"Wagner, James W., , SAF/AQPS" wrote:
>
> 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
> >

Are you using semi-metallic pads? I had these and they made a huge
amount of noise. I switched to organic and the noise went away.

Grant