I purchased a high millage s2000 recently but wasn't too concerned because i know they are incredibly reliable and it came with service records since new. it flew through inspection fine but less than 500 miles later i get an clicking noise that comes and goes. it progressivly got worse until now it is so loud that i cant drive it anymore. nothing appears to be damage, bent , or loose. there is no play in the wheel at all so it leads me to think that it is not a wheel bearing, the axle nut is proppery torqued. the only real problem i see is that the pass side (where the noise is coming from) cv axle has some play when you slide it side to side, in and out of the rear diff. this makes a similar clunking noise but i cannot replicate it by spinning the wheel by hand, only by tugging on the cv. the boots on the cv appear to be fine. does this side to side play mean thhat the axle is shot?

 

i had the exact same problem and could not figure it out. i took it to a shop and they said they unmounted the wheels, rotor, checked for loose suspension parts, bearings,cv's. evrything turned out to be fine. so they cleaned up alot of rust and tightened everything back to spec. and wala. clicking stopped.

 

so i took in in the shop today. they told me they couldn't find anything wrong either and to just deal with it.

as far as cleaning up rust and tightening to spec. there is no rust or corrosion,and i checked the proper torque, everything is fine. but still this noises continues

 

Do you still have your spare tire in the trunk? One night I was driving home and I heard a nasty clicking noise when I made right turns. It turns out my spare tire was loose and the rim of the tire was clicking against the mount.

 

make sure to check the rear ball joints very carefully. i have seen a number of s2000's with loose rear lower ball joints.

my car was doing that, i greased the splines on the rear axle and it stopped, this was after i made sure the axle nuts were torqued to spec.

 

thanks for the input guys. the spare tire never even crossed my mind. i know the ball joints are in good shape but i will try greasing those axle splines and get back to here with results

 

ok so it turned out to be that spare tire rattling around. i feel kinda dumb now but hopefully this helps out someone else. thanks again francesco

 

did you buy that 04 AP2 in berlina black for 9995 from that used dealer in jersey?

 

dont worry buddy, same **** happened to me... be lucky thats all it was right...

 

I took my spare tire out. weight savings....

 

i did too, but thank god i put it back in... i got a flat like 2 weeks later...

 

im gonna ditch mine spare today too. spoon calipers wont clear the front and i have a tow truck hook up. 50 bucks any where in my town.

 

Can of fix o flat and pray to not get a blow out...isn't that how the CR'a do it anyways?

 

^^^ same

 

no, but i believe i may have bidded on that car a few times on ebay


anyway UPDATE! noise came back after a week. the spare is still snug. don't know what to do. thinking about taking it to a different shop. i can't find anything visually wrong it seems like every time i let this car sit for a few days it happens and then goes away after a day or two of driving

 

^^ sounds like brakes? maybe? very weird..

 

Might be related to this TSB:

Suspension - Creak/Grunt From Rear At Low Speeds
SOURCE: Honda Service News
TITLE: Creak of Grunt From Rear of Vehicle at Low Speeds
APPLIES TO: 2000-2005 S2000
SERVICE TIP:
Getting complaints from owners of '00-05 S2000s of a creak or grunt from the rear of the vehicle when cornering or driving at low speeds? The problem could be there's movement between the outboard joint and the wheel hub. To get rid of this noise, you need to clean and lube the mating surfaces of the outboard joint and the wheel hub.
Here's how:

Notes
1. Remove the wheel nuts and the rear wheel.
2. Lift up the stake on the spindle nut, and remove the nut.
3. Remove the cotter pin from the lower arm ball joint castle nut, and remove the nut
4. Separate the ball joint from the lower arm.
5. Pull the knuckle outward, and use a plastic hammer to remove the outboard joint from the wheel hub.
6. Clean the mating surfaces of the outboard joint and the wheel hub.
7. Apply a thin layer of DC111 silicone compound to the face of the outboard joint. This compound reduces the friction between the joint and the wheel hub so the noise won't happen again.
8. Pull the knuckle outward, and install the outboard joint to the wheel hub.
9. Reconnect the ball joint to the lower arm. Torque the castle nut to 69 N-m (51 lb-ft) , then tighten it only far enough to align the slot with the ball joint pin hole. Install a new cotter pin.
10. Clean the wheel hub and the spindle threads.
11. Lubricate the seating surface of a new spindle nut with engine oil, then install the nut. Torque the nut to 245 N-m (181 lb-ft) . Use a drift to stake the spindle nut shoulder against the driveshaft.
12. Reinstall the rear wheel. Torque the wheel nuts to 108 N-m (80 lb-ft) .
13. Repeat steps 1 thru 12 for the other outboard joint.

 

thanks for the input, i will tear this thing apart this weekend and post back the results