The axle saver bearing was in hand. The guy at NAPA implied that it was the only premium bearing they could get, the other bearing they could order was the low line bearing priced at $12, and that didn't sound appealing to me. On top of that any other bearing would have been another special order.

In hindsight, I'm wondering if the issue isn't a problem with the spider gear. Could it have gotten damaged if the truck was driven a lot with no rollers left on the wheel bearing?

Maybe I screwed something up with the spider gear alignment while the axle was out. The wheel bearing just rides on the axle shaft, there is nothing that can be a press fit between the axle and the bearing. I believe my problem is with the spider gear, and I don't see how I could have gotten the axle shaft in far enough to put the "C" clip in, but maybe if the axle would have slid in easily, maybe I could have pushed it in far enough to install the "C" clip.

I'll probably screw everything up taking it apart again, but I can't go with it like it is.

If I have somehow gotten the spider gear out of position, how do I get it lined back up? Gene