Morris Minor Owners Club

hello i recnently had a m.o.t on my morris minor and it failed on the handbrake not working on the drivers side so we adjusted it up still nothing .i had a spare pair of handbrake cables so i changed them and adusted them still nothing i then adjusted them right up and still nothing yesterday i took out the brake cylinder and swapo the fork for the handbrake still nothing any ideas why this does not lock up when handbrake is pulled cheers

Take the drum off and see what is happening to the shoes when the hand brake is pulled.
The rear cylinder needs to be free to slide a bit so that both shoes operate.
Adjust the foot brake before adjusting the hand brake.

Adjust front brakes then support the rear axle on stands, remove wheels and slacken handbrake cables.
Adjust rear brakes and check that both wheels are locking when the foot brake is applied. With handbrake off pull the cables through at the back to make sure that they are not stuck, check for rust and frayed inner cables at the back. Grease the cables and oil or grease the ends of the inner cables. Top up the rear shock absorbers whilst you are there.
Adjust the handbrake cables, apply the handbrake and check that the brakes are locking on both sides. Replace the wheels and check. Release the handbrake one notch and check that there is equal resistance on each wheel and adjust the handbrake cables as necessary.

i have adjusted them as said here put still only one side will lock up i lossened the passenger side handbrake cable of and tightened the drivers as much as it would go and adjusted the brake shoes and still wudnt lock up could it be something to do with the patern part brake cylinder and the cylinder does move up and down cheers

Adjust the brake shoes before you do the hand brake cables and do both of them at once.
A picture of the offending side might help.
I assume you can see the cylinder expand when you lever on the operating lever and the drum is off.

Have you checked that the handbrake lever on the back of each cylinder is operating correctly? There is a pin which holds the lever in place. If it moves to one side it can prevent the piston cap from returning
The operation of the handbrake is independent of the footbrake, ie you could disconnect the hydraulics and the handbrake would still work

Are the shoes oily? Try swapping shoes side to side. Did the rear brakes pass on FOOT brake application - or did they fail there too? It's almost certainly a seized cylinder....assuming the shoes are good.

yes foot brakes worked it just failed that the handbrake dint work at all. so it failed on that the brakes work on the cap moves in the cylinder it also slides up and down on the back plate really easily hope this helps cheers

With everything back together and the handbrake applied, are both cables taut?
Also are the adjusters on the handbrake lever about the same or has one used up all the adjustment?

Seized cable?

ones done up more which is the one not working the cables cant be seized as i have just put brand new cables on cheers

Are both of the cables the same length or have you got an odd pair???????????

brought both togther so should be the same

So when the hand brake is on are the cables equally tensioned?
It may be worth looking at the outer cable at the brake end to make sure it's firmly attached.

See if you can get the drum to lock by levering the lever with a bar against the back plate, then we can narrow the problem down a bit.

Certainly seems to be a strange one - as suggested earlier -swap the shoes side to side - and maybe even the cylinder to see if the problem follows one or the other...... A good new handbrake should lock the rear wheels at 20 mph.