I'll see about getting a rod that goes straight through the drum instead of two that go about 4" into the drum from each side.
That sounds like a good idea to me, huge structural upgrade if I understand what you're saying.
The grease I use, by the way, is Petro-Gel - bought a tube for use with my espresso machine, and it looks like that tube is going to be a lifetime supply so I use it for other things as well. A dab two or three times a year is all it takes to prevent squeaking. No smoke. My spit has a square cross-section, by the way, though the edges are not sharp. I might have had to file out the rotisserie spit notch in the grill on one side or the other, can't remember for sure.
Someday I'm going to buy a big dead animal carcass and try that rotisserie for its intended application (I'm more of a vegetarian type normally.) Seems like that would be more challenging than roasting coffee - heavy, poorly balanced load, longer roast time.