Alright, so I had the clicking in the rear axle months back, the nut wasn't torqued enough. AP2 2005 with 130k miles. The nut was removed, greased and retorqued to correct specs, but the sound has eventually come back. I don't notice any vibrations or anything signifying the bearing is bad.
The click is mostly when I start driving, from the rear axle. Single click. I can also get it to happen if I downshift and let off the clutch quickly. Again only a single click when hopping into the new gear.

Honda said if it came back I might have to replace the axle. I was also reading about replacing the inner CV joints possibly fixing this, but I can't tell if that is the same problem I am facing.

Any suggestions? Has anyone done the rear axle "TSB" and had it come back? Could my bearings/hub be ****ed without any other symptoms apart from the click?

 

The axle bucket swap is fairly straight forward- I’m sure Honda would love to sell you a new axle.
I’ll let someone smarter chime in about the hub.

darcy

 

The click is caused by insufficient tension on the axle stub, in most cases. More torque on the nut = more tension.

What procedure was done to tighten yours?

IIRC, the dealer procedure is 220LB with greased nut face...but with dry thread. I really doubt this will solve your issue, though.

However, some people over-do it and break the stub of the axle. Unfortunately, it seems that the line between stopping the click and breaking the axle stub is fairly thin.

So...I would suggest starting at 250-275LB with EP greased threads and nut face. This, IMO, should resolve the issue without putting the stub in jeopardy of breaking.

Grease + torque to 250LB *should* resolve the issue. But if it doesn't, one would need to loosen the nut and then re-torque to an incrementally higher torque until the click stops.


There are other methods that involve clocking the nut ~60 degrees after tightening to 180LB. But without a trained hand, you run a huge risk of breaking the axle stub this way. This is not repeatable, as the 60 degrees is an APPROXIMATION based on an "average" hub/thread condition.

So...try the greased torque method first. Its going to be difficult, but keep the torque wrench moving as you torque the nut. It doesn't work if you pause. The wrench needs to be moving constantly as it clicks.

 

The dealership tightened it during a 125k mile service at my request. They removed the nut and greased/retorqued. I know you can't just attempt to torque it further due to friction on the nut.
The only service tech they let touch my car has his own s2000 so I generally trust him with my maintenance.

It makes sense that it just wasn't tightened enough, and maybe only to 220 vs 250-270. Would that also explain why it went away for a bit and then came back?

I'll either have to get the tools to do it myself, or tell him directly to grease the threads and torque to 270.
Any idea why they would mention replacing the axle? Would that even fix it? Also this dealership knows I don't buy parts from them. I order from majestic and just get them to do labor. So it's not like they would profit off of anything but labor.

 

They're telling you to buy parts because usually describing a clicking axle would tell someone that the axle itself is bad.

In this case, however, the SINGLE click would indicate just an issue with under-tension in the axle to hub joint. Honda has a TSB for this condition. I'm sure the TSB states to just replace the axle if the first attempt at re-torque doesn't resolve the issue.

A torque wrench that goes up to 300LB is probably at least $80ish. The 3/4" socket is like $20.

So for ~$100, assuming you already have a $5 tub/tube of EP grease, you've got yourself a setup to do it.

You can buy a 3/4" breaker bar for some extra $$ to tighten by feel, in case 300Lb doesn't do it.

OR they sell big, massive 600LB torque wrenches on amazon for ~$175 too.

Precision isn't really the key here...so I'm suggesting cheap torque wrenches.

 

Thanks. I think I can have them take care of it without charge. They've already 'fixed' it before. If they want to charge me I'll buy the torque wrench and 3/4" socket and attempt it myself.

From doing previous research when it first was happening, the issue is that it wasnt an official TSB. it was just in a honda news bulletin. And even that information wasn't correct. It was an s2ki 'TSB' that really corrected the issue.

> A Service News Article released by Honda in 2001 lists a revised torque spec of 220 lb-ft. Unfortunately, 220 lb-ft is still insufficient. The inner bearing races need to remain pressed tight on the hub. If axle nut torque is not correct, the inner race will continually shift on the hub, destroying it. Then the bearing destroys itself. Billman250 suggests that ALL S2000s have this procedure performed regardless of any current issues as a preventative measure.

https://www.s2ki.com/2012/09/21/reto...ow-to-and-why/

 

^Right. While I agree; that procedure requires a trained hand to know when to stop tightening.

60 degrees is a guideline. The user needs to feel the correct amount of feedback from the nut to determine when its tight enough.

Using the 60 degree method as a hard rule can result in broken axle stubs.

Which tells me that even people with a trained hand are putting enough tension on the stub to get close to its yield point.

I doubt a dealer tech is going to agree to doing this method. And they certainly won't take responsibility for any broken stubs because of this.

I don't know what the axle stub is made from. It may be some sort of steel like the inner stub...or it may just be part of the iron casting of the outer CV.

But, IMO, 250-275LB with greased threads/faces is a "safe" place to start.

 

From what I can find the stubs are steel.
Exactly. Even Honda isn't doing it correctly.

I want to show them that just to let them know that whatever guidelines they had in place at Honda might not be entirely correct if they dont service a lot of S2000s. I think this tech has an early AP1 he might not drive so often. Maybe hasn't encountered this.

But I will tell them 270lb, take it for a spin, see if it's gone, etc. It's super easy to replicate.

It's a full-time job hunting down all the noises and rattles in this car lol.