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MG TD TF 1500 - Wire Wheel drum removal

Can you unbolt a TF wire wheel front drum to change the wheel cylinders without pulling the hub? If the hub needs to come off, any chance of removing without a puller? If a puller is needed, what kind- a gigantic one to grip the drum edge? It has been years since I have worked on wire wheel brakes and of course my bolt-on puller won't work. Thanks, George
George Butz

Yes you can remove the drum alone. Kind of a pain to knock back all of the locking tabs and remove all of the nuts, but maybe no worse than trying to straighten the cotter pin inside the splinned hub. The only issue might be dealing with the return springs although you would still have decent access.

I use a soft faced mallet to remove the drums but if the are really stuck you would need a puller. If someone has an old knock off you could drill it and bolt through with a slide hammer to pop it off.

Although this is the rear, it will give you an idea of what you will be looking at.

MG LaVerne

George, I have wires on my TD and the hubs were a bear to get off without a puller. I bought a 3 hook puller at AutoZone but it wasn't long enough so I disconnected the prongs from the body and added chain to extend it. One side is really tight but the other side slips right off. Hope this helps--Keith
Keith Yarbrough(TD 1275)

No need to pull the hub.

Be certain you have completely backed of the brake shoes before you commence the removal process. Gently tap around the circumference of the drum to dislodge any accumulated brake shoe dust and dirt, sometimes after doing this the drum can be pulled off by hand.

What ever you do dont strike the flange of the drum with a hammer to attempt to remove the drum. You can easily chip the flange, I have one drum where a PO did this as I have a chipped flange on one of my drums.

Critical that you apply force equally around the circumference of the drum to remove it.

G Evans

Thanks everyone for advice and picture. The hub bearings/seals were done about 5 years and 500 miles ago so those should be good. No brakes at all on the left front- am guessing frozen wheel cylinders. Rubber hoses also replaced 5 years ago, so not the hose collapsing. George
George Butz

I don't have a puller. What I use is a socket that I place over the spindle that is just a bit taller than the hub. Then I place the knockoff back on and tighten it. This causes the socket to pull the hub away from the base. You can repeat with different sized sockets but generally after you move it the first 1/4" it comes free by hand.
Christopher Couper

George - I have a factory puller; let me know if you wish to borrow it.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

Thanks Tom, think I'm OK as of now. The wheel cylinder in picture was installed by local shop about 5 years ago. They did not use silicone fluid. Both on the left side were like this, the rights perfect. The left wheel bearings are also really rough and shot. Makes me wonder if the left front went swimming or something? We have a problem of corrosion from our wet humid climate, so I always put an o-ring in the piston groove to keep it sealed when parked and use silicone fluid. Don't think this would have helped here. George

George Butz

This thread was discussed between 31/01/2016 and 02/02/2016

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