Drum brakes slow to work, choppy, need bleeding?

That is the brake adjuster, now you need to readjust the brakes with the same little gear, as you didn’t replace the brake shoes adjust them up to where you just hear them slightly rub the brake lining when you spin the rear wheel, then after your done and it’s all back together find a clear road or even a parking lot and backing up and hit the brakes hard a few times then go forward and make sure the pedal feels good and the pedal travel is right. As you never opened the system you should not have to bleed the brakes.

Hi Michael, the little gear is the adjustment for the brake shoes. It's called a star wheel. To properly adjust the shoes spin the tire as if the vehicle was going in reverse. Turn the star wheel, using a flat blade screwdriver or similar tool, until a heavy drag is felt on the wheel. Then turn the star wheel the opposite direction until the tire just spins freely. Repeat this at the other wheel. There's an access hole on the back of the wheel assembly to get to the star wheel. It may be covered by a rubber plug. Simply remove the rubber plug. Put the rubber plug back on when you're done. Hope that helps! Jim