Thanks for the reply. This truck has not been driven for almost 3 years while it was under restoration by several different shops (long story). When I say it won't spin, I mean the brake drum is in hard contact with the backing plate up towards the top. There are metal shavings in the bottom of the brake assembly. Putting the wheel on would certainly give me more leverage to spin it, but it would only make more metal.
The passenger side operates properly, so yesterday I did a swap for comparison. The first thing I noticed is that the assembly slides on and off smoothly without persuasion. When its buttoned up, there is no play. Left side is a full on wrassling match to get on and off. When buttoned up I can wiggle it. I tried swapping the inner races and neither wants to slide on the left side, so I think I have a spindle problem. The right-side spindle looks much better.
So, my current theory is that for whatever reason, the left side assembly was damaged by improper installation or a bad spindle slightly deforming the races. When the left side is buttoned up it results in a wobble that grinds the brake drum into the backing plate near the top.
All this aside, I do not have all the pieces you describe in the assembly. I'm using the stock ball bearing setup. I have no inner oil seal or cone. I have no oil shield or outer cone. Are you describing a roller bearing setup or am I misunderstanding?
I have a replacement spindle on the way that I will try with a new set of bearings.
