MG T-ABC

Evening all,

My right rear brake seems to be too tight and is hanging or dragging. (Not sure of the correct terminology). So I pulled the wheel and the brake drum off both rear wheels so I had something to compare. The brake drum that is dragging was pretty tight and it took some banging on a edges to get it off. The wheel hub spins very freely on both sides. The dragging side seems like the brake shoes are pushed out too far such that the brake drum will not slide back on, I would need to go after it with a hammer to get it back on. I've got plenty of brake shoe material left, about 8-9 mm including the metal, and Ive adjusted the brake tighteners so they are as small as possible. The brake cylinder measures 80 mm head to head and matches the side that does not drag. I've even tried to fit the loose brake drum on the tight side and that has the same fit, being too tight.

I'm at a loss as to why I can't get my brakes on that right rear side to loosen up. All the parts freely move so it's not like the brake shoes are jammed over to one side.

Any ideas folks?

TIA

Jeff

Handbrake cables also slackened off?

Hmm... Hand brake is off but I'll try to loosen or disconnect it from that side. Any tips on disconnecting the handbrake or adjusting it?

Thanks

Jeff

Jeff: Make sure the adjustment wingnut (item 23) is set so that the "ears" that hold the swivel pins (item 5) where the individual brake cable attach to the handbrake crossbar are in the vertical position when the handbrake is off. You can then adjust the cable adjusting nut (item 4) on the affected side to slacken the tension on the cable. If that fails to fix the problem then you can check the adjusters on the backing plate to slacken the brake shoe positions. You can slacken the shoes, determine the handbrake problem if any, then re-adjust the shoes testing with the handbrake and brake pedal as you go..

Good luck...

Good tip. Hand brake is sticking and not returning to the released position.
I can tap the hand brake's adjusting wingnut to get it to release but the bearings are all gummed up. Sprayed WD-40 and some graphite lube on everything still sticking.
Started to unbolt the cross bar that everything is connected to but noticed that the mounting points on each end are square plates. Since I would have to take the bar out at an angle, the square ends will cause the bar to lengthen it I rotate it.
Here lies the problem, how does one remove the bar so it can be cleaned up and lubed?

Very nice diagrams!! Now I can call thinks by their numbers.
My last post was before I'd refreshed the forum so didn't have this to reference.

How does #13 and #14 come apart? If I unbolt #13 will #14 just slide out? That was what I was attempting to say in the last post.

Also where did you get this nice exploded view?

Jeff:
After you've removed all the items that connect to the handbrake assembly, springs, cables to rear wheels, You then will remove the two bolts that mounts the ratchet sector piece (item 22) and handbrake stop assembly (item 25, 26) to the center stop mounting bracket on the frame. Then remove the two bolts and nuts each side holding the handbrake trunnion bearing plates (item 13). Now you can simply rotate the entire handbrake assembly with the trunnion bearing plates in place until everything clears the frame rails and you can lift it out.

You can slide the trunnion bearing plates off of each end and hopefully you find that it is just gunk that can be cleaned, lubed up and re-assembled. On mine, the trunnion bronze bearings were worn beyond reuse and would rotate inside of the plates and also rotate or wobble in a lateral motion too. I resurfaced the trunnion ends of the handbrake cross shaft. installed Speedie wear sleeves (SKF) and designed new bronze trunnion bearings to assemble into the bearing end plates. I drilled out the rivets, assembled the new bronze bearings in and re-riveted the plates. If your handbrake crossbar end trunnions are worn or damaged from dirt and service plus the trunnion bearings shot. I can send you the details I used and made to refurbish my unit. It may work for you as well. Everything works great on my assembly!

Marv, thanks for the photos and diagrams. When you talk about lifting out the crossbar and clearing the frame rails, I hope this means that I can remove it from the bottom of the car. Also, do the end trunnions (#13) slide in on the crossbar to make room to clear the frame? Part #13 doesn't look like there is a slot to slip the crossbar out. And one last thing, the exhaust system is in the way to cleanly drop the crossbar out the bottom. I really hope I don't need to remove that to get the crossbar out too.

BTW what book did you get the first diagram from?

The trunnion bearings will slide inward on the crossbar allowing the whole unit to clear the frame rails. As my floorboards, gearbox and everything was out of the car, mine naturally came out the top. if you rid yourself of topside obstructions, the crossbar should rotate enough to drop out the bottom. The crossbar should rotate enough to clear the exhaust system I think. You may have to drop the rear support hanger for a tad more room.
I think the first exploded diagram came from some British parts website originally but I pulled it off of a blog for TC4985. (http://tc4985.altervista.org/)
Let us know how you make out!
Marv

Thanks again for the update Marv. Will be working on it tomorrow and hopefully will get it done in a day. Will certainly post any nuances I hit and the final results.
I've learn more from the folks on this site than any other place on the internet. Can't thank all of you enough for the discussions and suggestions here!

Jeff

With reference to item 15 in the diagram, i.e. the handbrake handle, the top part is chromed, but the bottom half (where the adjuster is and where it attaches to the car and cross shaft) is painted. Do these two halves come apart? I'm not happy with the chrome on mine, but I don't want to put an oversized sleeve on it if I can avoid it.

Does the top half unscrew from the bottom half or is it welded/braised in place? I couldn't see anything obvious but I didn't want to force it with a pair of grips in case I wrecked the whole assembly. All of the exploded diagrams that I have seem show it as a single unit.

I'm afraid you're stuck with what you've got unless you sleeve it Steve. No obvious way for it to come apart! nd I just completely refurbished mine. I decided to live with the little bit of chrome distress on the top of the handle.

Marv et al,

The handbrake cable on my car is different than shown in the diagram as #1. Right at the mid point in the cable I have a Tee that contains a lube nipple. I'd lubed it 2 months ago when I lubed everything else, but this time I shot lube in the until it cam out both ends of the cable. I did notice that there are spots of lube bleeding through the cable's metal sheath in places. When it try to manually move the cable it sticks strongly. So now it looks like I need to replace it.
Question, does the cable thread into the lubrication Tee or do I need to pull that off and replace it too. The Tee is going to be very difficult to undo. Here is a photo of said Tee.
Jeff

You may have found the core source of your problem Jeff. I suspect stranding of the cable has started to break and unwind inside the sheath. Nothing you can do with it. The Tee is part of the assembly, if one side is bad, the other side is probably not far behind. I'd replace them both. There are two versions out there in the aftermarket vendors. One with the tee as original and the other one without. Sorta' your choice, if you lube the unit without the tee with a good graphite lube before assembly, it will last a long time. I have no idea on difference in costs, I think they're both pretty pricey. I got mine from Australia. Both for $79 with shipping which was a good deal at the time. Mine are with the tee in the middle which I will plumb up to the remote greaser plate mounted on the lower frame rail so you don't have to crawl under the car to grease them up. Again, owner's choice, a lot of restorations have it just because it was original to the car in my opinion.

Marv

So there is no aftermarket cable without the tee I could use from the local auto parts store?
And yes the cable is the root of the problem. Everything else spins easily once that cable was removed.

'Fraid not Jeff.... once you pull that entire cable assembly, the answer becomes crystal clear. Nothing "common" about it that the auto stores would carry. Bummer!!!! Bite the bullet, replace them both.

Update: Pulled the sticky brake cable off the car. Took a look at the thing and it must have been replaced some time in the last 10 - 15 years as the cable it bright and shiny and moves without hanging. However, The lube that I used when greasing all the point was the same I used on the cable's grease point. That grease is far to think for the cable. So I'm going to shoot degreasing fluid into the grease nipple to flush as much of that heavy stuff out and put either lithium or light machine oil back in.

So on the eternal topic of oils and fluids, one should add this point. Don't use the typical grease used else where for the emergency brake cables.

Jeff

Don't know if it's the recommended lube of choice or not but I use white lithium grease. Works for me!

Here in SA we have cable shop that will make up the cable as original if you just take the original outers to them for a tenth of the price of complete new ones.

Lucky you!! They would probably cost me 10 times the Moss price for that same service here in the USA...