Technical Rear drum brakes shoes and cylinders

[Yolanda]

To get an idea as to how each brake is working. Jack the car up crack the wheel bolts, your hand brake should be adjusted to about 5 clicks till the wheels won't turn even if you grip them with your hands to try to rotate them. The one that does turn will obviously be the one that needs adjusting. Remove wheel and drum and adjust. Put the drum and wheel back on (2-wheel bolts will suffice) and go through the procedure again till you get them both the same, eg balanced. My adjusters don't seem to self-adjust so once a year when servicing I do the above procedure and for the last 3 years the car's passed its MOT. You can also do this procedure with say 3 clicks on the handbrake so the brakes start to bind then check which side isn't. This is the method I use, but in your case, you need to do the first method to make sure the wheels will pass the rolling road test for the MOT.
With hindsight you'd have been better off buying the complete kits already built up with the adjusters in place.
But hindsight's a wonderful thing as we all know. Good luck.

 

[Yolanda]

You got that post in koalar as I was writing mine but it's correct.

 

[koalar]

.
With hindsight you'd have been better off buying the complete kits already built up with the adjusters in place.
But hindsight's a wonderful thing as we all know. Good luck.

I did hint at this at the very start of the thread

If you get a 50% off over you pay around £50 for a complete pagid assembly, fit and forget for the next 100K full price at ECP at the moment is just over £100

OEM adjusters are just under £200 alone, discount around £150

Third party adjuster are also around £50

If you go too cheap quality isn't great, some are even missing the bimetallic strip to cut costs, with eBay you pays your money and takes your chance

 

[lukish]

Thank you all again.
It passed the MOT this morning! When I called the garage shortly after 9 I didn't expect them to have a slot at 10:30, so I took a chance and went for the re-test before I managed to bleed the brakes, and before I could re-open the drum to check if hand-brake was overtightened or not. All I had time to do was a quick manual check with both rear wheels up, and saw that with 5 clicks of the handbrake it wouldn't budge...
Thank you again to all, you helped enormously. Over the next few days I will add the new adjuster and change the brake fluid (it must be way overdue), and when the weather is a bit better I will do the other drum brake.

 

[MLW]

Well done on fixing it.
My daughter's 2006 Panda failed its MOT on rear brakes and balance.
F1 Autostore in Enfield suggested a kit to replace the lot at the rear. This is probably the £100 at Euro Car parts.
In the end they found a slightly leaky rear cylinder and a cracked brake shoe.
They replaced the lot and bled through the rear AND front brake fluid.
In the end it passed the MOT. Probably the first time the rear brakes have been seen since it left the factory.
Total cost was £285 all in. Not too bad really.

 

[DaveMcT]

My auto adjusters just don't. But the knurled wheel can be nudged around though a wheel bolt hole. I use a flat screwdriver with the blade tip bent. I set the drum to bind, give it a few thumps with a rubber mallet and readjust until it's tight. Then back off a couple of clicks so drum turns free. Finally adjust the brake cables to give a nice lever lift.

Always teats drive to make sure brakes are not binding.

Auto adjusters would avoid the faff but it's not that bad and better than the silly cost of new adjusters.

 

[koalar]

No idea why anyone would mess around and not fix the rear brakes properly, It's a double crossover braking system

The rear shoes are fit and forget, good for over 100K of average driving, no intervention needed, it's simple system to works very well

The adjusters are very easy to check

If you need the wheel cylinder, theres virtually no difference in price with adjuster included

Once you done a couple, it's a very quick and easy repair

 

[DaveMcT]

The 500 adjusters and shoes are not the same as the Panda 2007 adjusters and shoes. Either will fit as a set but you can't mix and match the shoes and adjusters. I know this because my 57 plate Panda has a 2015 500 axle that came complete with brakes. When I came to sort out the poor handbrake, the new shoes (Panda spec - I know silly error) would not fit. But no worries, the old 500 shoes were hardly worn. The sticking knurled adjusters just needed carefully turning to take up the slack.

As others have said, when one side is failing, it's best to replace both as the other side won't be far behind.

 

[koalar]

The 500 adjusters and shoes are not the same as the Panda 07 adjusters and shoes. Either will fit as a set but you can't mix and match the shows and adjusters.

As others have said, when one side is failing, it's best to replace both as the other side won't be far behind.

Lockheed panda is the same as the lockheed 500
Bosch panda is the same as the Bosch 500

The sets I have listed are both Bosch which is correct for this year of car

 

[DaveMcT]

Lockheed panda is the same as the lockheed 500
Bosch panda is the same as the Bosch 500

The sets I have listed are both Bosch which is correct for this year of car

Presumably the original axle had one brand while the replacement had the other brand. The differences are subtle but easily seen when you put them side by side.

Maybe it's like the Multijet oil filters where there are two types. The supplier can't tell which type your car actually has.

 

[koalar]

Presumably the original axle had one brand while the replacement had the other brand. The differences are subtle but easily seen when you put them side by side.

Maybe it's like the Multijet oil filters where there are two types. The supplier can't tell which type your car actually has.

Nope

Original Bosch

From 25/05/2010 Lockheed

You have to order the correct ones

 

[Yolanda]

No idea why anyone would mess around and not fix the rear brakes properly, It's a double crossover braking system

The rear shoes are fit and forget, good for over 100K of average driving, no intervention needed, it's simple system to works very well

The adjusters are very easy to check

View attachment 456251
View attachment 456252


If you need the wheel cylinder, theres virtually no difference in price with adjuster included

View attachment 456253View attachment 456254


Once you done a couple, it's a very quick and easy repair

When I bought my car over 3 years ago the hand brake was only working on one side (can't remember which now) So I pulled the drums off and found the shoes to have plenty of meat on them but the self-adjusters left a lot to be desired. So being a tight bugger I balanced them up and as said previously and I manually adjust them when needed. When new shoes are needed, I would buy the complete kit as mentioned before but that could be a long time off as I only do about 1600 mls a year.