Rebuilding rear hubs/brakes
So the rear axle was a rusty mess. Based on the hub bearings, I assumed the diff carrier bearings were also fubar. To check those and to de-sludge the axle tubes, I had to pull the diff. I wasn't really looking forward to that since I thought special tools were required but I was able to pull it with a pry bar and a ratchet strap - it was much easier than I imagined. Thankfully, the diff bearings were in good shape - no rust contamination.
https://i.imgur.com/hoBD1Tll.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ecB7PArl.jpg
So with that stuff out, I started swabbing, scraping, washing, blasting all kinds of gunk out of the tubes. Here is a sample:
https://i.imgur.com/gOOuA6tl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/zwPGbY8l.jpg
I eventually got it into pretty good shape. I'm not saying I would eat off it but I felt much better after getting it cleaned out.
New hub bearings, cups, and seals were installed. I found all of the part numbers here on the Zone and sourced the seals and outer bearing from the internets. The inner bearing and races came from Torqueking.
It was during this process that I might have uncovered why the rear hubs were in such bad shape. First, the seals on my truck were different than the National 416282 recommended here on the Zone. These new National seals were dual-sided. The seals on my truck were 1-sided, unless 1 of the sides had rotted and contributed to the rust sludge. Second, I think one of the large nuts was not applied. There was only 1 on my truck, but the part manual shows 2 (highlighted in yellow below). It took me a while to sort that out. So I think someone at some point got in there and made a mess of things.
https://i.imgur.com/v2RLq5Dl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/sLykhVdl.jpg
I also rebuilt the rear brakes at the same time. As I mentioned previously, the rear shoes were shot due to some type of grease contamination. I broke down and bought new ones from Memphis. They only offer 1 size (about 14 inchs long):
https://i.imgur.com/f5AwGp9l.jpg
New shoes, wheel cylinders and paint. The rear brakes/hubs are now the prettiest part of the truck.
https://i.imgur.com/7oaTKhQl.jpg