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Rear Breaks Squeak Really Bad

5.4K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  ForceSZ5  
#1 ·
Good afternoon,
My 2007 2.7L GV developed a problem lately - squeaky rear breaks. Has anyone experienced this problem? Does it mean that shoes are worn out already at 32K miles? What is the remedy to fix it? Could repairs be covered under warranty?
 
#2 ·
Its unlikely the rear shoes have worn out after only 32K miles. Unless the hand brake has been dragging. If all the friction material has worn away you would be hearing a grinding noise, not squeaking.

Could be the shoes have become glazed and need to be roughened up with some sandpaper. Or the drums could be full of brake dust, as its got nowhere to go as the shoes wear. Either way the best thing to do is remove the drums and have a look. It not that hard to get them off. If you do have a lot of brake dust or need to roughen up the shoes be sure to wear a mask. Brake dust is pretty nasty stuff, you don't want to breath any of it.

The warranty won't cover brake shoes, they are a normal wear item. Unless some other defect in the brake system has caused them to fail prematurely, then you might get them replaced when the warranty work is being done.
 
#4 ·
I do at least one or two brake services a week on these GVs.

As stated above - the drums are likely full of dust and the shoes are glazed. Rough them up with sand paper and clean out all the dust with brake clean. Pry back the shoes on each side and you'll see where the shoes hit the backing plate. Ram those contact points full of grease or antisieze. That should fix your problem.

ONLY time this hasn't worked in my sister's GV which sees gravel roads for it's whole life. The rear drums had rocks in them and the rocks destoryed the drums (huge grooves) and the shoes were also ruined. Replaced everything for that truck.
 
#5 ·
Our GV has this problem also. Since others have had it, I requested it to be corrected under warranty support. It took three years and a letter to Suzuki Canada to get a dealer to agree to do it.

The dealer insisted it was the front brakes, even though I told them that all they needed to do was apply the parking brake while moving to make the exact same noise. They said the inboard sides of the front rotors were badly rusted, and that this was causing the squealing. So they serviced the front brakes, including machining the rotors.

I was surprised to find the squealing gone when I got it back. So I asked them if they'd done anything to the back brakes. Yes, they had, but didn't tell me until I asked.

A few months later, the squealing returned, and is still there. I guess if Suzuki wants their cars to sound cheapo, then that's what will happen.

I have read somewhere that the problem is due to the rear shoes being oversize somehow, and the noise starts after they've worn down somewhat. And that it can be corrected with properly dimensioned shoes. However, the dealer seemed to know nothing about this either.

How does copper grease fix the problem? I'd think you don't want grease of any sort in the contact areas of brakes. Or do you end up with copper dust as a form of lubricant?

Maybe I'll print out the copper grease solution and show it to my mechanic the next time the GV is serviced.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I believe what Jeff talks about is the backing plate of the hub, where the brake shoes attaches to, not the actual shoe brake area that presses against the brake drum.

If I was to trouble shoot a squeaking brake, I would pull it apart very carefully and then look for any shiny metal parts, as vibration (even sonic as in squeaks) does leave evidence.

The brake shoes and brake drum should then be cleaned carefully with some fine sandpaper, just with a light touch, to take the glazing off the pad material, and clean the surface of the drum.

Then I would clean all the parts carefully with a vacuum cleaner (never use compressed air, brake dust is bad for you) and then grease all moving parts where they touch other parts (including the backing plate mentioned by Jeff)

In the past, the above has always kept my brakes noise free.
 
#9 ·
Hi I also experienced this problem. I was cleaning out my drums every month. No Change. there is contact point on the side of the shoes where it touches the back plate, Mine was polished to clean steel. A bit of grease did the trick, no noise for 4 months now. My mechanic figured it out after he fixed it on numerous Toyota cars...
 
#10 ·
on average....what milage should you get from the front pads and rear shoes, my 2006 GV has 31000 miles on the clock and still have the oem brakes, in saying that I am very easy on the brakes, maybe that's why they have lasted this long.

BP.
 
#11 ·
I HATE drums and I condem Suzuki for finally switching the GV to rear discs.
QUOTE]

I assume you mean 'commend'. If so you are correct so long as they assemble them correctly unlike mine where they mixed up the pads, which do have a right and wrong position.