Brake Drums

how do I remove stuck on brake drums so I can check the brake shoes?

may have to drain your brake fluid. even without locked up brakes, you'll going to need to do a lot of prying.

what good would that do?

To remove the brake drums, do not set the parking brake. Jack the car up with wheel chocks or something solid to block the front wheels so the car can't move when it is jacked up. After jacking up the car put a jack stand under the car in a solid area so the car can't fall. Remove the wheel that you want to check. If the drum does not pull off easily you may have to hit it with a hammer sometimes this will help to free it up. that usually works. I have sprayed wd-40 around the center of the drum to help to get it to slide off.

Hope this helps.

i hit it with a hammer and used wd-40 but it won't budge.

I have the exact same problem on my GRAND AM!!, I tried WD40, hammers, etc but it just wont move on my 99 GRAND AM SE. somebody please help!! :)

If WD-40 didn't work you may need something different try PB Blast which is a catalyst that disolves rust. Spray around the hub center and each lug nut. Check the backing plate to see if it has an adjustment opening. If it does you may need to back off the brake shoes as far as you can get them due to a lip build up on the drum due to wear. Make sure there aren't screws holding the drums in place like on Fords I doubt that is the case but anything is possible. You may have to resort to renting a large puller and pull the drum off if the hammer method doesn't work. Good Luck!

Let it set overnight in breakaway - break-away is very powerful stuff. It's never let me down.