I apologise in advance if this post is inappropriate to this forum, but through my search of forums, you folks seem to know your sh_t better than any others.
My son bought a 96 tacoma 2.7L 4x4 5-speed manual with 238,000 mi. It seems to run and shift good, but as we tackled the rear brakes to fix the e-brake all sh_t broke loose. Drums were really really rusted and even after turning back the star tension adjuster to loosen the pads it would not budge. Did the 2 screws in the drum trick...cracked the drum....still frozen. Beat....heat...beat....heat.....nothin. Noticed the e-brake bell crank on the back side was boot was missing and completely rusted and would not budge (both sides). Bolts are all rusted so you can't get a wrench on anything. It is the same on both sides. The threads on the right side drum to do the 2 screw trick we found to be stripped. My guess is it has been a long long time since any work has been done to these rear brakes. I'm at the point where I think I need to just pull the axles and replace with a complete servicable assembly. I finally got the drum on the left side off, and everything inside is a mess and completely rusted.
I would appreciate the forum's advice and any approximate estimates for parts.
Sorry for the long post...thanks for the response in advance.