The other thread about how to adjust rear brakes madde me think of posting this.
Last week my truck got inspected and when they went to check the rear brakes. The tech said that there is no adjustment slot on the backing plate so i have to pull the drum off. why does my axle not have an adjustment slot? I even looked cause i didn't believe him and i didn't see it either.

 

are you sure the hole did not have the little rubber plug in it and it was not covered by dirt or grime?

there is supposed to be a little rubber plug in the adjustment hole to keep dirt out.

 

The tech is a moron or just plain lazy.

 

I have seen some backing plates with a knockout where the adjusting hole should be and I had to knock out the tab with a chisel.
I think they wanted you to trust the Self Adjusters.

Really hard to remove a worn drum with ledge or an overadjusted shoe.

My son's 1962 Cadillac DeVille was this way when we restored it.


Since I am so used to adjusting Air Brakes with a feeler gauge between the shoe and the drum and being able to see the thickness of the shoe, I have thought about using a hole saw and cutting a 1" hole in the backing plate so I could visually inspect the thickness of the shoe without removing the drum.

Afterwards I could cover it with a rubber plug or a piece of foil HVAC tape.