Michael
Endless Mk III Cortina brake job
Endless Mk III Cortina brake job
So I have been involved in a simple brake job on my Mk III Cortina since last May! In December, after many delays, my friend Kevin and I finally got everything put back together and took the car out for a test run. During that three mile run, there was a loud pop from the left rear, followed by a grinding sound. Didn’t have time to look at it until a couple of weeks ago. The star adjusting rod had fallen out and got caught between the brakes and the backing plate. It is bent and broken beyond use. “No problem” I though, as a have a Mk III parts car. Kevin and I finally managed to pull the drum off and collect the adjuster, only to discover that it’s bigger than the one that fell off my good car. As it happens, my good car is a 1600 Kent and my parts car is a 2000 OHC. The brakes are different. I’ve tried Enford Spares and Graeme confirmed that different brakes were used on various Mk III models, but he doesn’t have the part. I will try Powertracks next. However I am wondering if Ford might have carried over the Mk II adjuster on the Kent equipped Mk IIIs. What do others think?
Michael
Michael
Last edited by IFHP on Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:19 am, edited 3 times in total.
If it was my car I would swap over the backing plates and full brakes from the 2000 to the 1600 axel.. My guess is that it will all fit..
The benefit would ( should ) be larger brakes.. ( isn't the 2000 system bigger drums?)
Mark
The benefit would ( should ) be larger brakes.. ( isn't the 2000 system bigger drums?)
Mark
1962 Lotus 7
Escort MK1 RS 2000 Pinto power
66 Cortina estate Miata power
06 GTO
01 Audi TT
Escort MK1 RS 2000 Pinto power
66 Cortina estate Miata power
06 GTO
01 Audi TT
Yeah, everything about the 2000 brakes seem to be a bit bigger. If this car was a daily driver it would be worth the effort to switch everything over. But as it is, I only drive it a few hundred miles a year and I prefer to keep everything as original as possible.
As it turns out, there is a guy in Sheffield, England who is going to send me the part. I met him through www.buysellcortina, a great Cortina resource.
Michael
As it turns out, there is a guy in Sheffield, England who is going to send me the part. I met him through www.buysellcortina, a great Cortina resource.
Michael
Okay, so this really is a endless brake job. The brake part arrived from England this week and Kevin and I popped it on today. HOWEVER, we found another problem.
Something I wasn't aware of is called an "adjustment plunger" and it is used to check the adjustment of the rear brakes. The units on both wheels were broken in half (maybe for a long time).
The parts search continues.
I wonder of super glueing them back together would be safe enough?
Michael
Something I wasn't aware of is called an "adjustment plunger" and it is used to check the adjustment of the rear brakes. The units on both wheels were broken in half (maybe for a long time).
The parts search continues.
I wonder of super glueing them back together would be safe enough?
Michael
Michael,
I have worked on most EnFo brake systems from 1954 up to the Cortina MK2. I looked through diagrams of the MK3 rear brake system which is a bit different from the MK2.
There must be a good reason why both Adj plungers broke in half. Possibly because of corrosion. The self-adjusting lever rests against the plunger. I would assume if you were to turn the plunger to adj the handbrake it may easily snap in half.
If you of someone that has a small hobby latch they can make you a knew one.
Pete
I have worked on most EnFo brake systems from 1954 up to the Cortina MK2. I looked through diagrams of the MK3 rear brake system which is a bit different from the MK2.
There must be a good reason why both Adj plungers broke in half. Possibly because of corrosion. The self-adjusting lever rests against the plunger. I would assume if you were to turn the plunger to adj the handbrake it may easily snap in half.
If you of someone that has a small hobby latch they can make you a knew one.
Pete
I heard that the part mighth also have been used on the Sierra, so I contacted Russ Harness at Rapido, but still no luck.
Here is what Russ had to say about these plungers:
Here is what Russ had to say about these plungers:
I'm thinking that if these plungers span the Mk III Cortina through the Sierra, there should be a lot of demand for a reproduction part.It might be the same. The piece you sent me is only one part of the unit that is used on the XR4Ti. The thing that holds the pin in place is a collar (plastic of some sort) that could be described as a grommet and the pin is captive inside the grommet. The grommet pushes into the hole in the backing plate and the pin is free to slide within the grommet, but it won't go all the way through.
Here is the deal. I have only one left and so far they seem to be unobtainum anywhere. The one I have, I am sending off to one of my friends who (hopefully) will be able to figure out how we can replicate the part, or at least replicate the function. Hopefully if things are slow enough for him, he will get right on it.
The brake job that keeps on giving is now in its 13th month!
After much searching I located a pair of brake adjustment plungers from Motomobile (aka Old Cars & Parts.de) in Germany. Motomobile did not list them in their catalog, but they were able to order them from another source (maybe Ford Germany). Today Kevin & I successfully installed them. I also ordered a set of new brake springs and clips (while I was at it) but most of these springs are too long (see photos). There are for the small engine TC I Taunus, which in this case are not interchangeable with the small engine (1600) Cortina.
The really wired thing today was that after we put everything back together, the left rear wheel was essentially locked up. This is especially weird because it was turning freely before we pulled the brake shoes (new). The only thing that I can possible imagine is that the shoes are reversed – the front shoe is supposed to stop before reaching the top of the shoe. The shoes themselves are identical except for the hole that the emergency brake adjustment lever fits into. I’m going to have the lining on the shoes reversed and see what happens!
After much searching I located a pair of brake adjustment plungers from Motomobile (aka Old Cars & Parts.de) in Germany. Motomobile did not list them in their catalog, but they were able to order them from another source (maybe Ford Germany). Today Kevin & I successfully installed them. I also ordered a set of new brake springs and clips (while I was at it) but most of these springs are too long (see photos). There are for the small engine TC I Taunus, which in this case are not interchangeable with the small engine (1600) Cortina.
The really wired thing today was that after we put everything back together, the left rear wheel was essentially locked up. This is especially weird because it was turning freely before we pulled the brake shoes (new). The only thing that I can possible imagine is that the shoes are reversed – the front shoe is supposed to stop before reaching the top of the shoe. The shoes themselves are identical except for the hole that the emergency brake adjustment lever fits into. I’m going to have the lining on the shoes reversed and see what happens!
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canadianmk3
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2012 6:13 pm
- Location: Langley, BC Canada
On my Mk3 2000 OHC I did a disc brake conversion on the rear. The calipers and discs are from a 200(3?) mercury cougar V6 off the rear. The discs slide over the hub and I made my own mount from 1/4"plate steel that mounst to where the old drum backing plate was. The main reason for doing this was it was hard to find new rear brake shoes.