My younger brother has a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara 4X4 that he drives to work. It needs front pads and rotors and he wants to replace the drums and shoes on the rear at the same time. We started on it last night and once it was on the lift, we tried to remove the rear drums with no luck. He used two 14mm bolts and ran them into the holes in the drums and hit it with a dead blow hammer with no luck. He also sprayed PB Blaster on the center of the drum. It will move out ward almost to the end of the wheel studs but is hung up on the brake shoes. Evidentially there is a ridge that they're hanging on and its pulling the shoes and hardware away from the backing plate. Unlike the old rear drums I'm used to working on, there is no removable rubber plug to use a brake tool on the star thingy to run the shoes inward, We thought maybe there is a problem with the parking brake and loosening it up might move the shoes back a bit but we can't get to the adjustment which is in the interior, under the rear of the console (per the factory service manual he has)! Has anyone here had experience with this type of vehicle rear brakes? If so, any help would be appreciated that will get us moving on this one.
OLE442

 

The only way I know is with the 2 bolts. Just keep screwing them in until it slips past the studs.

 

Use a pry bar or a big screwdriver and pry it off the rest of the way. If you break something so what you’re going to put in all new anyhow.

 

If you break something, it needed replacing anyway. Thats one of the first things I was taught when learning mechanics.