I was driving home from work the other day and the left front wheel bearing decided to eat itself at highway speeds. So I'm now looking for spindle since the inner race spun on it and it is beyond just cleaning it up. Big $$ from the dealer and a long wait... Thanks..
You'll get a perfectly good spindle from a breaker like CruiserParts.net and others. The bearing does all teh work, so a used replacement spindle is safe and effective. Ideally I'd want mine magnafluxed for cracks, but that's just being picky.
Guess I'd never looked that the spindle is part of the whole arm assembly. That blows. On the 80 it was a stand alone item (and about a 1/4 the cost too).
Its more common for the spindle to be part of the steering knuckle. Didn't know that the 80 has the spindle as a stand-alone part but it sure makes sense for up-country repairs. No wonder the 80 had such a following in the real bush areas of the world.
I went through the same thing back in Dec2011 and was taken advantage off by Tustin Toyota - I am still dealing with them - trying to get the $734 OVERCHARGE back to me. That will be another post.
Make sure your hub where the bearing mounts to is still good. There are 2 part numbers for the hub - one comes with bearings already pressed and the other one is just the hub.
It's also a good idea to check on the other side while you are at it. I am not sure if you are doing the work or the dealer. Double check the price of what the service adviser is quoting you to their own parts counter.
Thanks, I'm doing the work, the hub came away unscathed and it is already prepped to be installed, I got a lead on a used spindle, I'm hoping to look at tomorrow. I started doing the bearings and seals on the other side, might as well while it's up on blocks. Glad it happened now rather than when I'm on my trip 20 days from now....
