visually inspecting brakes

[grasshopper]

I'm just wondering if there is a way of inspecting brake shoes without taking off the caliper ?

[DieselSpider]

I'm just wondering if there is a way of inspecting brake shoes without taking off the caliper ?

Yes by taking off the brake drums. ;^)

Kidding aside on brake shoes being used for drum brakes and brake pads on disk brake calipers, you can measure the thickness of the pads and check the condition of the rotors by simply removing the tire from the wheel position and visually inspecting the leading and trailing edges of the pads. The pads should be the same thickness at both edges and must be replaced if not evenly worn regardless of how thick they may be.

That said every 2 years you should remove the calipers and lube the caliper guides with silicone lube at the same time you flush the brake fluid while checking brake pad thickness without removing the calipers would be done every other year between the flushes.
When you purchase a used car you pull the calipers to lube them and flush the brakes to be sure its up to date and don't leave it to chance. Too many folks warp rotors and have car fires by neglecting the brake flushes and caliper lube.