TylerCustoms

05 1500 silverado, only 21K miles, rear drums squeal from about 30mph to 0. Ive got the SSBC big brake kit on the front i know its not those, because my park brake squeals when i use that to stop too...i tried working the parking brake for a bit using it for about 5 miles to loosen it up and work it in, but it didnt push out the squeal...im not even going to bother going to the dealership they **** me off bad, if gms parts dont hold up now, im not going to have them replace stuff with the same...whats this cause, and whats this fix?

budhayes3

iTrader: (19)

There might just be a hardened piece of metal mixed into the composition of one of the rear brake shoes. You could try using a piece of sand paper and sanding the glaze off of the rear shoes and drums...do it by hand and just "scuff" them up a tad. Medium to coarse sand paper will work fine. Or, you're hearing the shoes rubbing on the backing plates. You can remove the shoe retaining springs and use an acid brush and grease that's intended to be used with brakes (if you don't have that, you could probably get away with anti-sieze or possibly white grease), and lightly coat the brake shoe contact points. I haven't seen the 05 rear brakes, but if they're anything like what I'm used to, there should be about 6 raised areas where the brake shoes contact the backing plate (3 for the front shoe, 3 for the rear). This is where you apply the grease. Be sure not to get any grease on the shoe lining or drum, just the contact areas of the backing plate. (I almost forgot to mention that you start the entire process by cleaning the brake assemby with a spray can of brake cleaner, and a pan underneath to catch the runoff and crud...try not to soak the linings too much).

So:

1) Clean
2) Lube
3) Sand
4) Adjust (using the star wheel and a screwdriver or brake spoon...you want a slight drag when spinning the drum)

TylerCustoms

Awesome tips, thanks man...done this before? lol

Torque_Wrench

iTrader: (13)

I'm totally on board with BudHayes. We see this alot where we work (at respective locations however). IF the above stated dosen't fix the squeel, check your brake Shoe set and your Parking brake liners for excessive wear.

budhayes3

iTrader: (19)

LOL, yea, I've done it once or twice (or a gazillion times). Hope it helps

TylerCustoms

Sweet deal, so pull the wheels, and how does the drum housing off how? does it just slide off the rotor leaving the backpieces and mechanisms?

budhayes3

iTrader: (19)

There might be one or two retaining star washers on the lugs...if so, you can either use a pair of dykes or a screwdriver to pry it (or them) off and discard em. After that, the drum should just slide off. It may be rusted on to the hub, but a couple of taps with a hammer (on the face of the drum, as close to center as possible while being careful not to strike the lugs and damage the threads), should allow the drum to break loose. Sometimes the drum will actually pop straight out after one good shot. Try grabbing the drum and sliding it by hand first though, as it may just slide off since the truck is fairly new. (If the drum doesn't have any star washers around the lugs you can obviously skip the first step).

If your brakes have never been adjusted, don't be surprised if you notice a nice improvement in the feeling of the brakes after you do the c&a (clean and adjust). Pretty much all manufacturers' drum brakes are supposed to be "self adjusting", but it's been my experience that the self adjusting mechanisms don't work for poop. Typically, I recommend cleaning and adjusting drum brakes every 5k as normal maintenance. Another note: perform the adjustment with the truck in neutral.

TylerCustoms

Awesome tips mr hayes thanks..is it pretty much self explanatory after i get the drum off? C&A?