I've read a bunch of posts, but found no answer. I finally got the pre-load right (14lb, a little on the high side, but OK, I think), but when I turn the knuckle, I can "feel" the bearings. Sort of a ratchety feeling, not smooth like I'd expect a bearing to be. It's not due to the high preload, as it did the same thing at a too low 4lb. Is this normal?

If not, here's what I've done, so far:

1) Greased the bearings a lot. By hand, though, not with a bearing packer.
2) Swapped bearings. My old ones looked OK when I took them out, so I tried them instead of the new bearings that came with the knuckle rebuild kit.
3) Verified the race in my new Diamond axle was OEM Toyota. As mentioned above, the behavior was the same with new 3rd-party bearings and with (used) Toyota ones.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Mark