Rear Brakes 1997 Taurus

The rear brakes on my 1997 Taurus (60k) are squealing, loud enough to hurt my ears when I have the windows rolled down. At times I can brake gently and minimize the noise and the noise doesn't seem to occur every single time, but when it does it's as loud as it gets.

Twice I have taken the car to a reputable tire/brake place and they swear there is nothing wrong - normal wear, etc. Is there anything peculiar about Taurus brakes? Thanks.

I have a 97 with 86K miles on it and have replaced the wheel cylinders (about 75K miles). I cleaned up the entire assembly but kept the shoes in because I could not remove the parking brake cable from them. However, they are still within spec. I have no problems with noise.

There are not many sources of brake noise for the rears. If you have someone do enough work to pull off the drums and look at the innards, you might as well put in new shoes and clean up the drum surfaces.

I find it hard to believe that a 'reputable' shop would not have offered a simple brake job to satisfy your noise concern.

Well, that's the kicker. If they wanted to run up the bill, they had every opportunity, but they didn't charge me a thing. They have always done a great job in the past.

drum or disc brakes?

drum or disc brakes??

Drum.

Sorry, I have been out of it for a while.