The Howling

Summer has almost come and gone, so I guess it's time for an update.

The rear brake developed a problem about a year ago. Occasionally, when I would apply the brake, it would make a loud howling noise and a shuddering sensation through the pedal. It felt as it the brake shoes were chattering. I had the brake drum off a couple of times but didn't see anything wrong. But the howling persisted.

So a couple of months ago I took it off again and disassembled the brake plate. Again, I didn't really see anything wrong other than an accumulation of brake dust. I cleaned everything up with brake cleaner, regreased the pivots with disk brake grease, and put it all back together. This time I took care to center the brake plate by holding the brake on while tightening the stub axle nut. I had been a little lax about that recently.

Results: no more howling! The brake seems to work better too. So I think doing the centering procedure is important, and an occasional cleaning and greasing is probably helpful too. It pays to do things the right way.