how do i loosen the rear brake drum!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?
i removed these philips bolts... 2 of em that were in the lug bolt "region".. ahha. k but seriously.

 

Here's how: You may need to back off the brake shoes. OK, you've removed the two Philipps scres, good. Now get two good-quality 8mm x 1.25 mm thread hex-head bolts, (at least 25mm long) and screw these into the threaded holes, go back and forth tightening them, a little at a time, which will pull the drum off, like two little extractors.

 

excellent. right you are m'man. perfect idea.

 

i don't know exactly how to phrase this, but it appears that the "hub" in the middle of the brake drum has 4 large perpendicular appendages that are tapered outwards. it is too large for the hole in the drum to slide over it. can i just grind it down a little? is this even my problem?

regarding the hex bolts. does the head need to be larger than the holes where the philips bolts were? or by threading in the bolts continously, should this loosen the drum?

ps: drum brakes are terrible to work on.

 

I don't think that's the issue, should be no need to grind anything, maybe more of an illusion.

The two 8mm x 1.25 screws (I say get longer ones than 25mm, maybe 35mm long, and GOOD QUALITY) screw into the two threaded holes in the drum that are "not dished" - not where the tapered screws go. I just did this yesterday, straightforward. In the extreme case where the brake drum is worn so much that there is an internal bevel, then you must first back off the brake shoes. Go back and forth tightening them, a little at a time, which will pull the drum off, like two little extractors; you don't need any washers underneath them. For this you can get screws with either 12mm (JIS) or 13mm heads (European).

 

oh wow. i can't believe i didn't realize that there were other holes opposite the ones the original philips head bolts were in! the holes appeared way smaller than the size of the bolts, there was just grease/rust ...

as soon as i realized this, it took seconds, then i inspected the shoes, and lo and behold they were just fine. hardly worn.

thanks a ton for the help!

 

Good; next time make your title post more descriptive of your issue.

Even my factory manual just says "remove the drums", big help !!!