Saturn Repair: rear brake self adjuster, rear drum brakes, drum brakes


Question
how do i adjust the rear drum brakes on my 2000 saturn manually? i cannot find the self adjuster- there is no star wheel adjuster. there is meat on the brake pads but the pedal goes down to the floor.
thanks please provide a diagram if possible.

Answer
Charlene,
 First, from what you describe I don't think that your problem is in the rear drum brakes.  I will walk you through the adjustment procedure anyway.  If you will look at the backing plate on your rear drum assembly you should see an oval-shaped grommet above the hub/bearing assembly.  If you remove this grommet you should have access to the adjuster.  All Saturns have this adjuster on their rear drum brakes, however, if the backing plate was replaced with an aftermarket substitution, the oval hole might not be there.  
 Second, I think your problem is in the master cylinder or brake fluid level.  Check your fluid level and then bleed your brakes.  I don't have enough room to go through the entire bleeding procedure, but you can find instructions online if you don't know how to do it.  Trust me, I have to refer back to the instructions more often than not.  If bleeding your brakes doesn't work I would suspect that the master cylinder is faulty, and that it will not longer pressurize the fluid.  Hope this helps!
Chris