Whilst the front end of the M.G. Metro uses a modern constant-velocity joint with a servo assisted disc brake (ventilated on the Turbo and later models), the back end was still in the early 1930s. Yes, the trailing arm suspension was fairly modern, but based on the 1959 Mini and the even earlier 1949 Citröen 2CV trailing rear suspension. Both these venerable masterpieces of motor engineering used drum rear brakes with a cable operated hand-brake and hydraulically operated shoes, as does our M.G. Metro. The reference to the 'early 1930s' is over the single-leading shoe (sls) hydraulic brake. Morris was one of the first big U.K. companies to fit this system of braking - on his Morris Eight and Ten of 1934-35 - though the sls idea was fitted to front and rear axles. Others stuck to cable brakes for some years, Ford up until 1959 on its sit-up-and-beg E93A Popular. You need to understand a little about mechanics to see that a pair of brake shoes operated from the same point gives one shoe trailing and one shoe leading. The leading shoes actually helps put itself on harder by the rotation of the wheel. (self-servo action) and using such a system on the rear end gives good forward and rearward braking. The 'trailing' shoe Is not as efficient, but necessary for reverse stopping!

Drum brakes are also cheap to make, so our M.G. Metro adopted that from the Mini. If it ain't broke - don't mend it goes the saying and those rear brakes on our Metros get their fair share of lack of attention. Today, people do not even know you are supposed to (1) adjust them every so often and (2) remove the build-up of brake dust. The first lack of adjustment is shown up by the hand-brake lever getting to the point where it ends up pointing at the roof! Lazy owners adjust the cable behind the hand-brake lever, not where the problem is, at the adjuster on the brake back-plate. The second, excess dust in the drum, is shown by squealing brakes and poor hand-brake grip. The dust acts as millions of little ball bearings, giving poor efficiency on the annual M.O.T..

So, to get it right first time, chock the front wheels, let off the hand-brake, loosen off the rear wheel nuts, jack the rear end up, put an axle stand in for safety and remove the wheel. Then undo the Phillips No. 4 cross-head screw holding on the drum, then loosen off the brake adjuster (the square headed stud on the rear of the back-plate) and pull off the drum. DO NOT INHALE THE DUST! I put down newspaper and catch it all as it falls out and then tap the drum face down on the same paper and loads drop out. This all goes into the dustbin wrapped up. Modern shoes do not contain asbestos, but the dust is still dangerous to your lungs. Clean up the shoes with a brush and wipe out the inside of the drum. DO NOT GET ANY OIL OR GREASE ON THE LININGS OR DRUM INNER FACE.

Now, using two 10mm spanners, loosen off the cable adjuster on the hand-brake lever between the seats in the car, just between the lever. This is necessary as once you have adjusted the shoes PROPERLY, the lever will probably only come up one click, if at all! This adjuster is for the cable stretching, NOT shoe wear. Now refit the drum and the Phillips screw, with a bit of oil on the thread so that it comes out easily next time…. Now put a little oil on the adjuster threads, adjust up the square brake adjuster until you cannot move the drum by hand. Stamp on the foot-brake to make sure the shoes are seated and the first thing you may notice is the pedal works a lot higher up off the floor. Check the rear drum will not move, then UNDO the brake adjuster ¼ turn at a time, until you can spin the drum by hand. You will feel the four flats on the adjuster as you turn it. Undo it ¼ turn more to ensure a good clearance and fit the wheel. Now do the other side.

Once both sides have been cleaned and adjusted, the brake pedal will feel much better and further from the floor. Now adjust the cable adjuster on the hand-brake lever until you get four or five clicks to fully on. All should be OK for another 6,000 miles or so.

What can go wrong? Check the linings on the shoes are more than 2mm (or what your manual says). If they are thinner, fit new shoes. These will cost about £8.00 for a set of four and are similar to the Mini. If you fit new shoes, the square adjuster will need undoing as far as it goes before you can get the drum back on. Fitting new rear shoes to a Metro is good education as to why man needs three hands and study the brake shoe assembly before you take them off. Remember you have got to hold two shoes together with two springs (fitted the RIGHT way round) whilst engaging the two hand-brake actuating levers into the shoe slots. Keep trying - it is a test of character!

Also, look carefully at the brake cylinder by lifting the rubber covers. They often leak at around the 10,000 mile range. If you are too late, the shoes will already be soaked in fluid and ruined. The pistons are tiny and a new cylinder only costs about £10.00, so fit a new item. To do this, remove the master cylinder top - carefully as it has a 'low-level' float inside. Put some cling-film over the hole with an elastic band to seal the cylinder. This will considerably reduce the brake fluid that escapes and eases bleeding. After removing the wheel, drum and shoes, undo the brake pipe from the rear of the cylinder and remove the tiny bleed screw. Now flick off the circlip that secures the cylinder and it will lift out from the front with a bit of a wiggle. DO NOT GET BRAKE FLUID ON PAINT, BRAKE SHOES, TYRES or IN YOUR EYES. Get rid of old bits into the dustbin. Wipe your hands clean and clean up the hole for the new cylinder. Remove the bleed screw, then put the cylinder into the back-plate, fitting the clean brake-pipe end first, then the bleed screw. With the bleed screw in situ, the cylinder will not go into the hole, so remove it first. The cylinder locates with a tiny dowel and there is a groove for the shiny new circlip.. If you take my advice, you will file the leading edges of that circlip round to help fitting, or you will be there forever, as well as spending ages hunting for it when it flicks off at 70mph!

Undo the bleed screw one turn, get someone to just touch the brake pedal - you should get a good flow immediately as you stopped most of the leakage with the cling-film. Nip up the bleed screw quickly, remove the cling-film and top up the master cylinder. After re-fitting the shoes and drum and adjusting them, try the brake pedal. It should be nice and firm. Wash off all excess brake fluid in the area with water

WARNING - if one rear cylinder is leaking, you can bet the other one will soon. A good sign of a leaking cylinder is the hand-brake sticking on as the shoes grip the drum with the soggy brake dust. Brakes should be bone dry. Do not re-use contaminated brake shoes - at only £8.00 a set - renew them. If the brake-pipe shears off at the cylinder you can make or buy a new one. Put a little Waxoyl on the adjuster, bleed screw, circlip and brake pipe to make life easier next time.

Well, that's the fixing of the rear brakes covered , so it is logical to cover the front disc brakes now. The actual disc in a braking system does not last very long. It is common for the actual brake drum to last almost the life of the car, but a disc has a much harder time, so at about every 30 - 40,000 miles they need attention. As discs are quite cheap, it is NOT worth skimming them and anyway, the accuracy required of the Turner on his lathe is pretty high.
Any decent manual will show you how to change the discs, so here are just a few hints and tips. How do I know my discs need replacing? Well, either the M.O.T. chap will tell you as the disc has worn too much, but before this most people will experience quite a bit of judder when they brake hard. This can be just new pads, but a careful inspection of the disc will show it needs renewing.

Do not be fooled by the 'front' of the disc, that is the side you see with the wheel removed. This side gets good protection, but the back, or inside edge, gets a lot of grime, dirt and water, so suffers far more rapid wear. You will see this straight away once the disc has been removed. To get it off you need to undo the HUGE nut that holds the bearing carrier and the four that hold on the disc. Remove the split-pin, then undo the big nut BEFORE you jack up the car - it will need a bit of 3' scaffolding tube to give you sufficient leverage to shift its 200ft/lbs torque (27.4 kg). Then jack up the car after loosening the wheel nuts and remove the wheel. With the car in first gear (and on an axle stand for safety), undo the four bolts that hold on the disc - you only need to loosen them for now. The disc calliper needs to come off, so using the old pads, shove the pistons back as far as possible so that you can get the new pads in later. Remove the two bolts that hold on the calliper and without straining the hoses, put on in a block of wood placed nearby (there is NO NEED to disturb the brake pipes at all).

Fully undo the big nut and pull off the disc and wheel bearing carrier. Do not lose the tapered seating for this nut. Undo the four bolts, clean up all mating surfaces and fit the new disc. Again, you can fully tighten the disc bolts after it is fitted to the car (38 ft/lb). Take the chance to put some extra grease into the wheel bearings via the seal and NEVER assemble an oil or grease seal dry - lubricate it. Put grease on the drive splines as they need lubricating as well. Assembly is the reverse of removing the bits, as many books say. Do wipe off the oily surface from the discs (there to stop them rusting during storage) before you fit new pads and ensure that you DO NOT get your greasy fingers on the pads or disc faces. Fit the calliper (38 ft/lb) and the new pads. Once it is all bolted up, the tightening of the big nut will be last. You can do this with the wheel on the ground using a BIG torque wrench. Fit the split pin once you have lined up the holes PAST the torque setting.

Now, before you move that car, put your foot on the brake pedal a few times until you feel that there are 'brakes' there. You have to move the pads to within a few thousandths of an inch of the disc for them to operate correctly. Hitting the brake pedal you have not 'SEATED' after working on disc brakes means you will just hit the car in front before you have 'pumped up the brakes'! The cost? If done by a garage with hourly rates - about £165.00. Done D.I.Y. by buying your own discs and pads - the vented discs are about £20.00 each and a set of pads, £12.00. Remember to fit the brake-wear indicator pad in the correct place (the one with the wires in it goes off-side inner).