I have a 2001 civic. When I release the brake pedal there is a squeak coming from the rear brake drum. I pulled the drum off and inspected the brakes and there was nothing obviously wrong. Nothing was leaking, the shoes were in excellent condition, there were no strange or stray metal scratches anywhere, and the drum is in good condition (still had its factory grooves on it). I sprayed the brake down with brake cleaner and got all the dust out but the brake is still squeaking the same. It only squeaks when the brake pedal is released, not when the pedal is pushed down. I read on another forum someone recommended putting copper grease on the springs as a solution. Is this safe to do? Is there something else I'm missing? I can't really figure out what it is that is causing the brake to be so squeaky.

 

If you have the repair manual, it shows the points of the assembly that you have to grease.