About six months ago I changed my rear brake shoe's while I was having new tires installed. Ever since that day they squeaked whenever I applied the brake. It was pretty bad at first but then began to subside. I originally attributed it to having to wear in the new shoe's but it never fully went away though it became greatly reduced in volume.

Being as I enjoy riding more than wrenching and the noise never affected actual braking performance I let it go for a while. I finally got the chance to get in there this weekend and so I took the wheel off and took the drum apart. I inspected it thouroughly and cleaned it well. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary and the shoe had plenty more pad to go.

After re-assembly and a test ride I am not thrilled to report that it is now louder than ever. The squeak has now become a piercing squeal. I am almost embarrased to use the rear brake at this time and I'd like to try and remedy this asap.

I'm looking for possible causes/reasons for this and would like some sagely advice on what to do when I get back in there. Should I also just go ahead and replace the pads again while I'm in there?

Much Thanks!

Whenever my back brake squeals its because of the brake dust build up,u said u cleaned it,did u make sure to wipe down the pads and the brake drum?make sure there is no dust.

i took the tire off this past weekend. My brakes are squealing bad.   i need to fix it before vegas. I'm gonna do everything in this post but any other ideas or reasons as to why they might be squealing could it be i didn't adjust the the screw correctly? all i did was poped out the hub well it was loose actually when i pulled the tire off put it back in before putting on the tire. I thought it could have been some dust but i ride everyday and i find hard to believe that i wouldn't have allready knocked it out. Any Ideas?

Try lightly rubbing the inside of the brake drum with 320 or 400 grit emery cloth, it might help the shoes to seat. Go around the drum, not back and forth.