brake wheel cylinder, not "piston". Also, best to soak area with brake cleaner BEFORE starting in order to reduce inhalation of brake shoe dust. There's nothing like working on drum brakes to make one wish they had disk brakes. Everytime I work on mine I have difficulty getting the drum back on. even with the adjuster screws fully retracted! Thanks for the tip about positioning the shoes.
Didn't mention the brake adjuster back it off to remove the drum and needs adjusting after new shoes and drums are fitted works on quarter incriminates found opposite the wheel cylinder up top on the mgb
I concur. The adjustment screw has a square head and accessible from the back side of the back plate. It needs to be backed off (counter clockwise). This is the first thing to do. Also make sure that hand brake is not pulled.
Hello Dr. D., I found your channel by the tool box tour. I then just took around to see what else you did videos of and found the MGB videos. My first car was a 70 MGB when I was 15, 37 years later and 3 Bs, 3 A's and 2 TDs, I am still loving them. I don't know where you live (rust belt) or what the rest of the car looks like, but take a good look at those rockers... you can pretty much assume they are gone when you buy a MGB. I would hate to see you put in all the work on the motor and brakes getting it to start and stop, then have the car fail inspection because it's about the fold in half in the middle. Cheers!
I have a British car shop and over 42 years I’ve done thousands of MGB brake jobs. You made that much harder than it needed to be. First before removing the drum the adjuster should have been backed off. If it was seized then gorilla techniques might be necessary. Smacking the drum on its face will cause it to bounce outward. Hitting the sides just tilts it and makes it more difficult. The pliers are not necessary. Simply remove the retainers and pull the shoes away from the adjuster at the top. This releases the spring tension and the entire brake system almost falls off of the backing plate. At this point if the adjuster is seized it needs to be freed up with heat or replaced. Use anti-seize on the moving parts of the adjuster. The cylinder is held in with horrible clips. This is the worst part of the job and should have been the focus of the repair.
I might actually be able to get mine put back together now. I have a 78 midget. I might have an issue though. I dont have any of the return springs. I was not the one who did my initial brake job.
According to the manual there is no hand brake return spring. My 76 Midget did not have them either. Go to MG Experience and search Midget rear brakes, some posted an excel and diagram of the the springs and there arrangement. Ive completed the passenger side yesterday and will tackle the drivers side today. Getting the springs and shoes in place without dropping the lower adjuster wedge is a task.
Good video except for one detail. The "tail" on the end of the bottom spring should be on the top of the adjuster plate so that the curved part is able to ride easily on the plate when the hand brake is operated.
I always find it a frustrating experience to re-install the drum; it requires great patience and an expanded vocabulary. The point about turning the brake adjuster so the shoes are as far in as possible before removing the drum is a good one. Working on disk brakes is infinitely easier.
You seemed to have had no problem getting that clip back on the cylinder. Did you have a special technique you used? One tip I got that I think was useful is to cover the brake shoe linings with masking tape in order to avoid getting oil or grease residue on them. Don't know about you, but I can't seem to keep the oil, grease and dirt off my paws. LOL
Amazing video. It was just what I was looking for : my rear right stucks into place so it is time for me to man up and open the sucker ! I guess you need to bleed the circuit to change the break wheel cylinder, do you have any advice on that ?
Super helpful as always. I've bookmarked this one for when I have to tackle those! May I ask if you know the answer to this : I have a mysterious issue with my MGB brakes. 9 times out of ten, I press the pedal and release the pedal, and the brakes work as expected. But 1 or 2 times in 10, after I let go of the brake pedal and move it to the gas pedal, the brake seems to stick on even after releasing the pedal. But all I have to do is give the pedal another quick tap again and it releases. What might be causing this do you know?
Hi Ted, thanks so much for watching! If I were to guess about your brake pedal issue, I would suggest replacing the brake pedal return spring. See link, item number 6 for later model MGBs. mossmotors.com/mgb/brakes/mgb-brake-pedal-handbrake
@@DrDExplainsStuff thank you for that. Looks simple enough to replace (from Googling, it looks like they just hook on to the top of the arms?) and inexpensive, so can't hurt can it! Thanks very much for that,
Heya, as a guy working on on old B myself, the issue could be one of two things as the likely culprit. 1) you may have an issue with a de-laminating rubber brake hose (internal) and it is acting like a one way valve and not allowing the brake fluid to recede. 2) a similar issue with the brake master cylinder where the piston is not returning and allowing the fluid to release. Good Luck!
Those are not return springs. They are anti-rattle springs, and you don’t need a special tool to put them in. Just use pliers so you can see what you are doing.
Next time don't edit out all the naughty words used to put the cir-clip back in place. It never goes that easy. I've been working on MG's for over 10 yrs
This is perfect.. can't wait to replace the brakes on my 1979 mgb restoration project
I'm glad it helped!
If you put the top spring on before slotting the shoes into the top adjuster it is so much easier. A simple tip
Thanks for this, just completed on my MGB 👍
You’re welcome!
brake wheel cylinder, not "piston". Also, best to soak area with brake cleaner BEFORE starting in order to reduce inhalation of brake shoe dust. There's nothing like working on drum brakes to make one wish they had disk brakes. Everytime I work on mine I have difficulty getting the drum back on. even with the adjuster screws fully retracted! Thanks for the tip about positioning the shoes.
Thanks for the tips! I’m still learning myself.
Didn't mention the brake adjuster back it off to remove the drum and needs adjusting after new shoes and drums are fitted works on quarter incriminates found opposite the wheel cylinder up top on the mgb
I'd like to see that step too. Thanks
I concur. The adjustment screw has a square head and accessible from the back side of the back plate. It needs to be backed off (counter clockwise). This is the first thing to do. Also make sure that hand brake is not pulled.
Good job and very helpful for beginners, thanks
Hello Dr. D., I found your channel by the tool box tour. I then just took around to see what else you did videos of and found the MGB videos. My first car was a 70 MGB when I was 15, 37 years later and 3 Bs, 3 A's and 2 TDs, I am still loving them. I don't know where you live (rust belt) or what the rest of the car looks like, but take a good look at those rockers... you can pretty much assume they are gone when you buy a MGB. I would hate to see you put in all the work on the motor and brakes getting it to start and stop, then have the car fail inspection because it's about the fold in half in the middle. Cheers!
Thanks for the input and for watching, Blair! I’ll take a closer look for rust now.
I have a British car shop and over 42 years I’ve done thousands of MGB brake jobs. You made that much harder than it needed to be. First before removing the drum the adjuster should have been backed off. If it was seized then gorilla techniques might be necessary. Smacking the drum on its face will cause it to bounce outward. Hitting the sides just tilts it and makes it more difficult. The pliers are not necessary. Simply remove the retainers and pull the shoes away from the adjuster at the top. This releases the spring tension and the entire brake system almost falls off of the backing plate. At this point if the adjuster is seized it needs to be freed up with heat or replaced. Use anti-seize on the moving parts of the adjuster. The cylinder is held in with horrible clips. This is the worst part of the job and should have been the focus of the repair.
Why are you missing the upper adjuster, Looks like its missing, there should be little wedges in there, I might be wrong, But mine did
I might actually be able to get mine put back together now. I have a 78 midget. I might have an issue though. I dont have any of the return springs. I was not the one who did my initial brake job.
According to the manual there is no hand brake return spring. My 76 Midget did not have them either. Go to MG Experience and search Midget rear brakes, some posted an excel and diagram of the the springs and there arrangement. Ive completed the passenger side yesterday and will tackle the drivers side today. Getting the springs and shoes in place without dropping the lower adjuster wedge is a task.
Good video except for one detail. The "tail" on the end of the bottom spring should be on the top of the adjuster plate so that the curved part is able to ride easily on the plate when the hand brake is operated.
I had difficulty removing the round head bolt of the wheel cylinder. What was the size of flare nut wrench did you use?
I always find it a frustrating experience to re-install the drum; it requires great patience and an expanded vocabulary. The point about turning the brake adjuster so the shoes are as far in as possible before removing the drum is a good one. Working on disk brakes is infinitely easier.
You seemed to have had no problem getting that clip back on the cylinder. Did you have a special technique you used? One tip I got that I think was useful is to cover the brake shoe linings with masking tape in order to avoid getting oil or grease residue on them. Don't know about you, but I can't seem to keep the oil, grease and dirt off my paws. LOL
I get oil and grease everywhere! I think I used a flathead screwdriver to remove the clips in the back and I used pliers to add the new clip on.
Amazing video. It was just what I was looking for : my rear right stucks into place so it is time for me to man up and open the sucker ! I guess you need to bleed the circuit to change the break wheel cylinder, do you have any advice on that ?
Super helpful as always. I've bookmarked this one for when I have to tackle those! May I ask if you know the answer to this : I have a mysterious issue with my MGB brakes. 9 times out of ten, I press the pedal and release the pedal, and the brakes work as expected. But 1 or 2 times in 10, after I let go of the brake pedal and move it to the gas pedal, the brake seems to stick on even after releasing the pedal. But all I have to do is give the pedal another quick tap again and it releases. What might be causing this do you know?
Hi Ted, thanks so much for watching! If I were to guess about your brake pedal issue, I would suggest replacing the brake pedal return spring. See link, item number 6 for later model MGBs. mossmotors.com/mgb/brakes/mgb-brake-pedal-handbrake
@@DrDExplainsStuff thank you for that. Looks simple enough to replace (from Googling, it looks like they just hook on to the top of the arms?) and inexpensive, so can't hurt can it! Thanks very much for that,
Heya, as a guy working on on old B myself, the issue could be one of two things as the likely culprit. 1) you may have an issue with a de-laminating rubber brake hose (internal) and it is acting like a one way valve and not allowing the brake fluid to recede. 2) a similar issue with the brake master cylinder where the piston is not returning and allowing the fluid to release. Good Luck!
Those are not return springs. They are anti-rattle springs, and you don’t need a special tool to put them in. Just use pliers so you can see what you are doing.
Love these videos. Thank you so much. Was wondering, do you use the jack stands on the rear axle tube for this video?
Thank you! Yes, they say use the leaf springs, but I find the axle more secure and less likely to slip off.
What is the tool you used to remove the springs?
Brake spring return tool I believe it’s called.
Wow
Next time don't edit out all the naughty words used to put the cir-clip back in place. It never goes that easy. I've been working on MG's for over 10 yrs
Agree!
👍👏👏👏