[Tempest67]

well, you raise a lot of questions, and I will try to help,

1. where are the brake shoes rubbing on the drum? ..and did grinding the shoes help? I think grinding the metal on the brake shoes is a very bad idea

2. custom axles - if they are too short, I would think the drums would touch the backing plates before they touch the shoes? and there would be a grinding sound whenever the wheel turns, not just braking.

- if they were too long, the shoes would show between the backing plate and drum. (be visible) and the shoes would not be making full contact with the drum, but there would be no grinding

3. not true? - if the drums were 'out of round' they would create a pulsation when you apply them, but not necessarily a grinding sound.

would disc brakes solve the problem? if the drums are grinding, I would say Yes, but that would be expensive, and I would want to know where the grinding sound is coming from first.


Hopefully this may help, can you post some pics?