WarrenW

What is the size (in mm) of the rear axle nuts? Don't know if AP1 and AP2 are different, but mine is an AP1. I think there's a torque setting in the book but I don't have it here right now. If someone wants to remind me, I appreciate it.

s2knoob89

Axle nut is 36mm and i think you torque it to 220 ft-lbs

AngryTurtle

big and a lot

TubeDriver

Put a little grease on the inside seating surface (NOT threads) as well.

WarrenW

Thanks. I picked up the 36mm socket. Don't have a 250lb/ft torque wrench so I used the 150lb/ft then a 3/4 drive breaker bar and I still couldn't get them any tighter than they are.

This makes me wonder if the CV joints are starting to go. There's a clunking noise, almost like the rear sway bar end links are busted but they look fine. Then I remember about the axle nut issue so I thought it may be that. Not sure what it is.

DER MotorSports

Actual torque spec is 245Nm - not about; why are people so willing to give misinformation? 245Nm = 181LbFt, a far far cry from 220 and enough to strip your axle - also doing maintenance to the standards of using a giant breaker bar to obtain a torque spec on such a critical part will lead to a disasterous failure at some point.

We had a customer constantly breaking his M3 which is curious because they are notoriously reliable mechanically. When doing a simple cornerweighting we noticed that all the fastners were way overtorqued, some to stretch failure. So we questioned him as to whom was doing his maintenance; he replied he was and that his "...policy is to overtorque.". Overtorquing is a stupid policy that causes fastener failures, sometimes catastrophic; torque to spec and spec only.

CKit

Put yourself in that category, DER.

There was a TSB that updated the axle torque specs from the initial 181 to 220ft*lbs. Because the nuts worked loose and caused the common starting "thunk."

Sounds different than what Warren is experiencing, though.

CKit

And BTW, they updated the torque specs on the spark plugs as well.

DER MotorSports

Just going by what I read in my factory manuals (both OEM: one printed in 2003, the other March 2005) - thank you for the TSB update as I didn't get it. We work on BMW and Porsche track and race cars, the S2000 is my personal car. My torque wrenches are all CDI Electronic CompuTorqII as used in the defence industry, we don't use breaker bars to guess things.

CKit

That's why s2ki.com is such a great site. You have people who are "experts" in S2000s... probably more so than the local Honda Tech or the outdated factory manuals.

Maybe just a little more patience on your part before you go accusing people of spreading "misinformation." They might just be better informed. That's all.