# Squealing brakes on my 1998 Chevy Prism

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/squealing-brakes-on-my-1998-chevy-prism/5353>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [October 1, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/squealing-brakes-on-my-1998-chevy-prism/5353 "2007-10-01T16:04:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dylankarlmeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cab0a1/32.png) [@dylankarlmeister](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dylankarlmeister)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/squealing-brakes-on-my-1998-chevy-prism/5353/1 "2007-10-01T16:04:11Z")

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If anyone might be able to help me with this annoying problem, it would be appreciated. Basically, I have driven with noisy brakes for some time now. Originally, I replaced my front (disk brake) brake pads in hopes of fixing the noise. That didn’t do the trick. Next, about 2 months later, I replaced the rear (drum brake) brake shoes which were very badly worn. This helped the stopping ability of my car, but didn’t help the squealing. Finally, I replaced my front rotors (which were a few points below the discard spec) and that greatly helped the loud squealing. I thought it was problem solved, but the day after replacing them, I still occasionally hear a mild squeal when braking. Does anybody have any ideas as to where the noise might be coming from and how I can fix it? Thanks!

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**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/squealing-brakes-on-my-1998-chevy-prism/5353/2 "2007-10-01T16:34:08Z")

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When you replaced the front brake pads, did you put anti-squeal compound on the backs of the pads and the shims?

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**Author:** ![dylankarlmeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cab0a1/32.png) [@dylankarlmeister](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dylankarlmeister)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/squealing-brakes-on-my-1998-chevy-prism/5353/3 "2007-10-30T03:03:57Z")

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Thanks for the reply. To my knowledge, I didn’t put an anti-squeal compound on the pads. I did put some sort of gel on the back of the pads, though I don’t think it was specifically for squealing. It may have been. If that’s the case, then I put it on my pads, but not my shims. Where are the shims in relation to the pads? Where do I apply the anti-squealing gel on those? I really appreciate the help.