Need some drum brake insight

[drcoffee]

The rear drum brakes on my 2000 villager have something strange going on. I've ordered my second set of drums because I thought the new drums were out of round. When I installed them, there was a high spot which made the shoes grab and release as the wheel turned. On the test drive it actually burnished the drum surface in 2 spots 180 degrees apart. Sent them back and bought a different brand. When I put them on the same thing happened. What is strange is, the old drums rotated smoothly but the new ones grab and release. This happened one time before with the current drums a year ago, so I had them resurfaced and they were fine.

The first set were Motorcraft and the second set are Beck Arnley. At this point I find it hard to believe the two makers of drums are making defective parts. So what's wrong with my van?

The brake shoes are not worn unevenly and have plenty of meat remaining. What's not rotating properly?

One last bit of information. For the past 2-3 years the van has had a shake that comes on at 65+mph and feels like the wheels are not balanced correctly. Its coming from the rear of the van. I've had the wheels balance and then replaced. No change in the shake. I have changed the shocks. No change in the shake. The only thing I can think of is out of balance brake drums, which is why I ordered the new ones. These drums are heavy and could shake the vehicle at highway speeds if not balanced. Could the bearings be going out? I pushed and pulled and yanked the hub and there is no play I can feel. They don't get hot as bad bearing usually do.

This is a real head scratcher for me and I must be missing something very basic.

*When I install the drums, I tighten the shoes to where the wheel spins 1-2 rotations before stopping. Then set them with the parking brake until they are self adjusted.

You can hear a definite intermittent rubbing as the new drum rotates. Please give me some insight on this problem. The shake is driving me nuts already.

Edit: My wife tells me that she hit a speed mountain quite hard about 3 years ago, coincidently. Now I need to add Hub and spindle damage to the differential diagnosis.

[drcoffee]

Problem solved. New bearing/hub fixed the vibration and new drums brake smoothly.

DIY project:
each Hub/bearing unit was $65
each new drum was $55
Had Carquest resurface drums at $12 ea

For $250 she runs like a dream.

[ricebike]

thanks for the update

Edit: My wife tells me that she hit a speed mountain quite hard about 3 years ago

hehe, i love how significant others would "hide that info" when you're trying to diagnose a problem

slight off topic: had a family member with an irregular wear on the inside of the rear pass tire... i ask that if they hit a curb or pothole (they didn't want to tell me the truth)

so i also gave them the possible checks: bent control arm or hub/bearing... it was the latter