Can anyone help me out with the correct torque value for the nut holding the rotor to the axle.

 

I just did brakes last week.

Install the wheel/tire first. Then torque the hub nut to 17-24 FOOT POUNDS while slowly spinning the wheel. Then, without moving the wheel, back off the nut 1/2 turn and retighten the nut to 17 INCH POUNDS. (Which is slightly more than hand tight.)

I used a 1 1/16" socket on my '99.

 

Thanks, plenty of work to do on my truck and I am just trying to do things myself to save money.

 

Here are the instructions from the Ford Service Manual for a 99’ Ford F-150:

While rotating the brake disc and hub(clockwise), tighten the spindle nut to 30 ft/lbs to seat the bearing.
Loosen the spindle nut two turns.
Tighten the spindle nut while rotating the brake disc and hub(counter-clockwise) to 17-24 ft/lbs.
Loosen the spindle nut 175 degrees.
Final - Tighten the spindle nut while rotating the brake disc and hub(clockwise) to 17 ft/lbs.

 

there are some serious differences in the recommended approach.

Do you tighten according to foot pounds (see finnegan) or foot inches (see jimb) ?

Do you rotate the rotor with the wheel/tire on the hub (see Jimb) or just rotate the hub (see finnegan)?

 

I take a much simpler approach & have been doing so for about 20 years now with success........

#1.) Tighten the nut good with arm strength only.....(no leaning, breaker bars, etc.). Then, simply make sure the rotor turns...(if it doesn't you reeeeeally tightened the sucker 'cuz it means you forced the bearings in a lock at 90+Rc hardness!)

#2.) Back the nut off & twist it on just hand-tight. Then put your open-end crescent on the sucker & tighten it as if you were putting on your gas cap. No grunt, just snug. Lastly, jiggle the rotor & make sure you don't get any axial play and the rotor still spins freely.

Voila! You're done!!

 

Is this with tire on or off??

 

Definitely tire off. I prefer to not have the weight of the wheel/tire influence any of the process. Obviously if the retaining washer weren't where it was when you started, you'd know something was wrong, thus you could leave the dust cap off & do it that way & still have some visual, but I just prefer to do it with the wheel/tire off. Then I can give a good tug on the rotor too to make sure I've tightened enough so there's no play.

There's a taper built into the spindle and a good bit of fool-proofing to bearing/race/spindle designs, but of course, there's always the one guy who didn't tighten enough & 'cuz he thought the first "clunk" he felt was everything sitting in place, and the other guy who tightened too much & caused gnarly grooves in the races & spindle, but that's what things like the taper, the grease, the, the cotter key in the end of the nut, etc. are for.

Just keep in mind that if you did it blindly but put it on good & tight, then backed it off & put it on as tight as you could with your bare hands, and made sure that when you were all done, you put the cotter pin back in the nut retainer, you'd probably be 99% OK! The millions of Volkswagen Bugs still on the road today are proof of that! (if not the exception to every rule.....LOL!!!)