Rear Brake Wheel cylinder clip

[Rod1883]

..which way round does it fit?
I've found, by searching the forum, the advice (from jleyton) "The eclip should have its concave face facing towards the backplate.."
..I'm probably being thick (apologies) but does that mean that the middle bows out from the backplate as it is fitted (i.e the three locating tabs are nearest the backplate), or the ends/locating tabs bow out?

Thanks
Rod

[wilf]

The manual makes no distinction, I can't see that it matters.

Do you have the tool that makes it easy?

[Rod1883]

Thanks Wilf.
I've ordered a tool ready for the job....

[wilf]

The tool makes it v easy, did mine last winter. Without it, its a struggle.

Julian must have had reason to make that statement about the orientation though, and I would read it as the first of your options.

[MandM]

I made my clip tool before I left work, also not all cyclinder clips are equal , The Rover ones (on the left) I found on flea bay are 0.82mm thick and the one that came from elsewhere was thicker at 1.05mm, I hate this job, took a couple of goes, keep your old clips until you have done just in case.

P1090474.JPGP1090475.JPG don't forget the paper gasket.

[Rod1883]

Thanks again on the clip orientation Wilf.
MandM....yes the paper gasket.
I've ordered new ones of those too - but how important are they, and why?

[Lingen]

Rod.
They are devils to fit, but they must bow out from the back plate, so that when the lugs are fitted in to the groove in the slave cylinder extension, the clip will pull the cylinder against the inside of the back plate and hold it firmly in place. Put it on back to front and the cylinder will be loose.
Mike.

[MandM]

Thanks again on the clip orientation Wilf.
MandM....yes the paper gasket.
I've ordered new ones of those too - but how important are they, and why?

http://www.ldparts.co.uk/shop/shop.p...d38b3ea51d5c04

From the horses mouth

[wilf]

Yes - I could see that if there were any ovality in the drum (quite common), the wheel cylinders would move as the drum rotated and potentially squeak.

[Phil S]

think it almost impossible to pull the handbrake on hard enough to make the drums go oval, perhaps if left on for years

[wilf]

Me too, but that isn't how drums become oval, it is more about heat distortion over time.

[Rod1883]

Going back to my original question regarding which way round the clip goes - I've done more digging/internet searching. A number of MG forums all say the clip should go on such that " curved profile of clip goes towards cylinder, i.e. middle touches back plate" and "Note the clips are handed-the outer ear tabs should face away from the back plate to allow the spring of the clip to keep it secure".
One also provided this link:

http://www.mgb-stuff.org.uk/braketext.htm#eclip

This is in contradiction to Julian's advice I think.
I've ordered a couple of spare clips in anticipation of losing/breaking/bending one or two, so I could try the clip both ways to see which is better.

[JOHNS]

I would agree with Julian's statement. The tolerance on backplate material thickness is quite wide and the backplate could be thinner than the distance between the machined face of the cylinder and the groove. With the convex side facing outwards then any slack between the cylinder and the backplate will be tightened up by pulling the cylinder outwards.

[Rod1883]

An update:
After cleaning up the backplates and the back/neck of the wheel cylinders I refitted the cylinders with the paper gaskets and new e clips. I bought the clips and gaskets from a mini spares website along with the fitting tool. The clips are thicker than the ones that were on the car, the paper gaskets didn't seem to be exactly the right shape but were close (same part numbers as all the usual Triumph suppliers) and the tool looked identical to the pictures on the Triumph suppliers sites. I chose the mini supplier as they had all the items, the tool cost was very good and postage not unreasonable either.

I fitted the clips the "Julian" way and whilst the two open end tabs located in the slot on the neck of the cylinder well, the middle tab has deformed to hold the cylinder firmly, but not in the slot. I didn't do what I said I would - i.e. try it both ways as even with the tool it's not the easiest of jobs and once the first one was firmly located, I used the same orientation on the second. On reflection, I do wonder if the e clip middle tab might have slid into the slot better the MGB recommended way up?
The reason for the job was that I was fitting new Handbrake levers, not realising at the start that I would need to remove the wheel cylinders to fit these.

Anyway - with new handbrake levers, new clevis pins, and firmly located wheel cylinders, plus new brake fluid, handbrake cable adjustment, and rear shoe adjustment the Robsport recommended way - I now have an effective handbrake after years of it being iffy at best.
The car passed it's MOT yesterday and the tester commented that the handbrake was far better than last year.

Thanks again for the advice.

[Lingen]

Rod.
The next time you have to remove the handbrake lever,(!) it is quicker/easier to remove the 6 nuts fixing the hub to the backplate, and pull the hub out just enough to release the lever. I found that way takes far less time than fitting those wretched "C" clips.. Which incidentally really should be fitted concave face towards the backplate, whatever MGB owners do. The cylinders stay loose if you fit them the other way.
Mike