8' brakes

[minor57]

is there an obvious way to check if my front brakes are 7 or 8 inch or will i have to remove them and measure across?

[cadetchris]

whip the drum off and measuring is really the only fail safe way

[minor57]

and once ive removed the wheel the drum should just slide off with a bit of encouragement.

[bmcecosse]

Why do you want to take the drum off?

[minor57]

to see weather i have 7' or 8' brakes. as there is a set of 8' brakes for sale on ebay that im interested in.

[Trog]

Hi
Well done and welcome What year is the car and what is the problem as is?? (It's my old brakes on ebay) I ditched them for disks only to find out my master cylinder (new) was the problem. I can't believe I'm saying don't buy my drums til you have talked it over on hear

[minor57]

the main problem is i used to drive a corsa with excellant brakes and i now drive a morris minor with errrr not masivly great brakes that pull left or right depending on the day lol. almost have to stamp on the pedals with almighty force before i get any great braking (passed mot like this) and ive been advised to get 8' drums to improve the brakes if they arent 8' already.

[mike.perry]

Take a front wheel and a rear wheel off and if the front and back brake drums are the same size then you have 7 in front brakes, If the fronts are bigger then you have 8 in front brakes.

[minor57]

would i notice a great difference in braking if i fitted 8' drums on the front?

[bmcecosse]

YES! Much better than 7" drums. Of course - 9" Wolseley drums are even better - but not common these days....... And you don't need to take the drum off to measure if they are 7" or 8" .........

[minor57]

YES! Much better than 7" drums. Of course - 9" Wolseley drums are even better - but not common these days....... And you don't need to take the drum off to measure if they are 7" or 8" .........

how do i measure them without taking off the drum do i just go by looking at the back ones?

[chrisryder]

you can measure the outside of the drum. the 8 inches does refer to its internal diameter, but if you measure the outside and it's less than 8 then you must have 7's!

[minor57]

ok cheers for that will have a loook tomorrow.

[mike.perry]

When you look at the front and rear drums it is obvious if they are the same size or not and if the brakes are in good condition then 8in fronts will be better than 7in
However, properly maintained 7in brakes are quite capable of stopping a Morris Minor, you just need to press the pedal harder.

[kennatt]

regardless of what brakes you have you will still need to sort out the pulling to the left or right,they should pull up straight,you could have sticky cylinders in the front or rear,so you may need to take the drums off anyway to sort that out.

[bmcecosse]

Indeed - either set should lock the wheels at 20 mph - and pull up straight within limits of tyre/road adhesion....... Handbrake also should lock the rear wheels at 20 mph.

[minor57]

just check my front brake drum and low and behold its a 7 inch drum, i worked this out by measuring across the face that meets the wheels which came to a little over 7inches but nowhere near 8 inches.

[bmcecosse]

Go for an 8" set urgently.......

[minor57]

i will im currently watching trog from this forums set on ebay.

[bmcecosse]

Do a deal with him to buy them NOW!