4 replies to this topic

[Deejayry]

A friend of mine has recently bought a 1975 850cc mini with the bean can type master cyl and drums all round with twin leading shoe on the front, its had new slaves and shoes on the rear the front look fairly new.
In the past i've only had disks on the front of my mini's so i'v never had to deal with adjusting front drums, looking at the haynes book of lies i've noticed that the description of adjusting twin leading shoe brakes is a little vague.

is there special way of adjustment? As it pulls on the front to the right especially under light braking, if you brake hard the car brakes in a straighter line although it does squirm a litle.


Model:850
Year:75
Description of problem : Brakes pull to one side mostly under light braking

[bmcecosse]

Adjustment won't affect the 'pulling' - you need to look at the shoes for contamination - perhaps swap them side to side to get a nice balance. Adjust as per the manual - the only slight problem I remember (from many many moons ago) is that access to the front adjuster is quite limited.

[benb12]

Yes, the steering arm gets right in the way of your adjusting spanner for one of them. Adjustment shouldn't affect pulling, if you find that the pedal is firmer on the second press of the pedal then they need adjusting. Jack the wheel off the ground, use the adjusting spanner to turn the adjuster whilst spinning the wheel. When the wheel stops spinning, back off the adjuster till the shoes are just rubbing.

[Sherlock]

As a 'drum brake dinosaur' of many years standing, this is my method. I start with the hidden adjuster behind the steering arm, turn the adjuster in the forward direction of the wheel until the wheel locks, then back it off until the wheel is just free. Then do the same with the lower adjuster which is easy to get to just in front of the bottom ball joint area. Apply brake to check that everything remains free when brake is released again. Repeat on the other side, but always remember that the adjusters turn in the direction of forward rotation of the wheel, unlike the rear ones.

[Ethel]

... always remember that the adjusters turn in the direction of forward rotation of the wheel, unlike the rear ones.

This is a good tip. The adjusters will work in either direction but you do get finer control if you turn the spanner in the same direction that the wheel rotates when driving forwards.