I've had the rear drum brakes on my '95 E350 (Dana 60 rear axle) apart and I've gone through them like 3 times, Don't get me wrong, drum brakes are fantastic when done right, plenty good for supplying 35% of the stopping power in a 1 ton van. But jeez... If I count up the hours I've spent, I'd been way ahead if I had just converted over to rear discs.
Just after purchasing my van used, I found myself repairing the past hamfisted brake jocky's shoddy work. Then redoing my shoddy work re-assembling it, copying the last guys incompetent and out of order assembly... I've had them go out of adjustment from normal wear, then because things were so loose a spring popped off, taking out the new drum, both shoes, and I think the adjuster cable.
In my experience the entire Dana/Ford drum brake 'self adjuster' cable/cam set up is a complete POS, the weird mousetrap springs (that hold the shoes in place) require either the patience of Jobe or the special tool to deal with them. As far as I can tell, the self adjusting feature is there in name only, I have to adjust the rear manually every 10k miles or so.
Other than that, I love them!
I recently came a cross a Sterling full floating 10.5 out of a 2002 F350, a Craigslist find, and drug it home. It's a match to the front axle, also out of a 2002 (so it's got the right stud patter, same thread pitch, hopefully the right tone wheel for the speed sensor) on a stand awaiting the R&P swap, new leaf spring perches that it needs to work with my set up.