You guys are awesome!
I went to Autozone and for $23 got brake cleaner, an adjustment kit and an “all in one” with springs and what not. I did the driver side and it fixed the brakes 90%. There is still a tiny bit more travel at the top than there probably should be but it’s a million times better. They are absolutely firm and it brakes very well now.
I tried to get the right side drum off to see what is going on in that one but the pads were too tight. I broke it loose with a hammer and it would have come off but I just couldn’t shimmy it past the pads. I tried to do the adjustment thing from the back to loosen it but without the tools it’s just impossible with a couple straight slot screwdrivers. I’m assuming that because it’s too tight to come off it means the brakes should be about adjusted right on that side and it doesn’t have the wrong “L” adjustment on the passenger.
I just don’t understand why the Les Schwab guy told me putting in an adjustment kit would do little to nothing and to do the brake booster. I don’t know if the mechanics around here are just idiots or what but now I’m not sure I want to have them align the steering.
My Corolla has the adjuster up at the top like yours, which makes it very difficult for a diy’er working in their driveway to retract the pads from the rear access hole. If the car was on a lift it would be much easier. But laying in the driveway, very difficult to get your body into the correct position to see what you are doing. If you are forced to retract the shoes that way, figure out a way to hook a piece of bailing wire to something to hold the lever up off the adjuster wheel before you try to turn the adjuster.
To remove the drum there’s a couple of things you should also check. First some type of drums have a 3/4 to 1 inch diameter hole on the front side which lines up with the adjuster wheel when the tire is rotated correctly to the correct orientation (hole at 12:00). If you have that type of drum you can retract the shoes from the front, the access to the little adjuster wheel is very easy from the front through that hole. Second, some drums have two pre-drilled and tapped holes in them 180 degrees apart. Look for those. Those are used to push the drum off by screwing two bolts of appropriate size into the holes. If your drum has those holes, it should be possible to push the drum off without needing to retract the shoes. That’s how I do it on my Corolla, I don’t mess with the adjuster, just push the drum off w/the bolts, very easy.
If that shop sent you on your way knowing there were parts missing in your car’s rear brakes, suggest to not use them for maintenance or repair work. At least not until they can offer you a believable explanation how that happened, along with an apology.
I have never found national chains like Les Schwab to have mechanics as good as the average independent shop. The independent guy depends on repeat business, lf he isn’t any good, he doesn’t get it. The chains depend on the draw of the national name. Many national names have been caught having widespread patters of doing unnecessary repairs or of charging for repairs not done.