Toyota Repair: cant remove rear drums, rubber gromet, heavy hammer

Question
Ted
2003 toyota camry LE 4 Cyl, can't remove rear brake drum; hand brake off; drum turns free about 3/4 turn, then stops. I’ve tapped shoulder of drum several times with a heavy hammer but will not loosen. No holes in drum for 8x1.25 bolts. I’ve tried pulling off with hands but no luck. There is a rubber gromet with a slot in the center(does it screw out?) in the drum. Do I loosen the shoes after removing the gromet, even though the drum already spins, so the drum will slide off?

Also, on front rotors, if I have plenty of pad left on the outer pad, do I also need to pull off the caliper to check the inner pad, or do pads always wear evenly?

Thanks so much.
Don

Answer
Hello,that rubber plug just pops out, the hole is there so the rear brakes can be adjusted, the adjusting wheel is at the top, it has a ratchet lever which only lets you turn it one way, to tighten the brake shoes, to loosen the brake shoes away from the drum you have to use another small screwdriver and lift the ratcheting lever away from the adjusting wheel so you can turn it the other way. sometimes there can be rust between the drum and the axle flange which makes it hard to get the drum off, using some rust penetrtant and letting it soak for a wahile may help. The calipers do not need to be removed to check the inner brake pads, just remove the wheel and you can see the thickness of the brake pads.