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[Andy B]

....
 ..... I found that the brake shoes had worn a grooves in the drums and I had to back off the shoes to get the drum/discs off.

The only time the shoes should come into contact with the drum is when you apply the handbrake when you are stopped (maybe a few handbrake turns  ). So, how do the shoes wear the drum?

[Webby the Bear]

Fair enough  I took the discs off my old breaker car and replaced them and the shoes didn't need backing off. 

Anyway, thanks for answering that.... sorry for hijacking 

 

[terry paget]

Thanks for the advice. I always back off the adjuster before I attempt to remove a brake drum. There is often a lip of unworn brake drum on the inner edge on which the shoes can catch. Then the drum sticks, hammers are used, then tyre levers, and finally the shoes break the retaining spring pins and the whole thing falls to bits. So now I always slacken off the adjusters first.

In answer to earlier questions, I had a pair of new drums kicking around that I had bought for a 2 litre job but decided the existing drums were OK. Then I overhauled the 3.2 handbrake, and as one disc had a tiny edge chip I decided to fit the spare pair. Like others I had assumed all Omegas rear discs were interchangeable. They fitted all right. Big mistake. Luckily I read the thread.

[Andy B]

Thanks for the advice. I always back off the adjuster before I attempt to remove a brake drum. There is often a lip of unworn brake drum on the inner edge on which the shoes can catch. Then the drum sticks, hammers are used, then tyre levers, and finally the shoes break the retaining spring pins and the whole thing falls to bits.  ......

Agreed ..... for a car that uses the drum for the foot brake. The Omega doesn't  - it uses the disc to stop the car & the drum to hold it, when already stopped. 

In answer to earlier questions, I had a pair of new drums kicking around that I had bought for a 2 litre job but decided the existing drums were OK. Then I overhauled the 3.2 handbrake, and as one disc had a tiny edge chip I decided to fit the spare pair. Like others I had assumed all Omegas rear discs were interchangeable. They fitted all right. Big mistake. Luckily I read the thread.

They fitted?  Didn't you notice the huge gap in the caliper that you fitted the solid disc into, that previously had a thick vented disc in it? 

[terry paget]

In reply to Andy B, handbrake drum wear occurs in MOT tests, hill starts, and when the wife forgets to release the handbrake. Also when someone leaves the car parked for a week with the h/b on and it sticks. And in emergency stops; and when my son loses his brake fluid and brings the car home on the handbrake. But I agree, in general, handbrake shoes and drums should get little wear. They are designed to last the life of the car - seven years.

[Andy H]

In reply to Andy B, handbrake drum wear occurs in MOT tests, hill starts, and when the wife forgets to release the handbrake. Also when someone leaves the car parked for a week with the h/b on and it sticks. And in emergency stops; and when my son loses his brake fluid and brings the car home on the handbrake. But I agree, in general, handbrake shoes and drums should get little wear. They are designed to last the life of the car - seven years.

Can't argue with Andy B's theory.

All I know is that I replaced the rear discs on both my Omegas at around 130,000 miles (or 7 years) and there was a groove.

[terry paget]

The ridge is mainly a build up of rust that has not been removed by the rubbing action of the shoes

[Andy B]

....
 and when the wife forgets to release the handbrake.  .....

My daughter did that in SWMBO auto Astra after her then boyfriend (daughter's - not wife's  ) applied the handbrake when being 'helpful'    Daughter panicked when she could smell hot brakes!


Hill start?  That's what your left foot is for. 

[Webby the Bear]

i can see that on a car with brake drums. but the omegas with their discs  i suppose on the omega it would depend on whether the owner used the handbrake much with it being auto

[dbug]

Surely the shoes should only rub when the wheel is turning   So I guess guys its sensible not to drive with the handbrake applied or use it for handbrake turns

Ask the MOT guys to be careful on the handbrake test and it should last a long time

[Kevin Wood]

The ridge is mainly a build up of rust that has not been removed by the rubbing action of the shoes

What he said.

The insides of the drums will rust, and any rust that appears on the parts of the drum where the shoes contact it will be swept away - even if the handbrake is never used, since the running clearance between shoes and drum is very small.

Rust outside this area will build up a thicker lip, making removal of the drum less easy.

[albitz]

This thread has reminded me,my handbrake was an advisory on the mot last year,and I need to sort it for this year (September).
Ive managed to avoid any involvement with the handbrake in 13 years of senator/Omega ownership,but my luck has now run out.

[Marks DTM Calib]

There easy enough.

The trick is light regular application to keep the faces clean, use it, and to not piss with the handbrake cable.