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MG MGB Technical - Brake shoes-Dumb question: does it matter which end goes where?

I replaced the brake shoes on my '73B a week ago.. Each shoe had one end with a portion of the friction surface of the shoe being bare metal and the other end being covered with lining. When I looked at the Bentley manual it did not say or show that these shoes had to be placed in any particular arrangement. The manual simply said that the shoes are "interchangeable", whatever that means. The illustration in the manual did show that one shoe's bare metal end was directly opposite the other shoe's covered end, which is the way I put them in. Someone just told me that there is a "trailing end" and a "leading end" to each shoe and that the bare metal end on the front shoe on each wheel should be at the top and that the bare metal end of the rear shoe on each wheel should be at the bottom. Can't remember if this is what I did but what is the correct arrangement of the shoes or does it matter? If it does matter, I guess I'll have to pull the drums and check and correct if need be. Thanks from a neophyte.
David Hawkins

David;

As best as I remember,the info you were told about leading/ trailing ends is correct. The orientation as you have it stated is also correct.
Pete Haburt

David,
As Pete said what you have done is correct.
The "leading and Trailling" ends refer to the shoe in relation to the direction of the wheels and brake drum rotation.
The bare end goes first so when the beakes are applied ther shoe acts as a "wedge" to contact the drum and thus stop the car.
The bare egde also prevents "grabbing" of the shoe on the drum and abrupt brake effect.
Another thrick to get the same result is to bevel the edges of the shoe lining which achieves the same result.
Cheers, Pete, Sydney, Australia
Peter Thomas

I just put back brakes on my 78 b. I assume you are talking about back brakes. The front are disc. Put the shoes on the back with the holes for the emergency brake linkage on the bottom. Hopes this helps.
Phil

Thanks for all the replies. I also got the following email which was helpful and after rechecking what I had done it looks like I installed the shoes correctly the first time around (I usually have to do everything twice):

In the purely technical sense, there is no lead or trail shoe; however,
they are somewhat "position sensitive". When a set of shoes are assembled
correctly you will note that the part of the emergency brake lever that
connects to the rear-most shoe should pass thru the hole that is shaped like
the outline of a speaker or bell. The opposite shoe (closest to the front of
the car) should be flipped over so that the bell shaped hole is at the top of
the backing plate.
Both sides of the car are assembled in the same manner. "Bell" up
towards the front, and "Bell" down towards the rear. This arrangement, while
not "mandatory" as it might be if the shoes were of the lead/trail variety,
places the lining in the most efficient position, and provides proper
operation of the ebrake. If the shoes are flipped, the ebrake lever can get
wedged in the narrow horizontal slot and cause premature shoe wear as well,
although in the hundreds of B brake jobs I've done over the years, I've seen
every combo... the rear brakes are fairly forgiving, if given a clean, flat
drum surface, a dab of grease at the rub points, and fresh springs every
100,000 miles....
Mark Childers
Union Jack mg spares and Repairs
Chesapeake VA .
David Hawkins

Hi. there are two shoes a primary and secondery in a set the primary is the one that applyes first the longer friction surface and it goes to the front. when it applies it sort of rotates in the direction of rotation of the wheel,ever wonder why they are not anchored at the bottom, which makes for better brake application.

cec
cec Fry

Jeez, how many more ...
Paul Hunt

Paul, there must be much more to come. As I read it, all this info is just for the LEFT rear wheel; more description - at least as much, will be needed for the RIGHT rear wheel.
Ken R
Ken Rich

This thread was discussed between 07/03/2002 and 12/03/2002

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