Lately I have been seeing alot of real junk parts on the market. This
includes brake shoe and pads, with very poor quality material. Factory
brake material is the only thing I will put on a few vehicles that  I
have come across. VW, Nissan, and honda to name a few. This is likely
the reason for brake squeal. There are some trick, it duck the cheap
material, but I will not disclose those publicly. Stay away form
muffler shop. These brake materials are the worst. Then they blame
your drums or rotors as the cause. Cut them, over and over, until
you need new ones.
      Along the lines of cheap brake parts I have had new $10 wheel
cylinders seap brake fluid. Just poor over all machining. This is one
area I will not longer play around with. Only the best for me, from
someone I can get my hands on, if something should fail!

            Eric                   86-VW4x4
            vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
            Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler

On Tue, 4 Jan 2000, Chris Gkikas wrote:

> 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
>