2007 F150 Spindle torque issues

[greasemonkey44]

I am working on 2007 ford f150 2wd.
I need to replace a wheel bearing/ rotor hub assembly on the Front right corner tomorrow morning. I got a bearing and a rotor with a bearing; and a new nut too.
How should i achieve the 300 ft/lbs the instructions call for?
My highest torque wrench tops out at 250 ft/lbs. I could tighten to 250 and add
a 1/2 turn or 250 and hang my body weight 225lbs @ 1.3'. I could run it on with an impact and call it good.
This is a unique situation. Normally i would buy another torque wrench with the right specs, but the HF only goes to 300 ftlbs.......a 50ft/lb gain for 79.00$.
A good 3/4 is a fortune(300$ plus); and not immediately available


leaning towards the torque then weight; open to any suggestions though!!

 

[allinon72]

I would torque to 250 and do a bit more if you can. Even at 250 the spindle nut isn't coming off.

 

[AlexNGreen]

I would torque to 250 and do a bit more if you can. Even at 250 the spindle nut isn't coming off.

The torque isn't in concerns to the nut coming off; its for bearing preload.

 

[Jswain]

I'd say 250 plus 1/8-1/4 turn and your probably going to ballpark it closer then 89% of the mechanics at a shop would.

 

[amlv20]

Go 250 and a little extra,impact will not cut it.seen lots of people just use impact and have it comeback on them.

 

[theoldwizard1]

This a typical 2wd front spindle with inner and outer tapered roller bearings ?

Never heard of that much torque on the nut !

 

[passatb6]

This a typical 2wd front spindle with inner and outer tapered roller bearings ?

Never heard of that much torque on the nut !

It's an odd one for sure, my brother and I did his on base at the auto craft shop they had a giant like 6' tall torque wrench.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I know I used my torque multiplier when I did my buddies truck. I dont think the bearings were a conventional setup, so proper preload isnt an issue. I'd go 250 and give it an extra push.

 

[rlebroke51]

250 seems a bit much! you ll barely be able to turn the hub after. our big rig nuts are only at 50 ft/lbs.

 

[Ruger_556]

250 seems a bit much! you ll barely be able to turn the hub after. our big rig nuts are only at 50 ft/lbs.

... and then a 1/4 turn off that 50 ft-lbs

 

[Ruger_556]

This a typical 2wd front spindle with inner and outer tapered roller bearings ?

Never heard of that much torque on the nut !

300 ft-lbs says this is a unit hub to me

 

[blacK20]

These have straight sealed roller bearings. Not tapered. So bearing preload is not an issue. As long as it is tight enough so that the two halves of the beariing do not come apart, then you are good. Bring it to 250 ft.lb. and give it another nudge with your big breaker bar.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I am working on 2007 ford f150 2wd.
I need to replace a wheel bearing/ rotor hub assembly on the Front right corner tomorrow morning. I got a bearing and a rotor with a bearing; and a new nut too.
How should i achieve the 300 ft/lbs the instructions call for?
My highest torque wrench tops out at 250 ft/lbs. I could tighten to 250 and add
a 1/2 turn or 250 and hang my body weight 225lbs @ 1.3'. I could run it on with an impact and call it good.
This is a unique situation. Normally i would buy another torque wrench with the right specs, but the HF only goes to 300 ftlbs.......a 50ft/lb gain for 79.00$.
A good 3/4 is a fortune(300$ plus); and not immediately available


leaning towards the torque then weight; open to any suggestions though!!

If 300 is recommended I do 300. If the torque wrench tops at 300 you probably won't get that. Any way you can rent one or borrow one? Call around and see if any of the local shops has a pro 3/4 as a loaner. Big money to buy one.

 

[BikerDad]

Perhaps one of the auto parts stores that does loaners will have a torque wrench that'll do the trick.

 

[Fcvapor05]

These have straight sealed roller bearings. Not tapered. So bearing preload is not an issue. As long as it is tight enough so that the two halves of the beariing do not come apart, then you are good. Bring it to 250 ft.lb. and give it another nudge with your big breaker bar.

Not exactly correct.

The spindle is acting like a large diameter bolt in this case, and that torque value is based on the preload needed to avoid the bearings moving under any loading condition. On the right front of a heavy truck making a right hand turn, the tire is trying to pull the bearings off of the spindle. There needs to be enough static tension on the spindle to counteract that force, and the number is quite large.

If I were OP I'd be calling every parts store around asking for a loaner. For a fastener like that, 300 ft-lbs means it needs to see 300 ft-lbs, period.

 

[allinon72]

Not exactly correct.

The spindle is acting like a large diameter bolt in this case, and that torque value is based on the preload needed to avoid the bearings moving under any loading condition. On the right front of a heavy truck making a right hand turn, the tire is trying to pull the bearings off of the spindle. There needs to be enough static tension on the spindle to counteract that force, and the number is quite large.

If I were OP I'd be calling every parts store around asking for a loaner. For a fastener like that, 300 ft-lbs means it needs to see 300 ft-lbs, period.

Ehhh I'm not saying you're wrong, but the spindle nut is also 'supposed' to be replaced everytime as well but no one ever does that either, and you don't see a bunch of TTY spindle nuts flying off everywhere.

 

[Fcvapor05]

Ehhh I'm not saying you're wrong, but the spindle nut is also 'supposed' to be replaced everytime as well but no one ever does that either, and you don't see a bunch of TTY spindle nuts flying off everywhere.

I'm not saying if he torques it to 250 ft-lbs he's going to die in a fireball.

In my opinion, if you want to take shortcuts maintaining your car, suspension and brakes are not the place to do it.

If you have access to fabrication equipment, you could make an extension for the torque wrench to increase its capacity. That's probably how I'd do it. You could also use a breaker bar and hang the correct amount of weight from the end.

 

[greasemonkey44]

I torqued it to 250 then hung off a breaker bar at the appropriate distance. For shiggles I called a friend who works at a local trucking co; he checked it with their Goliath wrench. Best we can tell( trucking co torque wrench hasn't been calibrated in years) I was at the right torque.
Like someone else mentioned; it's a dual roller wheel bearing like you find in a fwd car. Bearing preload is essential to a long and happy service interval.


Ps a note to anyone else doing them. Advance carries the bearing rotor hub combo for about 87$ customer cost and should come with a new nut as well!!! (Those damn nuts are crazy$$$$$)

 

[greasemonkey44]

Ps I'm thinking of building a torque adapter out of a t handle that is gather dust


Thanks everyone for your help. It was a slightly iffy situation and I appreciate the input.

 

[Farleyfan]

Reviving an older thread here but, I helped do a front brake job on a 08 f150 today,
They had the new spindle nut ($25) but I was wondering why cant you reuse the nut ?
just put red Loctite back on the threads and torque it down.
The only thing lost is the extra grip that the nylon provides.

 

[earlthegoat2]

A better question would be why Ford used this design to begin with.