I have an 88 STD hatch, and I replaced the rotors, calipers, lines, and pads put on the front of my car about 6 months ago. At the same time I replaced the wheel cylinder and shoes in the drums in the back. Now I am getting a squealing sound during light to moderate braking, but if I slam on it I get good quiet stopping power. I took the drum apart last week to try and see if it was brake dust causing the noise or some sort of vibration, I cleaned it and it didn't do anything. Does anybody know what the deal is?

 

Does anybody have any insight for an amateur home mechanic?

 

Did you turn the drums?
If not you might try that..

If there is a lip on the outside of the drum,it can create
a "harmonic resonance" or "ringing" similar to
rubbing a damp finger around the rim of a wine glass..

 

I used to take the dust out, and then sand the pad/drum lightly with some sand paper. No more squeaks for a month or 2. But now I don't have to worry about that since I went rear discs.

 

I was thinking since these are the original drums that were manufactured in December 1987, they might need to be turned but haven't done it yet.

 

I have since disassembled each drum, replaced all the shoes, springs, and pins. I also had the drums machined, bled the system, and used a brake cleaner on the remaining parts on the axle itself. No more squeaks squeals, or vibrations. I think I just needed to invest a good $50 and get it all replaced/machined to make it work properly.

 

<FONT SIZE="green"><FONT COLOR="green">Sweet Fix, Glad you found it. </FONT></FONT>