Hello,
I have a 2003 Expedition Eddie Bauer (5.4l 2v Triton, AWD).

My parking brakes are completely ineffective. I'm ready with replacement parts (new drumrotors, new shoes, and new installation parts kits), but I can't remove the old drumrotors.
That's usually due to excessive wear causing the shoes' backing plates to latch with the grooves they've machined into the drums, which is consistent with the symptom of being ineffective.

The usual way to retract old shoes to allow removal of old drums is to turn the star wheel on the adjuster assembly.
To reach the star wheel, I remove the rubber weather plug from the backing plate, then reach through the access hole with a screwdriver or brake spoon.

But...
The rear suspension lower control arm is very very close to the backing plate, directly over the access hole.
There's enough space to remove the weather plug, but I don't see how I'll have enough access to turn the star wheel.
I'm hesitating for now to remove the weather plug and try this, because the rubber looks to be original and I expect it will crumble during removal.
I'll get new weather plugs when the Ford dealer parts counter opens Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile...
Can anyone confirm there's enough clearance behind the control arm, to reach through the backing plate and turn the star wheel?
Or is there a different approach I should be using, to retract the old shoes and allow removal of the old drumrotors?
Thanks for any wisdom you can share!

 

Will the rear rotor move on the hub at all? Or is it seized up on the center of the axle from corrosion? Have you seen the two bolt method for pushing a stuck rotor off the hub? There's Youtube videos available.

 

Your problem isn't with the parking brake shoes it's with the rotor itself. This is a common issue where the center of the rotor gets stuck to the hub. I actually had to cut mine off the first time I went to do brakes.