Originally Posted by kerry

A few weeks ago I took my 96 Suzuki Sidekick to a local shop to replace the left front wheel bearing. I knew it required a special tool to remove the axle nut and the bearing would have to be removed/installed with a press which I don't have. I got a call from the shop a few hours later telling me that the spindle was badly worn, a new spindle was $900 but they could sand down the spindle and put the new bearing in there but it would not last very long. I suggested a used spindle and he said we would look for one. He called me back about an hour later saying he couldn't find one. So I said put it back together with the new bearing, old spindle, and I would look for a used spindle.
After driving it a few days, I noticed a rattle and jacked the car up to check the wheel. There was a 1/2" play in the bearing measured at the top and bottom of the wheel. I called the shop, told them, they said bring it back in and they would check it. Since I had a used spindle on the way from Ebay, I decided to wait until I got it and just parked the car.
Today I decided to get into it myself. Once I took off the hubs and lock ring I found the axle nut loose. I tightened it 3/4 of a turn with my fingers. It had to have been installed by the shop this way since the lock ring was in place. The nut should have between 123-180 ft lbs of torque on it. It can only be tightened with a special tool ($70). Once I removed the caliper and hub I found the spindle in fine condition with no evidence of damage at all.
So what was going on?
My hypothesis is that the shop did not know the vehicle required a special wrench and once they got into it, they didn't want to buy one. They knew the bearing would fail in short order if it wasn't torqued, but instead of telling me this, they invented the cock and bull story of a bad spindle so they couldn't be held accountable when the bearing failed in a few thousand miles.
I called the shop today and told them the axle nut was loose when I disassembled it. They insisted they had tightened it with an impact wrench.

Opinions?