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Rear brake challenges

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jjbunn

jjbunn

Jedi Knight
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I am still working on Harold's rear brakes. Yesterday I replaced the brake hose and both brake lines.
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Today, I looked into replacing the rear brake pads. I have a new set from Moss (interestingly the Moss price for these is the best I've found ... but in general I find Moss expensive - on the other hand their online ordering system is much more advanced than Victoria, who I have given up on after several frustrating episodes of placing tons of stuff in the shopping cart and then finding the checkout system failed)

I had to use an impact screwdriver to loosen the two screws holding the drum on the RH rear. (I bought an excellent impact screwdriver, some Forstner bits, and a complete imperial tap and die set from Harbor yesterday, at bargain prices.)

But I find that I cannot remove the drum. I've bashed it up a bit with a rubber hammer and sprayed PB Blaster around the lug posts, but still it wont budge.

The LH rear brake cylinder was completely seized up. How long it has been like that I can only guess, but it looked like a while. Oddly there was no securing ring at the rear of the cylinder: after disconnecting the brake pipe I could pull the cylinder straight off! Looks like I will need to replace the seals, and get a new securing ring:

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In other news I won a couple of Ebay auctions for a new speedo cable and a used angle drive. So hopefully when those arrive I can fix that all up.

Apologies for the rambling ... and any tips on how to get the RH brake drum off would be gratefully received!
 
Does the drum turn? If not, put the wheel back on and roll the car to break it free. Back off the adjuster as well, just to be sure.

You can buy or rent a puller to pull that drum off if it's that bad.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Does the drum turn? If not, put the wheel back on and roll the car to break it free. Back off the adjuster as well, just to be sure.

You can buy or rent a puller to pull that drum off if it's that bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Steve,

Yes, it turns freely. I'm tempted to lever it off against the back plate, but am afraid of bending the plate. Where would I rent a puller from?
 
Julian,

I used a short crow-bar to gently lever it off, slowly working around the backing plate. Worked for me on one i could not budge by hand but not sure if this is a mechanical no no. Backing plate looks fine.
 
EEEP!! The drum is CAST IRON and will fracture if stressed beyond failure point. If you've a propane torch and some PB Blaster, just keep ~repeatedly~ heating those screws and adding Blaster... PM me and lemme know if we can "talk"...
 
As I understand it, the screws are out, but the drum hung up on the shoes, right?

My *guess* is that it's hung up on a ridge that has built up inside the drum created by the shoe . You're on the right track, keep at it. Have you attempted using two levers to 'walk" the drum off?
 
More blaster and patience... and p'raps a dead-blow hammer as a persuasion periodically.
 
Now that's what I don't have, a dead blow hammer. Good thought. Wonder where I would store it.

I think he has not taken the screws out yet.
 
Seems so, Jack. The impact driver, MORE Blaster and a Posi-drive (#2) bit are a good "next step" here, methinks.
 
Or a nice drill to take the heads off, after all they are not really necessary and will prob be easy to get with vice grips after the drum is out of the way.
 
Good advice above.

IMO, it is false economy to rebuild an MGB wheel cyl, but some folks insist on trying. It is far better to just throw them away and buy new ones. The rear e-clip is a PITA to fit on the backing plate, but there are tips here. Just ask /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Sounds like the shoes are hung up on the drum; back the adjustor all the way out and whack the drum with a deadblow hammer at 90deg intervals. She'll come off eventually.

Just make sure you've got a good set of jackstands.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Now that's what I don't have, a dead blow hammer. Good thought. Wonder where I would store it.

I think he has not taken the screws out yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeh, the screws are out (with the help of an impact screwdriver) ... the drum moves freely.

I'll back out the adjuster and continue with the PB Blaster, a rubber hammer, and maybe some light levering on each side.
 
That rear plate on the wheel is very easy to bend. Pry carefully.However, it can be bent back straight again, just ask me.
 
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