1932-34 Lanchester 10 and Daimler 15 brakes
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 5:15 pm
Copious though the servicing instructions were for our cars when new, there are always a few items which crop up where the makers wouldn't realistically have expected their creations to be working 80 years later.
One of these that came to my attention concerns the operation of the handbrake on the Lockheed braked cars only. If your car appears to be lacking power then this may be worth checking. The handbrake is operated by cables which operate cams on the back axle which run in two bushes, one on the backplate and the other on a bracket on the axle case. The cams operate in an Austin 7 or 10 like manner on the brake shoes. Large springs are meant to return the cams to off when the handbrake is released.
What can happen is that when the handbrake is released, the cams don't return due to dirt/corrosion in the bushes the operating shaft runs in and so the shoes remain stuck either on or partly on. The most effective release I found was WD40 sprayed into the bushes as far as possible and working the shaft back and forward having separated the handbrake cable at the clevis pin attached to the rocking lever on the axle.
With the cable disconnected, this is the best time to adjust the shoes then reconnect the cable making any adjustment necessary to ensure the shoes return to their stop on the adjusters as opposed to being adjusted by the handbrake cable.
If the above is happening, it will be tempting to always blame a stickiness in the brakes on the wheel cylinders but you have my assurance (having literally just finished working on them this afternoon) that sticking in these bushes could be the problem. Worth looking at anyway!
One of these that came to my attention concerns the operation of the handbrake on the Lockheed braked cars only. If your car appears to be lacking power then this may be worth checking. The handbrake is operated by cables which operate cams on the back axle which run in two bushes, one on the backplate and the other on a bracket on the axle case. The cams operate in an Austin 7 or 10 like manner on the brake shoes. Large springs are meant to return the cams to off when the handbrake is released.
What can happen is that when the handbrake is released, the cams don't return due to dirt/corrosion in the bushes the operating shaft runs in and so the shoes remain stuck either on or partly on. The most effective release I found was WD40 sprayed into the bushes as far as possible and working the shaft back and forward having separated the handbrake cable at the clevis pin attached to the rocking lever on the axle.
With the cable disconnected, this is the best time to adjust the shoes then reconnect the cable making any adjustment necessary to ensure the shoes return to their stop on the adjusters as opposed to being adjusted by the handbrake cable.
If the above is happening, it will be tempting to always blame a stickiness in the brakes on the wheel cylinders but you have my assurance (having literally just finished working on them this afternoon) that sticking in these bushes could be the problem. Worth looking at anyway!