I'm going to assert that the shop is "lying" about the fork being bent. They don't know how to fix the problem and their explanation is that "something's bent". If the fork really is bent, I'd want to replace the fork, not the wheels and brakes! If they keep insisting that the fork is bent, have them pull out their fork alignment gauge and prove the damage.

Quote Originally Posted by Kathi View Post
components are Shimano XT 2003 vintage.
OK - so likely BR-M750 or BR-M760. Both are of the "parallel push" style. Shimano has moved away from this style because there are too many pivot points that wear and get sloppy and cause brake squeal.

Quote Originally Posted by Kathi View Post
Bike shop guy says the brakes aren't traveling correctly when weight is put on the fork, does that make sense, so new brakes won't work. ...

If you look at it the space between the brake and rim it looks clear. I've tried moving the brake away from the rim but as soon as I brake the noise comes right back. A friend suggested I change the way the spacers were arranged, I did, but I ended up losing one of the spacers and yea! no noise. Last year the shop that tuned it insisted on reinstalling the spacer and the noise came back.
OK, so the problem is that one of the brake arms isn't jumping back from the rim. Each arm has a spring that moves it back away from the rim. There are adjustments to balance the spring motion and thus keep the arms centered. However, when one arm experiences more friction than the other, they won't release to the centered position - often one arm moves while the high friction arm doesn't. The result can be a brake pad that drags on the rim causing noise. (BTW, this problem is pandemic on cheap department store bikes!)

When you "lost" the spacer, you forced the brake arm to move farther thus increasing the return spring tension. Presumably, this was enough to make it move partially before the friction stopped it. This is an important clue as to the problem!

Presumably the shop fiddled with the spring tension and centering adjustments while trying to fix the problem. Thus we can probably eliminate those as the cause of the problem. Lets figure out where the friction is coming from:

Given that the brakes are Deore XT, they'll be a precision fit on the brake bosses. I doubt that they'd get crooked and stuck. However, maybe they've gotten very worn and don't pivot properly. In that case, new V-brakes would fix the problem - unless the fork bosses themselves are worn.

Both the 750 and 760 brakes use a "Link Fixing Washer" under the head of the "Link Fixing Bolt". I can't tell exactly how the 750's use the washer, but on the '760's it is clearly a flat washer that gets pinched between the fork's brake boss and the bolt head. It would not surprise me if the washer is aluminum. (I know that Shimano used an aluminum washer on 1990 era Deore LX.) A ham-fisted mechanic may have tightened the bolt too much, damaging the washer, and causing the brake arm to be clamped too tightly. The simple fix is to replace the washer with am undamaged one - perhaps one made of steel.

It would be a shame to spend $100's to fix a problem caused by a one cent washer!