Blew a bearing, is my spindle reusable?

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Okay I hear you.
Maybe I should just bite the bullet and let my truck sit in the driveway for a while longer. Till the spindle gets here then do a proper fix on it.
It’s just a pain because my truck is my money maker and I’m losing money in the meantime.

Here's what you hope won't happen.

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Wild.

Sorta ironic that the tire hits them again, at the end of the video.

I imagine the folks in that car suffered severe spinal compression. I never heard how it worked-out for them.

 

[Isaacmacleod]

I bought a “low” mileage truck and lost all compression on the way home. I’m pumped to be working on it and having fun.

You own an old low mileage vehicle. She’s gonna need some work. Don’t give up on it yet.

You’re right.

 

[Isaacmacleod]

Here's what you hope won't happen.

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Wild.

Sorta ironic that the tire hits them again, at the end of the video.

I imagine the folks in that car suffered severe spinal compression. I never heard how it worked-out for them.

well thanks to everyone’s input especially this post lol,
I am going to install a new(ish) spindle on there for peace of mind and safety.
While I’m at it I decided I’ll do
-the transmission service
-Fix my leaky pinion driveshaft seal
— replace the pressure side power steering line that has had a slight leak for a while now.
-and then finish it all off with a oil change/ zirc greasing/ tire rotation
Gonna give it a nice 60k miles service which hopefully makes her happy for a while

 

[Sean Buick 76]

well thanks to everyone’s input especially this post lol,
I am going to install a new(ish) spindle on there for peace of mind and safety.
While I’m at it I decided I’ll do
-the transmission service
-Fix my leaky pinion driveshaft seal
— replace the pressure side power steering line that has had a slight leak for a while now.
-and then finish it all off with a oil change/ zirc greasing/ tire rotation
Gonna give it a nice 60k miles service which hopefully makes her happy for a while

There is the sprit!!!

 

[Erik the Awful]

I'll be the contrarian here. I wouldn't condemn that spindle outright. Emery cloth the bearing surface clean and then see how the bearing fits. Put a little grease on the inside of the inner bearing race. If it wobbles, it's toast.

But it's not a bad idea to replace the spindle.

However after using some meager sandpaper I had I was able to get the bearing on.
Not gonna lie the bearing seemed to have a tiny bit of play in the north south direction
My mechanic said the grease might pack it in and set it more once I tightened the castle nut.

Tiny, tiny, tiny. If you can see it wobble, it's too much. If you can just feel it, you're okay.

It spun the inner race. The spindle's not blue from heat, but...

That's the sole reason I wouldn't condemn it. The bearing might have spun, but it didn't do it long.

Isn’t it best to change both spindles when one goes? or is that crazy talk

Nope. Replace the one that's bad. Spindles aren't a high-time failure part. Unless they are damaged or overstressed they are always good.

I came up with a big list of preventative maintenance I wanted to do when I bought the thing.
It was very well maintained by the previous owner, he only used it to tow his camper, and wrote down all the maintenance he did to it in the manual.
Everyone around me kept talking me out of a lot of the work I wanted to do.
“wait until the brake pads are more worn down to change that bearing” etc.
now I am paying the price via this spindle.

I'll disagree on that. There's a thousand things you're "supposed to do" in life, and you can never do them all. If you were avoiding work, burning a doober, and chasing tail, then maybe you shoulda checked the bearings instead. If you had other things to tackle, you were trusting the previous owner's maintenance. Next time pop a cap off and just make sure there's plenty of grease in there and that it's not opaque.

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[Supercharged111]

It's worth verifying the endplay on the other bearing. If PO screwed up both you'll be right back in this boat soon enough. Happened to me on a truck I fixed last year. Driver's bearing exploded and nuked the spindle so replaced. On the test drive it was still roaring, right side was also toast but I got away with only bearings there as nothing had spun.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

It's worth verifying the endplay on the other bearing. If PO screwed up both you'll be right back in this boat soon enough.

^^^ this

For all we know, PO might have driven on the retaining nut with an impact wrench and called it good.

“It’s a big nut!”

Yeah, check the other side.

 

[Isaacmacleod]

Tiny, tiny, tiny. If you can see it wobble, it's too much. If you can just feel it, you're okay.

I appreciate you being the devils advocate here.
My mechanic friend told me the spindle looked good enough to drive at least for a while,
He said it’s unlikely it would fail completely and cause a tire to fly off on the highway,
If anything, he said the bearing might blow again, and to just be extra mindful of any noises coming from it.

 

[Isaacmacleod]

^^^ this

For all we know, PO might have driven on the retaining nut with an impact wrench and called it good.

“It’s a big nut!”

Yeah, check the other side.

Right on

 

[Isaacmacleod]

It's worth verifying the endplay on the other bearing. If PO screwed up both you'll be right back in this boat soon enough. Happened to me on a truck I fixed last year. Driver's bearing exploded and nuked the spindle so replaced. On the test drive it was still roaring, right side was also toast but I got away with only bearings there as nothing had spun.

I like this idea,
I’ll try wiggling the bearing on the other side and compare how much play it has.
If it seems indistinguishable from the other side I might rock with the spindle for a while but if it’s noticeable different I’ll go ahead and change it now.