How do you do quick rear brake inspection?

You don't have to bleed anything from any brake line to do an inspection, and if you don't want to overcomplicate the job, it's better not to.

It is a good idea to make sure the brake system has no power before you begin. If it happens to conduct a self-test while you have a drum off, it will blow the pistons out of the wheel cylinder and glug brake fluid onto your floor, and it's not just an inspection job anymore.

Outside of a self-test or somebody pressing the brake pedal, there won't be pressure in the lines to the brakes. If there were, the brakes would be dragging. (If you think the brakes are dragging, that might be a reason to check.)

Otherwise, just take the wheels off, take the drums off, and inspect.

 

I would say leave them alone until you're ready to change them shoes are very inexpensive those are the things that your material is on to stop the car in drum brakes. They are not even hardly worth discussing the drums themselves might cost you 25 or 30 bucks a pop new but the shoes 9 to $30 depending upon what you want to pay I generally use some ceramic nonsense it cost about $23 24 maybe last a long time on the Prius front pads I do use a little better setup there about $35

 

I inspect so I know when I'm ready to change them.

 

No I get that buddy You're a mechanic and all. All I'm saying with the inexpensive nonsense that is in the back of these cars the Gen 2 especially drum brakes run until they start making a noise and just replace everything spring kit shoes new drums on each side and do it right You don't have any money in it especially if you're buying it and doing it at the house and it's not a bad job anyway even wrapping the springs and getting new wheel cylinders all of it I mean you'll be lucky if you have 160 bucks. In that stuff

 

Scot, here's my opinion, RISK vs REWARD. Based on your post, your current best option is to leave them alone, as long as they're functioning and not making horrible grinding noise. Rear drums typically wear at 1/2 or less the rate of the front brakes. If you're unfamiliar with drum brakes, now is not the time to be risking something popping out of place. Don't risk crippling your only transportation. The Toyota spec for the front pads is to replace them when they are down to 1mm thickness. I have a couple Gen 2s with 280K+ miles that are still on the originals front and back.

If you absolutely feel that you need to do something, jack up the rear of the car, spin the tire to ensure it's spinning freely, have someone press the brake and see if you can still spin it. release the brake, spin it again. If all good, move to the other side and do it again.

I had a good friend tell me something a long time ago. When you're under the gun, and something is working correctly, LITFA.

First 2 words are LEAVE IT
Last word is ALONE