squeaky drum brakes  By  ramblinman (Read 6,538 times)

Sometimes the material that they use to make these bad pads is pretty cheap. If you get some with cheap material or with contaminated material it can make them squeaky.

I have rear discs but used to have rear drums ( Sym rs50, TGB laser ) . My friends have rear brakes.
Like prodigit said rear drums will squeak.

I like having the rear discs on my cobra but like that my friends don't because it sounds like they have sat on a parrot ! Makes me laugh every time.

Changing to a different brake lining is all I know if scuffing up the drum with emory cloth and deglazing the shoe doesn't last for long.

Putting anything in there would be very bad. If something came loose it would/could lock your brakes up while riding or destroy them.

Not saying it's a bonehead idea because it's thinking outside of the box that will sooner or later pay off with something brilliant.

You can get brake dust cleaner which is a solvent spray that you can wipe off the dust with a rag rather than risk inhaling it while it is dry and is a severe health hazard if you did . If you spray it wipe it dry and allow it to further evaporate the cleaner off before putting it back together . Riding the brakes or holding down for a long duration will cause glazing . Long duration the pads and or shoes will melt a hair and glaze up . It is best to squeeze for a second or two them reapply and use the tranny drag to coast to a stop . Any autoparts store you can get brake grease packet for 99 cents to put on the sides but not the friction material or the drum . Glazed shoes will squeeze so will worn out shoes and pads since the have more clearance than new ones which allows for vibration that results in squeaks . Be easy on the rear drum lever as cables will stretch easy and will break from usage so make sure it is lubed with WD40 or even better white lithium grease sprayed with a can . The WL lasts longer than WD40 . Try to use more of the front brake since its hydraulic and has more stopping force . Most all have a disc brake on the front but a few had a cabled drum brake on the front . Never pull in the brake lever very fast to avoid a mishap should it lock up and slide or cause you to flip over . The safest way is to apply the rear brake just before using the front and pull it in slow but a lil firmly . My TaoTao it would squeak bad too in the rear but I mostly used the front brake . I have ridden so much and even practiced using just the front as well as just the rear to see how it would do in the event one of them went out . I had a 2T dirt bike I bought used that had no brakes and the throttle cable was broken so it had a pair of Vise Grips on it to pull the cable . Was an experience to ride even though it was not really fast and it had huge fat tires like that of an ATV . Unsure of even what brand it was as it was painted and duct taped , but still fun in the mud .

I really hate drum brakes since they do not stop any where as good as hydraulic discs , have to remove the pipe and wheel to service , where a disc you simply remove the caliper to install new pads . Both on my scooters have discs F&R which the Echarm being perfect and my Magnum beyond perfect as they are so good it can throw me off of the seat and even stress the tire like those of us who have ridden an offroad bike on pavement and geared down having the rear tire sort of do a mild burnout since it is stressed and going slower than the front . Knobbies are easy to do this as well as a burnout and drift on any decent offroad motorcycle .

Tonight I got to ride a buddies brand new TaoTao Thunder with a mere 16 miles on it . The front brake is ok but dang the rear feels more like caliper brakes on a ten speed bike with a weak bite but at least no squeaks . With practice , since not all brakes nor scooters are the same anyone can get used to using more of the front brake for stopping than the rear . Try to use the tranny drag to slow down rather than the brakes .

If you sand only go in the direction of rotation instead of zig zig . My X wife needed rear pads on her care but me working two jobs around 75 hours a week I did not have much time to sleep so I told her where to go . Well stupidly she went to a hole in the wall place instead . These goobers did not even change the rear pads but instead did the front . Most cars you can remove the rotor with ease one the caliper is off on FWD where RWD often has a huge nut to remove . Well her Honda had press on type which requires a slide hamer to R&R them . A slide hammer is a pole with a weight that slides back and forth on the pole and you bolt on one end to the rotor . If you tried hitting it with a hammer it would mushroom it and tear it up . Well these goobers were ether lazy or ignorant , may be both and the sanded the rotors by hand instead of removing and turning on a lathe to smooth it out . It sounded like I was in a tunnel with a loud roar and lacked the stopping ability it had before . So I asked for a window of time on 2nd job so I could take it back the shop and try not to go redneck angry . Showed him how the rear pads needed replacing which they did not touch and how the messed up the front rotors and damaged a wheel bearing . So the manager filed a damage claim and I took it to a trusted shop that only works on Hondas got new pads since those wore funny even with not many miles and had a new bearing installed and pads on the rear installed on their dime .

Sorry to have hijacked your thread but I wanted to share some of my wisdom and experience with the group