I am trying diagnose overheating of the right hand brake drum. After driving a couple miles, the right drum was smoking HOT, the left drum was normal (cool to the touch).. The wheel and brake drum were removed and it appeared the brake shoes were dragging. After backing off the adjusters and reinstalling the brake drum, and wheel after cooling down, the wheel could be turned by hand in neutral. A noise sounding a little like a "dry bearing" was heard. The boot looks to be in good condition.
A short drive (around the block) the right brake drum was very hot again. By driving backward and forward, it would coast sometimes and sometimes would stop as if brakes were dragging. From an exploded parts diagram I found, the appears to be 30 needle roller bearings and 6 ball bearings in the final drive axle assembly. I am suspecting the 30 needle bearings and/or bearing race are damaged. Repacking with grease may or may not work.
How can I check out the final drive axle ? I am wondering if replacement is my best option ? How hard is the replacement ?