Have got the car up on stands at the rear and have taken the rear wheels off to get access to the suspension and brakes. I have checked the haynes manual and the photo they show looks different from what is behind the rear wheel. there are no dust covers for a start.

My big question is... will i have to undo the large nut in the middle to remove the brake drums? If so i gotta get a socket to fit that thing.. anyone know what diameter/size it is?

Tony M said:

Have got the car up on stands at the rear and have taken the rear wheels off to get access to the suspension and brakes. I have checked the haynes manual and the photo they show looks different from what is behind the rear wheel. there are no dust covers for a start.

My big question is... will i have to undo the large nut in the middle to remove the brake drums? If so i gotta get a socket to fit that thing.. anyone know what diameter/size it is?

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According to Haynes the only difference, at the back, is a slightly larger bore slave cylinder.

You shouldn't need to remove the hub to take the shoes off.

Take notes about where the return springs locate, etc.. as per Haynes.

The Drums can be swine to remove. All that in theory is holding them there is the 2 small bolts one of which is like a locating spigot for the wheel. Once they are undone drums usually need lots of persuading with screwdrivers between the drum and backplate tho be careful u dont bend the backplate. I think a little wd40 is ok it helps a bit. What are you planning to do to the rear brakes out of interest.

Giacosa said:

The Drums can be swine to remove. All that in theory is holding them there is the 2 small bolts one of which is like a locating spigot for the wheel. Once they are undone drums usually need lots of persuading with screwdrivers between the drum and backplate tho be careful u dont bend the backplate. I think a little wd40 is ok it helps a bit.

Click to expand...

thanks for that. that is actually really useful to know... i had tried moving them by hand and found they didn't budge, so had presumed i needed to loosen/remove somethign else.

Giacosa said:

What are you planning to do to the rear brakes out of interest.

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I have decided rather than waste my time removing all the rust off the drums to replace the shoes and the drums at the same time. I ordered 2 new drums from shop4parts.co.uk. I am praying that the difference between 1000 and selecta is that great. will check with they arrive.

I'll take some pictures today for reference... but i have to get a deep 12mm socket to release the nearside spigot, as some fool has rounded the corners too much for the same size c spanner.

I'll take some pictures today for reference... but i have to get a deep 12mm socket to release the nearside spigot, as some fool has rounded the corners too much for the same size c spanner.

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My method was a bit crude i chopped the spigot shorter with a hacksaw. I wouldnt worry I think the drums will near enough identical as to make no difference.
On removing the shoes its usually getting the return springs off that causes the argy bargy. If i remember rightly the top spring is slightly longer but a bit weaker and is easier to remove. The bottom spring is a pain in the ass as it is stronger and partially obscured by the hub. What you really need is the longest screwdriver you have to act as leverage. Use the hub as a leverage point to unhook the springs from the shoes. With the bottom spring you can make life easier by using the screwdriver to lever the bottom of the shoe out of the slot it sits in letting it move inwards slightly so that the backplate of the friction material is snagged on what i think is a rivet if i remember rightly. It reduces the tension on the spring a bit and makes it easier to unhook. A selecta may be different im not sure. Get a brake kit from halfords has all new shiny gubbins, springs and may improve the efficency of the handbrake and looks a lot nicer as well. Hope thats helpful

well here's one a i took to pieces earlier ...



am i right in thinking that thing at the top is the master cylinder?

I think i might chop off the spigot myself (i only have a junior hacksaw and it takes ages to cut custard)... or drill through it and use something to lever it round...

is the spigot only used to align the holes for putting in the wheel bolts?

Just looking at that photo... seems the pad on the right is much skinnier than the left. Isit possible for the master cylinder to cause that?... I can't think of another reason off the top of my head how that might happen.

The spigot bolt holds on the drum and locates the wheel thats all. And yeah thats the slave cylinder tho it looks identical to any other pandas to me. Your right about the greater wear on the leading shoe. You can see the piston is extended further out of the cylinder on that side as well. The slave cylinder could have seized internally on one side. It might have something to do with the brake adjustor. Maybe its been gimpy on that shoe and not compensating for the wear in the drum.

Giacosa said:

Get a brake kit from halfords has all new shiny gubbins, springs and may improve the efficency of the handbrake and looks a lot nicer as well. Hope thats helpful

Click to expand...

Any idea how much one of these brake kit costs? seems a shame to put the old its back in if i can have complete peace of mind. If anything goes wrong from then on it'll just be me...

To Tony M
What cc is your Selecta please?
The cylinder in the brake drum is reffered to as a rear wheel cylinder, the master cylinder is under the bonnet.

The rear wheel nut is 30m/m and should be inspected carefully after removal. If in good condition, refit to 150ft/lb, if in any doubt replace it.

If you intend to replace the brake linings, it can be done without removing the hub but removing the hub makes the job far easier. No puller should be required and pull the hub off slowly and carefully.

To slacken the hub nut, leave the car on the ground, just slacken, do not remove. Jack or lift the car, then remove the nut and hub. Do the final tightening after the car has been lowered to the ground, then double check everything.

Regards.

petel said:

What cc is your Selecta please?

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I've got the 1108cc engined version... I think they mostly are aren't they?

Well, thanks for the info Petel, I have been thinking of removing the ... errr.. end of the omega axle thing... that holds the ...hmmm stuff.

i really need to brush up on my terminology.

basically it's pretty hard to do a good job of stopping the rust and take it back to the metal while everything is on the car. So things that i can strip down and chuck into a large bucket of rust dissolving solution are good. the rear brake assembly seems to catch quite a lot of road crud.

I will invest in a decent 30mm socket some time soon... just in case i get a bit obsessive.

petel said:

To slacken the hub nut, leave the car on the ground, just slacken, do not remove. Jack or lift the car, then remove the nut and hub. Do the final tightening after the car has been lowered to the ground, then double check everything.

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You mean don't start from here...



As Col. John "Hannibal" Smith would say "I love it when a plan comes together"... doh!

Going to 'de-badge' it too?

Jim

e505jpy said:

Going to 'de-badge' it too?

Jim

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No I took those off before they fell off... the adesive was very tired, and all the edges were a bit too high, I have them sat next to a roll of trim tape in the cellar. I did notice that the only badge with guiding holes was the panda one... the rest are just stuck onto the paintwork.

you can see where the crud had built up behind them... I haven't cleaned that off yet.

Giacosa said:

Get a brake kit from halfords has all new shiny gubbins, springs and may improve the efficency of the handbrake and looks a lot nicer as well. Hope thats helpful

Click to expand...

I got one... they are stopping selling it soon, so i got it at the clearance price of £0.96. but the short springs don't seem to be the same.. but i can re-use those ones.

Actually after closer inspection,the only things that seem to be of the same kit were the retaining clips... hmmm oh well I am sure i can use some of it

I am now in search of wheel spigots... from the rear drum but i recon I might aswell get 4 new ones... save anymore of them rusting themselves into place.

So anyone know a part number or can recommend a shop i can buy them from?

this pic relates to a Selecta.

oh my god!!... that's like walking into daylight

I would love to get hold of a copy of that software...
the bits i'm after however are on the outside of the drum... two little bolts.. ones a queer little thing... coz it's got a pointy hat on it.

Also is it really bad to use different tire widths on the back?... I think i have a 155 and a 165

I keep getting hold of the wrong end of the stick with queries at the moment

I'd have thought the hub/wheel locating bolts fairly easy to liberate at a scrapper... but if you get no offer from elsewhere soon, PM me and I'll post you the ones off the omega axle I've got in the garage

I love the 'Pointy hat' description !!!
It's a locator pin to enable you to position and hold your wheel in place whilst you fit the wheelnuts. It fits through one of the small holes in the wheel twixt the nut holes. The other nut simply fixes the hub to the axle.