LA Lancer drum brake repair/upgrade.

[Johnno]

Hi Members,

RE: LA Lancer drum brake repair/upgrade.

I'm looking to repair the drums on my LA Lancer because the adjusting latch teeth have worn and no longer engage. (I'm sure this is an issue others have encountered.) My preference is to keep it simple and stay with drum brakes and the original diff, although the diff is leaking oil at the pinion seal. The original diff handles the output from an Astron 2.6 with Webers, extractors and a mild cam.

Possible options:
Find adjusting latches with minimal wear. Probably as rare as rocking horse poo.
Find drums/diff from LC Lancer. Almost as rare as rocking horse poo. Advantage of bigger diameter drums and diff width is the same. Not sure if they use the same adjusting mechanism.
Find drums from Galant wagon. Again, not sure if they use the same adjusting mechanism
Find drums from early (GE?) Sigma.
Scorpion rear end. Wider diff than Lancer might require folding the guards for clearance. Discs an advantage, but requires hydraulic handbrake?
Mitsubishi L300, early Pajero, Alfa 105, Toyota LiteAce/Hilux. Various issues with diff width and stud pattern.

Also wondering if any of the mid 70s Corollas, Celicas or Datsuns with the same 4 x 114.3 stud pattern had drums and diffs that are compatible.

I’m leaning towards finding drums i.e. from the backing plate out, that will mate up to the existing diff.
All comments welcome.

[Scorpma82]

for a rear brake upgrade......look at the 1st gen Magna (TM-TP)

Both the sedans and wagon used a solid disc brake in the rear thats the same stud pattern as the sigma...and uses a cable operated mechanical system on the calipers itself (the cable operate the brakes pads as the handbrake)


i know magnas arent rear whell drive and have no diff blah blah blah....but if you put a sigma diff in the car.....(or something thats shoehorned in) it might be an alternative for you to look into.

[Johnno]

Thanks Scorpma82.

That's an option I wasn't aware of.
If I've understood correctly, it sounds like:
1) The 1st gen Magna discs will bolt up to the original diff.
2) The existing cable operated handbrake will operate on the Magna calipers.
If so, it seems like the best option without going to a Sigma diff.

[Scorpma82]

well i don't know about mounting points of the calipers.....but i know both cars run the 4X113 PCD
And the handbrake is integral to the caliper....so theres no need for handbrake shoes.

Also N.B wagon calipers and sedan calipers are different slightly.....so one may suit more than the other.....just to some investigating...see what comes up

[75wagon]

Find drums/diff from LC Lancer. Almost as rare as rocking horse poo. Advantage of bigger diameter drums and diff width is the same. Not sure if they use the same adjusting mechanism.
Find drums from Galant wagon. Again, not sure if they use the same adjusting mechanism
The rear drums from both The Lancer Hatches (LB and LC) and the Galant Wagons (GB, GC and GD) are the same.
They have the same mechanism as the sedans, and bolt up to the sedan diff housings also.
The difference being size and size alone.
They are also larger then the rear drums fitted to Sigma's.

They aren't that hard to find.
Just out of interest, where are you located?

Dave...

[davetrees]

The rear drums from both The Lancer Hatches (LB and LC) and the Galant Wagons (GB, GC and GD) are the same.
They have the same mechanism as the sedans, and bolt up to the sedan diff housings also.
The difference being size and size alone.

Are you sure ? Galant wagon rear ends - with the 9" vs. 8" drums - run bigger wheel bearings and larger diameter axles than sedans. I'm not sure you can just bolt the wagon brake assembly onto a sedan axle housing.

(I would love to be wrong on this though, because it will make my planned rear brake upgrade a lot easier .... )

[75wagon]

Are you sure ? Galant wagon rear ends - with the 9" vs. 8" drums - run bigger wheel bearings and larger diameter axles than sedans.

Well, I have just measured the spacing between the bolts on the backing plates of both the wagon and sedans (did 2 wagon rear ends to confirm).
I measured 55mm and 75mm spacing between centres on all the backing plate bolt spacings that I have (2 wagon rears, 2 sedan rears).

The ends on the housings are different on the wagon, obviously to take the larger bearing (I can take photos to compare the differences if needed).
But otherwise they look like a straight bolt up to me?

I assume the reason most would convert to the full wagon rear end would be to take advantage of the larger axles, bearings brakes. Plus the wagon ratio, maybe?

Dave...

[davetrees]

I assume the reason most would convert to the full wagon rear end would be to take advantage of the larger axles, bearings brakes. Plus the wagon ratio, maybe?

Quite possibly ... although there is no difference in diff ratio bewteen sedans and wagons (they are all 3.9 except the imported A51 auto (?) which has a weak-as-pi$$ 4.3). Unless you are running a lot of power &/or abusing the car, the sedan axles aren't really prone to breaking anyway.

Maybe because people tend to want the wagon springs as well, they just swap the whole rear end because it's easier ?

In my case, I don't necessarily want to go the full wagon rear because I would need to transfer my LSD centre rather than just bolt an entire rear end in. I have a complete wagon rear in the shed .... it's a pity I can't try just a brake swap without having to pull the axles out !