I just replaced the rear drum brakes (on one side for the moment) on my 2010 Ford Escape.
I used wagner pads, AC delco drum and Raybestos spring kit.
Got everything in, dialed the adjuster all the way down, but the drum just barely fit over the new brakes, making it so I could not hand turn the drum. (I had to tap the drum into place).
I'd messed around with the pad placement, making sure nothing was hung up, the Ebrake was not engaged.
I took it around the block to see if just driving it would get everything to go into it's proper place.
It seemed to work fine. I heard a couple of ticks, but no grinding noise that I could hear. (I'm also hard of hearing,,,so not much help)
I took it back in my garage, jacked it back up, and I could just barely turn the tire. (again, no grinding, or rubbing noise that I could hear)
My question is, what should I do now??

Your suggestions are appreciated

 

assuming your install was correct AND the parts were right for the car. Maybe the pads or drum is .xxx thicker and even with auto adjuster adjusted to zero parts just to close for tolerance.

It will be difficult to get the drum off now if you had to use a hammer to get it on. Maybe go around it with a torch to expand drum and pull off with gloves

You can take the shoes back for something else or sand them down some

 

The first thing is to be able to get the drums off.
The parking brake may not have been engaged, but the cables are probably stuck or frozen and you might need to pry the arm at the bottom to completely release the cables and shoes. If you look under the vehicle you might see the slack in the cable which would confirm the shoes are being held applied . Not an unusual circumstance, just an overlooked one.

 

After about 5 hours of sleep, I woke up, and was determined to fix this issue.
I took the wheel back off, and managed to get the drum off with out too much difficulty.
After checking the Ebrake (it isn't engaged at all, and cable taut) I decided to try putting the old drum on, see if it fits.
Nope, same issue, just a paper thickness or two too big.
So, I disassembled everything, and examined the brake pads again.
I noticed the touch points on the ends of the frames of the pads had slightly raised edges, from where they were stamped out, making the frames 'taller' than the originals.
I took them to my bench grinder and just touched them up lightly.
I reassembled the brakes and the drum slid right on!
I took it off, tightened the adjuster, and then slid the drum back on, and checked it for fit, and it turned easily, with just a touch of contact.
I'll burnish them today, and then, if all goes well, will do the other side.

Thanks for your comments!
I checked online some. Apparently the Wagner brake pads are thicker than the OEMs, and a number of ppl are upset as they 'didn't fit'. (I assume they had the same problem I did)
I guess if you were reusing the old drum, and it was worn (my old drums were just badly rusted, but the pads had glazed) I guess thicker pad material might help, but I always like using new drums/rotors to ensure no issues.

 

Before you get too worried, know that he odds are very good that the BEDDING-IN PROCESS will quickly add a few thousandths more clearance.

NEW drums should have a slightly rough to the touch finish-one that may make it a bit tough to slide the new drums onto a new set of shoes. That is nothing unusual, and that roughness will go away in short time as the shoes and drums wear into one another while bedding-in.

That's because SHOES will also will have a slightly rough finish intentionally left to make the bedding-in process shorter and easier. Some shoes will have a VERY slightly ribbed or rippled surface, just a few thousandths up and down, so the initial drum contact is with those high points, and they will wear down faster with less chance of glazing than if the surface was perfectly smooth.

Essentially you're starting with what amounts to sliding one piece of sandpaper against another one with the grit sides facing each other. That initial roughness will quickly decrease as the first few thousandths of an inch of friction material wears off and the drums will get slightly smoother as THEIR high points are burnished down as well. That makes it easier to slide the drums on. Look up the bedding procedure for new brake shoes and pads if you're not famliar with it.

Some aftermarket shoes may also have square cut linings, meaning they are uniform thickness from one end to the other, with no chamfer on the ends of the friction material. When I replace shoes (and pads) I always make a short chamfered edge (maybe 1/8" long) at the ends of the friction material if there is not already one there. With square cut ends, its very easy to create a raised edge while they are being packaged and shipped, and handled, bounced around, dropped, etc. who knows how many times before they get to you-and that small bit of raised edge can make a big difference when first assembling the drum to the shoes.

One tip for future reference.
I notice you listed a popourri of parts or this project.
Many people try to to stay with one brand of components-partiularly in brake work, when possible, as different manufacturers have slightly different ideas of what is "best" in their formulation of friction material or in the specific surface finish of drums and rotors, for example. They may also have silightly different MANUFACTURING SPECIFICATIONS and wider or narrower allowable tolerances for the "same" parts, and you may get into a situation where 2 or more mating pieces from different manufacturers are EACH slightly over size or undersize from the optimal size. Or a shoe/pad may wear faster or not perform as well when mated with a different brand of drum/rotor.
(Its not always possible to do this myself, as we own and drive classic/vintage vehicles, but I do try.)

Hang in there.