I would saw it could be a few things... more than likely the van sat there
a while and something is seized.  I would remove the rear drum [ undo
wheel, get a big rubber hammer and give it a few whacks and then pull it
off ].  If it is seized it might be a little difficult to take off the
drum.  By inspecing the rear drum you will see how rusty it is and if the
shoes need replacing.  The self adjuster is really a farce IMHO... it is a
wedge that pushes its way down via the tension of a spring to ensure there
is no gap when the brakes are at rest... I think it just speeds up the
wearing of the brakes!

Good luck and welcome to the list!

At 13:08 9/12/98 EDT, Fred Brittain wrote:
>Good Morrow Listees,
>
>This is my first post to the Van list as I just became a Vanagon
>owner about 12 hours ago.
>
>My name is Fred Brittain.  I live in Ogden, Utah and teach in the local
>school district.  My Van is an 89 Westy.  Got it from a friend who
>wholesales cars.  Was talking to him about having my 78 West
>crunched and he mentioned an 89 that looked like new and had 42K
>miles.  So, I've got a (do we call them vans or buses?) new VW
>camper I don't know anything about, posess only the manuals that
>come in the glove box, and have located a mechanical problem.
>
>The right rear brake _smells_ like it's rubbing.  I owner's manual
>says the rears are self-adjusting.  This one's a little over adjusted.
>Could be a bearing except the flavor of the odor says hot brake.
>
>So, I'm going down to look at it now.  Would be grateful for any
>advice including any generic info for a new 89 camper owner.
>
>I desperately need a shop manual.  After looking at my VW manuals
>the only one that will translate is Probst's Bosch Fuel Injection book.
>Other than that, it's off to the library.
>
>PS  I _did_ check the archives.  They wouldn't work for me.
>
>Looking forward to meeting some new VW friends,
>
>Fred Brittain
>78 and 89 Westys
>
>

-- David Marshall, Quesnel BC, mailto:david@volkswagen.org --
   -- 78 1.8L VW Rabbit, 80 2.0L VW Caddy, 87 Audi 5KQ  --
   --  85 1.8L VW Cabrio, 88 2.0L VW Syncro Double Cab  --
   --   Volkswagen Homepage http://www.volkswagen.org   --
     --  USE DAVID@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG WHEN SENDING PMAIL  --