One front wheel not spinning freely

I was working on my truck this morning and since the front end was up off the ground I decided to check the front wheel bearings for play and I noticed something odd. With the front of my truck up on a jack and the transfer case in 2WD, the passenger side front wheel spins easily by hand (as it should) but the driver side front wheel takes a good amount of force to spin it. The first thing I thought was that the driver side caliper was dragging so I checked the temperature of the caliper and rotor, and it wasn't hot or any warmer than the other side. I had been driving around running errands for a few hours so I figured the caliper would be hot if it was dragging.

What might cause this? Bad wheel bearing? Transfer case issue?

 

Pull the wheel off and recheck the brakes. The rotor would get much hotter than the caliper in a light drag situation. It doesn't take much to make it hard to turn by hand.

And the drag could have started at the end of your driving, thus no real heat.

If all that looks ok, including fairly equal pad wear (inner and outer, and then compare to the other side) pull off the caliper and see how things rotate.

If easy, it's brake related. If still hard, it's something deeper.

 

Depending on how much harder it is to spin, it might just be the drag of spinning the gears in the differential. The passenger side CV doesn't hook up until the front ADD is shifted when you put it in 4WD, but the drivers side always stays engaged with the diff gears. It will always be a little harder to turn than the passenger side, and you'll probably hear some additional noises of the gears turning when you spin it.

 

Thanks for posting this.
I was working on my 2022 4Runner today and experienced the same thing, passenger side wheel spins freely, while the driver's side goes than stops as if something is binding, takes quite a bit of effort to turn it past that spot then it turns again freely for a bit before again it stops.
No v8bration while driving, no noise.

I did replaced the CV inner boot a few months ago, and didn't marked it when I took it out so no idea if I put it back correctly...or it might be off by a few degrees.
It doesn't feel like a warped disc, but I'll take the caliper off tomorrow and give it a try.

 

If the suspension is fully drooped out the CV might be at the limit of its articulation, which will make it seem “sticky” in spots to rotate as well. There is no correct orientation or phasing for the CVs though, if they’re seated all the way in then you’re good. You could try putting it in 4wd, then both sides should have about the same amount of drag to rotate.
I have a 2022 4runner as well, great truck.

 

Thanks for the reply.
I was getting paranoid about not marking out the CV Axle and how it could be off by a few degrees, but yes, it feels like it's at its limit of articulation.
I'll try the 4WD.

I appreciate the reply.