I finally fixed my brake squeal. I turned out that I had to add some washers   

in addition to the aluminum tubing spacer on the screw that holds the          

steering arm to the brake backing plate. Either the spacer wasn't long         

enough or the that hub carrier was not built quite right. Tightening the nut   

on that screw without the extra washers would cause the brake backing plate    

to deform a bit. After adding the washers, tightening the nut would not        

deform the brake backing plate. The squeal was gone.                           

For anyone who has been experiencing squealing from the front drum brakes: 



This has been a problem with some of the new drum brakes. (Unusually, more of 

the right brakes are affected than the left.) We have investigated this and come 

up with what we hope is a long-term solution: 



Remove the wheel by unscrewing the nut on the axle. Wipe out the accumulation of 

brake dust on the drum surface and brake pads with a clean rag. Next sand the 

inside surface of the brake drum(I used 220 grit sandpaper). Sand the drum 

thoroughly all the way around. Then wipe out the sanded grit. Reattach the wheel. 

This should eliminate the squealing. 



It seems that there is some surface irregularity on the drums, and my theory 

is that the brake pads are being abraded and the brake dust is causing the 

squealing. I did this on a brake that had chronic squealing, and no amount 

of cleaning would help for more than 5 minutes. After sanding the drum smooth, 

the brake exhibited absolutely no squealing for a very extended ride. I'm hoping 

this will be permanent solution. We'll keep everyone posted on any new developments.