Your new one looks longer than the old one.

You did purchase one for the correct side? The S2000 has different axle lengths from left to right.

Your tech should be mindful of how the new axle spindle nut is torqued. Not just how MUCH torque, but the fastening proedure as a whole.

You need enough tension in the joint to hold the bearing from shifting and failing. But not so much as to yield the axle stub.

Honda has a 220LB-FT torque process. I would use that for a street S2000.

FFT for anyone considering the "retorque procedure" involving a breaker bar for semi's, a long pipe, and rage.....

Nobody thus far has definitively said what material the axle stub is made from.

Remember, you want the axle stub to have enough tensile loading capacity left in it to handle the massive amount of tensile load from lateral wheel loading. And also enough to cope with the ~2500LB-FT torque from the engine/drivetrain.

Tighter is not better. If it were...Honda would have tightened the shit out of it.

My process below is more geared toward saving wheel bearings for tracked cars. Its not entirely safe.

wire brush the threads and splines of the axle until they are clean from any rust. Grease the splines before putting the axle stub into the hub

wire brush the hub fastening face until its shiny and free from any rust

buy a new nut OR wire brush the nut face and threads until they're shiny and free from any rust, and make sure the staking feature is clear of the threads.

Coat the threads of the axle and the face of the nut with EP grease. Copper anti-seize works really well.

All that is done to control fastener friction.

Torque to 250LB-FT, with the wrench moving at a constant pace before it clicks.

Stake the nut down.



Honda's retorque procedure is 220LB on dry threads. They're playing it safe. A worn out wheel bearing from low tension is safer than a broken axle stub and detached hub and following accident from over-tension.

My procedure assumes a yield strength of 45KSI and I came up with 250LB-FT with greased thread being at the very ragged edge of "safe". Its not OEM style safe. But...you should be good.

 

Is it okay to use grease on an axle nut thread?

Thanks!

 

See edited post above.

Grease on any thread simply reduces the thread friction. So it increases the effect of torque.

You get more tension out of a smaller amount of torque. Which is why you typically back off on torque if you grease a thread.

I'm proposing going to the edge of what's "safe". So...use my process with some caution.

Its honestly safer to just replace wheel bearings every now and then and use Honda's 220LB-FT dry thread setting. You'll probably never have issues with a street tire, street driven S2000.

 

Thank, for the clarification.

I was taught never to grease axles that need high torque. Clean and dry threads, yes.