Having taking the passenger side handbrake apart and cleaning out all the dust – then sanding the brake lining surfaces. I thought the drivers side would be pretty much the same.
But when I tried to pull away the disc from the hub there seemed to be something holding onto it inside. After slackening the adjuster screw a lot more the disc came away. It was immediately obvious that the brake shoe retaining spring was missing! The shoe was being pulled away from the back plate and hence gripping the drum surface.
The brake shoe had worn to a bit of a taper ….. so maybe a cause of the not so good handbrake.
Ordered a handbrake fitting kit from DMGRS …. only wanted the brake shoe retaining clip.
I used new brake shoes on this side …… don’t think it really matters that I haven’t put new shoes on both sides. These brake shoes don’t “move” as such … only to hold the car stationary.
All went back together – a job i don’t want to do too often ….. very fiddly and tricky. A bit confused with a technical drawing of the layout of the whole assembly which was incorrect.
All back together and adjusted the handbrake inside the car …… time will tell!!
Update 1 month later – yes a definite improvement compared to the hassle of fitting the upgraded handbrake compensater with not much noticable improvement.
MG ZT info mods and maintenance 