nevada
Senior Member
Ok- let's update this.
First of all THANK YOU to everyone that has chimed in and spent time both on here and on the phone with me!
I came home today and wirebrushed all the rust off the spindle (wasn't much really) and all mating surfaces. Lightly greased the shaft. Tightened it all down.....same thing. Also noted significant play at the hub with everything TIGHT.
I took a video of the play and sent it to Andy at Bluepitbearings, who is a super nice guy and has returned EVERY phone call. Andy agrees that the new bearing is now shot and is sending another one FREE as long as I send the ruined bearing back to him. Great customer service there!
He seems to think the axle was bound up somehow when I tightened the hub down and that's what ruined the bearing. I disagree with this because the axle spun freely the entire time and the hub bolts were tightened by hand criss/cross until they touched the hub, but let's see what the experts say?
Meanwhile, I noticed that the flanges inside the inner bearings are different. Andy says this is not a problem. Again, what do you guys think? Factory bearing is top pic.
View attachment 142684
View attachment 142683
In the meantime, 4Runner is gonna rest until at LEAST Saturday when the new bearing arrives.
What the heck happened here???
Stay tuned...
its possible the new bearing just wasn't fully pressed together onto the spindle. it would only take a few thousandths to cause a lot of play at the tire.