So we limped back to the last town and met up with the Defenders. They had run into troubles about the same time, their engine being restricted and without power.
We jacked up the car and realised that both front wheels where worn our. Afraid of loosing a wheel on the next turn we looked around for a recovery truck to bring us to the next city.
The Defenders decided to give it a try with the village mechanic and stayed for the night while we took the dodgy truck to Kurgan. Scared that our beloved Land Cruiser might bounce off the bed, the heat from the engine underneath the cab and the fact that the driver had to start in 3rd gear did not make it an enjoyable ride. Having almost reached our destination the stereo right in front of us started to burn and had to be yanked out of its slot! We were already with our thoughts how to get our Toyota of the burning recovery truck...! 😝
The next day in the Toyota dealership our suspicion was confirmed, the bearing was shot. 😕 Luckily the owner of the dealership had some contacts and a donor vehicle could be organised. It took a while but we ended up with some new second hand bearings including the seal we wanted to replace since entering Russia! The broken part in the free wheeling hub could also be replaced but the power locking hubs were still not working. Our Land Cruiser can disengage the front wheels from the axle to save on fuel and wear. This can be done from the inside of the cab at the push of a button, which no longer worked 😞 But at least we could drive on!