• The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
  • Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A Rear brakes are not locking up hard enough.

Share this page

J

Jerry

Darth Vader
Gold
Country flag
Offline
I asked this question once before but I have more info now:
Rear brakes put pressure on but not enough to really slow the car. I had the adjustment on the rear wheels so they were one notch below lock on the wheel. So when driving the car, the lack of pressure causing loud vibration when coming to a stop. The drums have just been turned. If I put the emergency brake on about 4-5 clicks, the vibration goes away and the pedal engages higher also.

So, either the shoes are not fitting the drums well, or the rear restrictor is limiting the brake fluid to the back. By the way that restrictor was taken out and cleaned when I replaced all the brake parts.

So any ideas?

Jerry
TR3A
New master, new rear cylinders, rebuilt front calipers.
 
TomMull

TomMull

Darth Vader
Silver
Country flag
Offline
I might try re adjusting the rears a couple of time after driving the car so everything has a chance to set. If the brake drums have just been turned, the new radius will not quite match the shoes, so some wear in will be necessary. When I worked on trucks a half century ago, we would send the shoes out to have them "radiused" with the newly turned drums. That was usually not required with cars but a considerable wear in time would be expected. I'd also mention that the quality of drum turning seems to be quite varied and I try to use new ones instead.
Tom
 
OP
J

Jerry

Darth Vader
Gold
Country flag
Offline
What about adjusting the emergency brake cable to pull in some of the slack? Seems like that would be the same as adjusting the brakes up tight.
Jerry
 
TomMull

TomMull

Darth Vader
Silver
Country flag
Offline
Jerry said:
What about adjusting the emergency brake cable to pull in some of the slack? Seems like that would be the same as adjusting the brakes up tight.
Jerry
Click to expand...

Kind of like permanently pulling the lever a couple of notches. I'm responsible for many such "fixes" but in this case I'd rather find and fix the problem. Parking brake should be adjusted after the main shoe adjustment.
Another thought: Are the shoes oriented properly? I think yours are directional.
Tom
 
T

TFB

Jedi Knight
Country flag
Offline
Jerry said:
I asked this question once before but I have more info now:
Rear brakes put pressure on but not enough to really slow the car. I had the adjustment on the rear wheels so they were one notch below lock on the wheel. So when driving the car, the lack of pressure causing loud vibration when coming to a stop. The drums have just been turned. If I put the emergency brake on about 4-5 clicks, the vibration goes away and the pedal engages higher also.

So, either the shoes are not fitting the drums well, or the rear restrictor is limiting the brake fluid to the back. By the way that restrictor was taken out and cleaned when I replaced all the brake parts.

So any ideas?

Jerry
TR3A
New master, new rear cylinders, rebuilt front calipers.
Click to expand...

Im guesing you have taken the drum off for inspection.Im going thru the same thing and my problem seems to be shoes that came with project that looked new must be oil soaked.I have tried cleaning and each time after a short run there is a gummy build up on shoes,no hydraulic leaks or oil from axle.Just a thought to pull drum before adjusting anything.I need new shoes.
Tom
 
OP
J

Jerry

Darth Vader
Gold
Country flag
Offline
Well, I have new shoes but I did not know they were directional. Can you give out more info on that?
Jerry
 
TomMull

TomMull

Darth Vader
Silver
Country flag
Offline
Jerry said:
Well, I have new shoes but I did not know they were directional. Can you give out more info on that?
Jerry
Click to expand...

Sorry no picture but here's the best I can do. There is a good picture in the factory service manual TR3 supplement page 4 of the brakes section.
The lining is not centered in the shoe itself. The shoe that goes onto the cylinder piston is placed so that the area where the lining does not go to the end of the shoe fits into the cylinder piston. The other shoe is opposite.
Hope this helps.
Tom
 
OP
J

Jerry

Darth Vader
Gold
Country flag
Offline
Thanks Tom. I have the service manual but never looked at for the brakes since my brain said they were the same as other brakes. I will look at that issue first.

Jerry
 
S

sp53

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Something sounds incorrect here. Maybe a rear wheel cylinder is loose and perhaps some air still in the line. The way those cylinders attach is tricky with those 3 little clips. They have to go on in a certain sequence or the cylinder will float. Truth is I think they float little anyway, but if they float too much they would give the problem you describe.
 
TR3driver

TR3driver

Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
Have you checked the hose to the rear axle? I've had them break internally and block the flow of fluid, even though the outside looked OK.

As noted, you really don't want to be using the e-brake cable as a substitute adjustment; except maybe on a very temporary "limp home" arrangement.

The "loud vibration" sounds suspect too. Even badly out of adjustment and only partially applied, the rear brakes shouldn't vibrate. Which brakes do you have? If they are the ones with no hold down springs and adjustable rests, the rests may not be adjusted properly.
 
OP
J

Jerry

Darth Vader
Gold
Country flag
Offline
Just wanted to give you an update. After putting a few hundred miles on the car, the pads have worn in and I can adjust them to the drum. I also was able to adjust the emergency brake better. It would be nice if someone around here still fit shoes to the drum.

Jerry
 
TR3driver

TR3driver

Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
I saw one of those machines come up on Ebay a few years back. Decided I didn't have any place to keep it (and didn't want to pay the shipping). Or, it wouldn't be all that hard to make one yourself. Just a disc sander with an adjustable, pivoting platform to hold the shoe.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
KVH General Tech Rear Brakes and Solid Axle Triumph 2
S TR6 1974 TR6 Rear Brakes w/o hydr. press. Triumph 6
5 TR2/3/3A Seized rear brakes Triumph 9
M TR2/3/3A Difficulty Adjusting Tr3A Rear Brakes Triumph 12
Jeepster Rear Brakes Adjustment Austin Healey 6
L TR6 Rear Brakes Shoe Repair and Install Triumph 2
R TR2/3/3A Girling Rear Brakes Triumph 9
R TR2/3/3A Rear Brakes Triumph 9
M TR6 Rear brakes Triumph 2
Jim_Gruber I think I know why the rear brakes weren't exactly doing their job. Spridgets 9
RickB MGB 1980 MGB No rear brakes after replacing MC & booster MG 5
Popeye TR4/4A Rear brakes - spring plates and drum alignment Triumph 3
oxford Rear Brakes [again!!] Austin Healey 17
oxford rear brakes Austin Healey 14
rjc157 TR6 rear brakes Triumph 11
mgedit TR2/3/3A Steady Springs Rear Brakes 56 TR3 Triumph 0
Jim_Gruber Upgrading rear brakes on a BE Spridgets 6
J TR2/3/3A Installation of rear brake cylinders for 9" brakes on TR 3A. Triumph 3
CJD TR2/3/3A 9 VS 10 Inch Rear Brakes Triumph 15
HealeyRick Safely Alert - Midget/Spridget Rear Brakes Spridgets 2
F Spitfire Bleeding Rear Brakes - Ran Into Issues Triumph 7
Boggsy64 MGB Rear brakes caution MG 1
T TR2/3/3A TR 3a. Rear brakes Triumph 2
TR4nut TR2/3/3A Girling 10" Rear Brakes question Triumph 29
mgedit TR2/3/3A Rear Drum Brakes 56 TR3 Triumph 2
S TR2/3/3A rear brakes tr3 Triumph 1
M Bugeye rear brakes Spridgets 3
7 squealing [Humming] sound rear DRUM brakes Other Cars 3
M squeaky rear brakes Spridgets 4
W TR6 broken bleeder on rear brakes tr6 Triumph 12
J TR2/3/3A '56 TR3 Brakes and rear axle advice Triumph 7
TraceZ How I adjusted my new rear brakes Spridgets 7
coj 1960 Healey 3000 front and rear brakes Austin Healey 2
S Spitfire spitfire rear brakes Triumph 5
S installation of rear brakes Triumph 5
S TR2/3/3A tr3 brakes-Rear wheel Triumph 2
B Wedge Help 1976 TR7 Rear Brakes!!! Triumph 11
Moseso TR2/3/3A TR3 Rear Brakes -- A Bold Experiment Triumph 22
P REAR DRUM BRAKES Spridgets 1
M Rear Brakes [from hi-jacked thread] Spridgets 6
M rear disk brakes Spridgets 0
W JagMKII rear brakes dragging Jaguar 13
TimK sticking rear brakes Austin Healey 8
C T-Series Need help to free up rear brakes on TD MG 8
M_Pied_Lourd TR2/3/3A TR3A Rear Brakes Triumph 5
D Rear brakes soaked with grease Austin Healey 2
R Rear Drum Brakes on a BE Spridgets 5
longbridgehealey rear bugeye brakes for dummies Spridgets 11
D Wedge Rear Disc Brakes for TR7 Triumph 16
drooartz Tunebuggery Day 3 -- rear brakes done[ish]! Spridgets 12

Similar threads

Top