Posting this again here because of few responses on rec.autos.makers.ford.explorer.
Trying to get the rear rotors off our '03 Explorer; of course they're stuck. My guess is that the rust inside the rotor has formed a lip in the area not touched by the shoes. But I can't back off the shoes because there's no hole for the adjuster. Or it's welded on the sheetmetal. No rubber plug. ???
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, the adjuster for the little parking brake drum built into the rear disc brake rotor. I looked more closely at the backing plate and it has what looked (only a little) bit like the nickel-sized knockouts one sees on electrical outlet boxes, which are quite easy to remove by poking with a screwdriver. But they wouldn't budge when I beat on them with an admittedly blunt chisel and a decent-sized hammer. Started denting in the backing plate. I eventually got the rotor/drum off each side by using a big gear puller on it. One side flew off and fell on the floor without damage; the other side ripped off the mounting hardware inside and hung up the rotor/drum from coming off more than about 3/4" as the brake shoes cocked sideways as I tried to remove the rotor/drum farther. But it came off far enough that I was able to reach in with a screwdriver and back off the adjuster enough to then get the rotor off. The gear puller action had also ripped the linings from the shoes.
As I'd suspected, there was quite a rust buildup in the area not contacted by the shoes (it was now a smaller diameter than the shoes), making it quite a challenge to get the rotor/drum off. What was Ford thinking by closing off the holes? The factory service manual only says to reach in through the hole and back off the adjuster. !