'72 Midget Brake Problem

[Deleted member 10271]

Hi guys,

First, thanks for the help in advance.

I'm a new MG owner, and it's a really cool little '72 Midget. I bought it from an older guy who took pretty good care of it, although he wasn't the original owner.

So, the first issue I notice is that the brakes are soft. I've driven it around town and down my very steep driveway and the brakes have worked, but I'm not very confident in them at all.

I bought some little easy-bleed screws, got them installed, and when I went to bleed the brakes no fluid comes out. The master cylinder was empty when I first started this project, so I filled it up before trying the bleeding. Anyway, I pump the brakes and no fluid comes out. The bleed screws were loosened and so on, and nothing. So then I pulled off the drums and had my roommate pump the brakes and the shoes aren't expanding or anything. Nothing is happening. It's almost like the rear brakes aren't working at ALL. I inspected the brake lines and they look fine, not crushed or anything. I do have some experience with cars...built a '55 chevy years ago but mostly only did the engine work, hence my lack of brake-work skills. One thing I did notice that I was a little confused about was that the shoes and everything inside the drums was really greasy. Are they supposed to be all lubricated like that? Even the shoes? I always thought it was supposed to be oil-free and dry, but what do I know?

Can anyone help?

 

[spritenut]

If the shoes are greasy, you have either leaky wheel cylinders or leaky rear axle seal (or both)
No fluid to the rear brakes is probably a stuck shuttle valve in the brass brake pipe junction on the inner right wheel well.

 

[Morris]

If the car sat for a while before you got it, it is likely that the rear wheel cylinders are seized. They are not too expensive to replace, and even less expensive to rebuild.

The grease could be brake fluid... or it could also be differential oil. The differential oil likes to leak into the brake area. New seals and a commitment not to over fill the differential will usually take care of this problem.

A Haynes manual is a must to a new Midget owner.

Welcome to the club!

 

[Deleted member 10271]

Hey thanks guys, much appreciated.

The emergency brake seems to work fine. I pulled the brake lines off the back of the axle or whatever you'd call it, pumped, and no fluid. Pulled the line off of the 3-way tee by the differential, then blew threw it and it's definitely clear from the tee to the wheels. So, for some reason the master cylinder isn't getting fluid to the back of the car. The master cylinder doesn't look particularly old, but could it just be bad and done? Or the shuttle valve? Is that something I can take apart and fix?

Back to the greasy brakes issue, are they supposed to be dry? The shoes I mean...well, everything?

By the way, I have the Haynes manual, but sometimes these things aren't fully covered.

 

[jlaird]

Sure, take apart and clean and reset the shuttle valve. Think the manual has detailed instructions.