Billman250

The hub will be the first to go.

The CV axle is likely fine.

hatch4raceb16

Well shouldnt the bearing be going, and that is waht is going to destroy the hub?

koala

Is this an issue present on all model years? I thought I remember reading that it seemed to be an issue only on the first few model years, but I could be mistaken.

xviper

Not sure the date of the dealer notification of this, but I would like to think that once that was issued and sent out, all cars at the assembly line got the new torque on those nuts. I think it was well before you car was made.

bills2k_2001

Why not make this issue a sticky? Like I mentioned in a earlier post, this seems to be an ongoing issue that many of us have. If this Axle Nut problem is listed in a sticky, then there won't be as many posts about it, and the moderators won't get mad whenever questions about this come up. I appreciate all the information everyone has given. Thanks

Race Miata

If you're very mechanically-inclined you should know this already but I guess it doesn't hurt to mention it here. Was there any resistance on threading/unthreading the nut after it was broken loose? If so, the thread might have been damaged and your set torque will trigger prematurely. Also, if you use those click-type torque wrench, make sure you torque the nut down in one shot. Prepare to be able to "sweep" the torque wrench more than enough angle to click. When you run out of room to "sweep" the torque wrench and ease up on it, that's when it clicks prematurely.

On another note, are you sure your suspension arm cam bolts aren't loosened just enough to generate those clicks?

Billman250

READ the thread I posted, it's all there.

hatch4raceb16

I read the entire thing twice.

I want to fix this so that it wont happen again. Would a new hub/bearing/and axle nut do the job? What torque should I tighten it to? 220? I just dont want to have to fix this again. I cannot believe that on a car that has 27k miles on it something like this would happen. It definately pisses me off. I am somewhat skeptical that the difference of 40 more ft/lbs on the nut would destroy the hub and bearing inside. I mean at 181 ft/lbs, why would the nut come loose?

xviper

The nut doesn't come loose. It's "staked", remember?
Any axle must be held into the hub with a prescribed amount of tightness to allow for just the correct amount of snugness while not impeding rotational movement. 40 lb/ft is almost 25% difference. Not enough torque and you get too much movement of the axle inside the hub and bearing. Too much and you can get other problems. Obviously, Honda determined that 181 was not enough based on what they were seeing coming back to their dealers.

Billman250

It's not loose. it's just not tight enough to keep the inner bearing races from shifting. The axle shaft, inner bearing races, and nut must remain clamped together with no shifting. Once the inner races start shifting, they take the press fit away from the hub. once that happens, the race will spin on the hub, wearing it out.

If it's torqued to 220 after the rebuild, you'll be fine. I would check it again at 10K, then call it good for life.