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If the drums have been machined roughly, there could be a groove in the surface like a record player, dragging the shoe out or in as you slow down. You can try having the drums machined to see if it goes away. Did you have the same noise with the old drums?

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I replaced the drum originally because of the noise, it almost sounds like the emergency break cable shroud is rubbing against the adjuster wheel, it is the intermittent nature of the noise that is the most baffiling, and the fact it only occurs just before the car stops at slow speed. I have greased everything that can possible move and it still persists. I thought the emergency break cable was rubbing where it passes throught the dust cover but it is clipped into that opening. I did notice that the back side piston wasn't being pushed out of the cylinder, only the front. The emergency break is attached to the backside shoe. I thought that may be the issue. My mechanic friend has never heard a noise like it. I have taken the shoes off thre times, each time the noise went away but came back within hours.

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If the noise is going away when you remove the drum and then returning after a while, it sounds like as the self-adjusters get the shoes in position and then the noise starts again. If the wheel cylinder is not working properly, it could affect the way the primary/secondary shoes are moving during breaking.

Intermittent noises are difficult to diagnose, it would be interesting to see if braking while in reverse has any affect.

It might be worth rebuilding or replacing the wheel cylinder to see if that helps. Either way, good luck. It sounds like a tricky one.

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