talking about? PJ

Here's an "A" drawing,

MGA-024.jpg


Here's a "B" drawing,

MGB-057.jpg
 
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Dan_Willert

Dan_Willert

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Here's another slant; via Chicagoland MG Club's site that indicates that it's the Master Cylinder where the problem lies, not at the wheel.
"The Factory Workshop Manual gives explicit instructions on setting the master cylinder pushrod, which sometimes cures the problem. However, even with the proper 'free play' in the pedal, the brakes can still bind up. The problem is that the master cylinder piston is not coming far enough forward to uncover the bleeder orifice that allows the expanded fluid to bleed into the reservoir."
"Solution: Add a shim between the master cylinder block and the cover plate! This shim allows the piston to come a little further forward, thus uncovering the bleeder orifice"
They go on to suggest the shim size, etc.
Never had this issue before, but what do you think?
 

dvu101

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I had the same problem restoring a 1940 Ford years ago. I worked for weeks trying to get the rear brakes back together. I invited a friend over to see if he could spot what was wrong. My emergency brake cable was froxen or sticking in its housing and did not release all the way the last time it was used. I unhooked the cable and everything went together fine. I then replaced the cable and it worked.

Good Luck. Let us know what it is when you find the problem.
 
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Dan_Willert

Dan_Willert

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Hand brake cable was disconnected and reconnected earlier........seems like plenty of slack. But I will go give your suggestion a try and see if that does it.
 
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