soft pedal and pass side rear brake stuck on

on my way home earlier the pedal went soft and required pumping a couple of time to get some good brakes, when i got out i noticed a v.hot metal smell so i felt the rear wheels/drums and the left was hot with the right cold, its been absolutely hammering it down today and ive been through some pretty deep water, having seen this thread im thinking there the same issue:
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f31/freelander-rear-brakes-sticking-35123.html

is this likely to be the same problem? shoes that are on or about 12mnths old and not expensive ones.
ps also how do i get the drum off to check if there still stuck on tomorrow?

cheers..

Wheel off, big cross screwdriver or better, impact driver for the screw on the drum. Remove grommet on the back plate and use a small screwdriver to wind back the tensioner to allow it over the lip on the drum, turn it the way it is more difficult to get a turn on it. Drum off and I bet the pivit where the handbrake cable meets is seized.
Nothing to do with deep water, they just do it.
Pedal going soft is a worry though and cant think of a connection.

Hopefully its something and nothing, I was thinking maybe that the shoes had stuckbon for whatever reason and the wheel cylinder/caliper whatever you call it on drumm brakes wasn't applying any force to the shoes on that side thus making the pedal travel easier and needing a few pumps to stiffen it back up it feels the same as when just changed the pads on the front and needs a couple of pumps get the calipers bedded into the new pads, I did occur while driving luckily not far from home and having read the thread water getting in and causing an issue, the monsoon we've just had whilst I was out and the ft seep flooding I drive through seems a coincidence .. Spose ill see when I get mi tools out tomorrow ..

Let's hope the heat in your drum didn't boil the brake fluid away ?

me 2 having read the thread sudgesting water and cheap pads that is pretty much the situation i was in yesterday, just about to go and whip thye wheel off in a min, if it is the case how can these shoes be legal? surley its an accident waiting to happen..

I would imagine the pedel going soft was your brake fluid starting to boil, once you have sorted binding brake bleed the brakes. Some new fluid should solve it .

just had the wheel off, suprisingly the drum came off not too bad but it was binding fairly well, it took some hammer and baring to get it off once off nothing untoward inside the handbrake didnt seem to be sticking but at the same time it wasnt moving massivley so some wd40 on the moving parts seems to have done the trick, also i think the automatic adjuster may have been a bit too adjusted up so slackened that off so it could adjust itself again - drum back on missis pumping the brake and working the handbrake seems to be ok for now..
just needs the handbrake taking up abit as its now easy and full travel - where is the adjuster for this on the freebie?

At the hanbrake, remove rear ashtray for access, but wait till you've driven it for a while. Auto adjusters can take a while to fully adjust and your brakes will bind if you have already taken up the play.

cheers i thought it would be around there somewhere but i will give it a few drives to see how she fairs..

No need to hammer off the drum get undernieth and take the rubber gromet out of the back of the drum, and with a screw driver flat bladed of course you should be able to wind the auto aduster back then your shoes should clear the drum, hope this helps

Make sure the hand brake mechanism is fully off, ie the lever on the shoes is sat on its stop, then adjust the shoes, then the handbrake? If the hand brake mechanism isn't sat on its stops when released it won't work as effectively and the adjuster may not work correctly.

all done seems ot be workin for now