I have the same problem.  In May of 98, I replaced the drums, shoes, rotors,
and pads and ended up with the worst ultra-high pitched squeal I have ever
heard.  Most of the noise is from the discs, but the shoes squeal once in a
while as well.  I inquired about incompatibilities between the components
but received no conformations of such a thing(drums, shoes, pads from Bus
Depot, Rotors from Parts Place).

Anyway, I cured the problem temporarily by reversing the pads so the rotor
moves against them in the opposite direction.  This helped for a few weeks
at a time, but hasn't helped lately.  I also tightened the front hubs, which
helped for a while.

I do know I am missing (due to previous work by an autoshop) the metal
damping plates that go on the back of the pads, but I have not had them for
10 years, so I initially ruled them out(I am now reconsidering that
assumption).

Good Luck, Please let me know if you find the culprit.

James Wagner

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
> Of Chris Gkikas
> Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2000 10:50 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: replacing rear brakes on 80 vanagon
>
>
> Hello!
> I'm beginning to experience alot of shuddering and squealing (sharp
> whistles upon braking) when I hit the brakes on my 80 Vanagon.  I had
> the whole front brake setup replaced and spent an absurd
> amount of money
> ($615).  This time, knowing what I know now, I'm gonna do them myself.
> Any suggestions on how to go about determining what my problem is, and
> what I should look for as far as parts goes?
> Thanks,
> Chris
>