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MG TD TF 1500 - Brake Drums for Steel Wheels

My brake adjusters are all the way out so the shoes barely grab the drums.

Does anyone have any brake drums around (steel wheels, not wires) or another solution to this problem?

Thanks

Mark Sherman
mrkshrmn at hotmail.com
Mark A. Sherman

I think you have four options...

1. find a new drum..good luck

2. add shims .... haven't had to do it yet but it's in the archives, as others have


3. have the shoes reline with thicker lining

4. convert it to wire wheels :-)
LaVerne

Mark - The front wheels, having twin leading shoes and an adjuster for each shoe, should have plenty of adjustment unless the drum has been turned way out. The problem is the rear brakes, which have a leading and trailing shoe and just a single adjuster. The single adjuster doesn't have sufficient range to keep the two shoes in contact with the drums, even with drums that have never been turned. The cure for this problem is to put a 1/8" shim under the adjuster mask when you run out of adjustment. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Mark
I don't think it matters if you have steel wheels or wire wheels. I have wires on my TF and my drums had been turned over the years to the point where I could not get a good adjustment. I bought a full set of shimmed adjusters from O'Connor Classic in CA before they closed. I have installed those all around, and now I have nice tight adjusters and great breaking.
I have all my old adjusters, called "masks" I believe. I can send you a pair or two for the ship cost if you want to experiment with having shims welded on.

Tom
'54 TF
Tom Norby

I would also take a drum to an old-school brake shop an have it measured; that will tell if the drum is too far turned or the adjuster needs shimming. I never see drums that need turning, so you may just have shoes worn thin.

Tom Lange
Bar Harbor, Maine
t lange

Drum diameter is 9" as stasndard.
darnoc31

Mark,
I ran into that problem a looong time ago,, Dave Raymond, a master in MG's told me to fit a penney under each Mask,, 6 cents worth of adjustment lasted 20,000+ miles,,

I have pictures, but they are on another PC at work,,,

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

Can someone please post a picture of the shimmed adjusters from O'Connor. Thanks and have a good day!

John
John Progess

Mark,
I had the same problem on almost all my wheels when I first got my TD. Lawrie Alexander recommended putting a little weld on the tips of the shoes where they sit on the adjusters. I had a friend do mine and then I ground them down to fit and give me about 1/8-3/16" more lift. Now my adjustment is fine and the brakes work great. This was over a year ago.
It's the same concept as the above mentioned shims.
Mort
Mort 1950 TD1851 Möbius

Keep your old ones as well...the O'Connor mods work on worn shoes, but won't work on new ones....(I have a set in my glove box waiting for the new shoes to wear......)
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

Gordon
Not so for my car. I installed brand new Powertune brand shoes last year along with the O'Connor shimmed masks. There was plenty of room for the shim and no problem with overly tight adjusters. I suspect there are variables in the thickness of the shoe lining. I do not know if my drums have been turned. I merely had them cleaned up at the machine shop last year.

Tom
'54 TF
Tom Norby

FYI,
This is a picture of a penney used as a shim to get adjustment back. Obviously, the rubber band is only there to hold the wheel cylinder together while replacing the shoes. The penney just rests there, between the mask and the shoe ,, no attachement is necessary, and they have been there for 20,000 + miles... You can see that it had to be ground a bit to fit on the mask.
SPW

STEVE WINCZE

I should add that before using the penneys, the adjustment was turned all the way to the end,,,

When the penneys were installed, I got more than half of the adjustment range back,,,

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

Gentlemen:

Thank you all for some great responses.

Who says a penny is not worth anything anymore?

That solution is simplicity itself!

Mark Sherman
Mark A. Sherman

This solution makes "cents"
-David
D. Sander

This thread was discussed between 31/12/2011 and 04/01/2012

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