Got drums off, left side (which was dragging) was unholy mess inside (pics later). Lower spring was broken, which would most likely explain dragging as nothing would be pulling the shoes back together (away from the drum) at the bottom.
Could not tell from all the accumulated sludge/brake dust whether axle seal is leaking or not, but I suspect a lot was from wheel cylinder as I know there was fluid loss because I've topped off the reservoir a few times over the last year. Replacing axle seal looks like kind of a big deal and probably would have to take brakes apart again for it. I think what I'll do is once stuff is back together, check axle fluid level, top off if necessary, then check it later and see if it's losing. If it is, should also be able to tell also at the seal since all now is clean.
Cleaned up backing plate and all parts. Ton of sludge. Very messy and glad I have box of gloves. Have to get another can of brake cleaner. It was that bad.
Put in new cyl that side. Bleeder heads must be bad mfg they mike 9.6 so 3/8" should fit head but no way. Have to use 10mm which is a bit loose. I think they are supposed to be 3/8". Trying to get right size speed bleeders but I can swap them after install.
Right side not as dirty but still pretty nasty so will do cyl there too plus the rest (drum, shoes, springs).
Would have liked to have had new slotted rods (that go thru the wheel cyl outer seals) as mine were not perfect but I cleaned them up/polished with fine sandpaper the best I could. I think the main thing there is you don't want them really rough or it would eventually wear on the outer seal and dirt/debris could get in there and maybe affect the inner seal (causing leak), but I think they'll be ok. I put a bit sil-glide on the rods where they go thru the outer seals, that's obviously where they move back and forth, but that seal isn't sealing brake fluid, it's just to keep out dirt.
I was not able to locate the rubber part of the brake line where video said clamp it off when changing out the wheel cyl, but, no biggie, I loosened cyl's bolts first, swapped the line, you don't lose much, besides, probably a good thing to lose some of the old fluid anyway.
So now will re-assemble left side, I have to think it will act way different all cleaned up and with good springs etc etc. Right side should go faster. Good idea to do one side at a time because when you take it all apart there is a bunch of parts that absent a reference would be a puzzle at least to a beginner.
Questions.
1. Apparently there was a tsb to silicone-seal holes in the backing plate. I have no holes in the backing plate except for the springs to attach. Is it intended I seal those after the springs are in, or, is it just that I have backing plates without extra holes?
2. When inspection is done, how do they check for good shoes? If they pull the drum, that means they might change the adjustment? I don't see how you could check for good shoes without taking of the drum. If they loosen the adjustment to take off the drums then they would re-adjust?
3. It was mentioned there might be dimples where grease is intended. I'm not yet seeing them. But I do see there are 4 high points on the backing plate where parts rub - should I lube there at all or no? Edit: the rub points have little dimples in them... found them...
4. When bleeding, I can do gravity bleed, or, if I'm doing it by the brake pedal, I don't need engine on (brake assist) do I?