[soundman98]

^oh, don't remind me!

Originally Posted by humfrz

Yep, you would be correct, for the front brakes - the bearings have to come out.

I was thinking of the rear brakes. On the higher mileage older cars, the shoes may have warn down the center portion of the drum, leaving a lip on the outer part of the drum. For the drum to come off, especially if the brakes had been adjusted, the adjusting screw mechanism should be screwed to adjust the shoes to more of a closed (inward) position, so the lip on the drum will clear the shoes.

Oh, humfrz - go take a nap - you're flashing back again -

my neighbor just did rear drum brakes on his wife's hyundai suv. he's a heavy equipment service guy, so he figured a 4 hour job. the previous owner screwed up the adjuster, it took him a day and a half just to get the one drum off!