215
Dealing
with a squeal from the front brakes
Gordon Hesketh-Jones (Harvest Gold V8 1904) from Cornwall provides
an interesting note on curing a persistent squeal from the front
brakes on a factory built MGBGTV8. (Dec
99)
Having
put up with squealing front brakes on my MGBGTV8 for thirteen
years and 180,000 miles, I finally decided to sort the matter
out properly. Over those years I had experimented with all types
of brake pads and brake discs and, whilst some combinations
provided short-term relief, the dreaded squeal always returned.
You will of course know that brakes were originally fitted with
stainless steel anti-squeal shims but these have not been available
for many years. Our local scrap yard no longer have any early
SD1 Rovers which used the same caliper.
Recently
I achieved reasonable success by making some shims out of 0.003"
stainless steel but the material was just too thin, so the shims
just twisted and broke up. I then found a local engineering
concern where I could get them produced and obtained a quotation
to have the shims made in 18swg stainless steel but found I
would have to buy a minimum of 25 sets to pay for the tooling.
These shims would bear a close resemblance to the original factory
parts but with small differences to avoid copyright problems.
At this |
point I
contacted the V8 Register since before spending my money I
would have liked to have found out whether the V8 Register
has an existing source of shims from which I could buy a set
to avoid bulk manufacture, or alternatively, whether there
might be a demand for these parts from existing MGV8 owners
if I did order a production batch.
After beginning the preparation of this note, I found a new
product made by Lucas and supplied by Moss as an anti-squeal
kit for the MGBV8 comprising self adhesive aluminium strips.
They come as part numbers 3GP02, GBP240ASK and
PNO26581. I have fitted a set and after 50 miles it seems
to be working!
Footnote:
We sought the views of Roger Parker (V8 Roadster Green 4092)
on these anti-squeal kits and he commented that he noted the
use of self adhesive anti-squeal pads and can confirm they
are widely available from most auto shops under various brand
names on the packets. They have been introduced as a consequence
of the non asbestos brake pads now in general use which tend
to be noisier than the asbestos type. The adhesive pads, which
are simply glued onto the rear of the brake pad, act as sound
dampers and absorb vibration generated by the friction lining
to disc contact that is the source of noise.
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