Rear brakes seemed to be dragging yesterday, so I headed home gently. Left hand rear drum was much warmer than the right when I jacked the car up and took the wheels off. Next was to remove the brake drums and see what is causing the brake to drag. I could not get the left drum to turn initially. I disconnected the handbrake cable and opened up the brake bleeder and eventually got it to move a bit. Tried a hammer but no movement on either of the two sides. I gave up and went inside for the night. Hit the 'net looking for hints. My Sunny has a Stanza rear axle. Turns out that there is a built in puller for the drums in the form of two holes in the front face of the drum, between the wheel studs, which are threaded. So I found some bolts that were the right size and started them in the holes, When they bottomed I alternated between each bolt turning each about a third of a turn at a time. The drum eventually moved with a loud crack. Kept winding the bolts until the drum came free of the end of the axle.

This is what I found in the left hand drum when I pulled it off:




Lining had come away from the shoe. The lining is shorter than it should be, so I guess that it had worn down to the shoe at one end and then the bonding had failed on what was left. Fortunately ho damage to the drum, as the loose lining was still in the correct(ish) position and prevented the show grinding away at the drum.

Any recommendations for a brake place in Melbourne? New shoes and new rubbers in the wheels cylinders while it's all apart.