[martinman]

Now, by ticking noise is on both sides!! Not just the drive side! 3 hours I've been goofing around with this...

Anyway, I torqued everything down to proper spec (according to my $20 POS craftsman wrench), applied ample amounts of grease, and still, I have ticking. I even tried to overtorque the crank arm bolts a little.. Still no change.

I noticed that on the BB shell, there was some rust. Would this be causing my problems? Maybe a flex in the BB shell?

Forgot to mention, that it's an '01 XT drivetrain - the splined crank arms (even greased the heck out of those!).

After reading some of the archive, I noticed that teflon tape is popular... Maybe I'll give this a try? I never needed to tape before. If I do go this route, I assume I apply grease after the tape? It would be a mess any other way.

Oh.. Forgot to mention. Could this ticking noise be coming from the spider? Because the XT's aren't detachable, I just assume it's on there for good and working? Maybe a bad assumption?

Sorry for rambling... 3+ hours of bike fixin' can make one very grumpy.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Speedub.Nate]

I use two wraps of the tape on the BB cartridge threads, then smear a fingerful of anti-sieze lubricant on the insides of each side of the shell threads. Little less messy this way.

Yes, the pressed on spider is suspect. Some of the early XT's had an issue. Shimano warrantied some, and seemed to correct the problem in later production. One solution posted on these boards was to "fill the gap", I believe with Loctite. Unfortunately, the old archives are no longer searchable, and the specifics are buried there.

I assume you double checked the chainring bolts, and none of those are loose?

Good job in double checking torque. At least you can take that possibility off your list of suspects.

 

[martinman]

I assume you double checked the chainring bolts, and none of those are loose?

Yep. Checked those too. Even stripped out 4 bolts!! The creaking seems to be worse however, since I installed a 34T salsa chainring... My wife put her hand on the spider, and when I stepped on the pedals to make the drive train creak, she could feel it. Don't know if this really means anything - I assume BB problems would also manifest itself in this way?

mm

 

[bulC]

what frame?

some frames, like Fishers for sure, have a step-down sleeve tack welded or just pressed into the top section of the seat tube to size it down for a common seatpost size. When pedaling, the insert can flex against the inside of the seat tube and make creaking or clicking noises. I've fixed this on several folks' bikes by inverting the frame in the stand, then spraying lube up past the end of the insert, which is only about 4 inches long, so it dribbles back down in between the insert and the seat tube.
Sometimes its hard to tell where a noise is coming from while pedaling.
If it creaks with every pedal downstroke, L and R, another possibility is the headset cups creaking in the frame.

 

[logbiter]

yeah, headset cups or even stem/spacers

I've had clicking/creaking coming from headset spacers as well... I thought you'd isolated this to the BB area though, if I remember correctly.
hmm, also have you checked that the rail interface with the seat shell? rare, but can have some problems there as well.

some frames, like Fishers for sure, have a step-down sleeve tack welded or just pressed into the top section of the seat tube to size it down for a common seatpost size. When pedaling, the insert can flex against the inside of the seat tube and make creaking or clicking noises. I've fixed this on several folks' bikes by inverting the frame in the stand, then spraying lube up past the end of the insert, which is only about 4 inches long, so it dribbles back down in between the insert and the seat tube.
Sometimes its hard to tell where a noise is coming from while pedaling.
If it creaks with every pedal downstroke, L and R, another possibility is the headset cups creaking in the frame.

 

[martinman]

Frame = Santa Cruz Chameleon. It's very stiff and really doesn't flex.

I never had this creaking/ticking before. Just started happening when I converted to singlespeed. It first started as ticking on high torque climbs. The noise hasn't really changed, just got to a point where it was annoying. So I decided to do the maintenance...

I ended up taking it to my LBS... I don't know whatelse to do. I'm weary of doing the teflon tape thing - mainly concerned about xthreading and removing it if necessary. Also, my crank bolts have gotten very chewed up over the past few years. This one is definetly for the pros.

Thanks for the help!
mm

 

[kayac]

exactly the same problem a few days ago wtih my Jekyll. I tryed all the ways and the creak still was there. The problem was the BB. Bought a new one, greased, installed with proper torque and...the annoying sound was gone. The cranks are 2003 XT.
Hope it helps.

kayac

 

[Roy]

Frame = Santa Cruz Chameleon. It's very stiff and really doesn't flex.

I never had this creaking/ticking before. Just started happening when I converted to singlespeed. It first started as ticking on high torque climbs. The noise hasn't really changed, just got to a point where it was annoying. So I decided to do the maintenance...

I ended up taking it to my LBS... I don't know whatelse to do. I'm weary of doing the teflon tape thing - mainly concerned about xthreading and removing it if necessary. Also, my crank bolts have gotten very chewed up over the past few years. This one is definetly for the pros.

Thanks for the help!
mm

How old is the BB? Ticking from pedal torque has been a bad BB in my experience (bearings gone bad) and was fixed by getting a new one.

One other possibility outside of the drive train - the bushings on your rear shock. Dirt gets in there and creaking occurs for even the most minute of suspension action - ie. pedal bob. Unbolt the shock, pop out the bushing eyelets, put a light grease on them, and then put them back. I had this once and spent hours with the drivetrain trying to fix it like you, until I found it in the shock bushings.

 

[Mr.Whitney]

I have a Trek Fuel that would creak because the rear shock mount bolts didn't have enough grease on them. Also, I had major problems with Time pedals and my shoes making a clicking noise.

 

[martinman]

How old is the BB? Ticking from pedal torque has been a bad BB in my experience (bearings gone bad) and was fixed by getting a new one.

Hmm... Interesting. The BB is about 3 years old. It's funny you mention this. When I got everything back together, I spun the crank around w/o the chain. I remember thinking that it wasn't as smooth as I remember it. Before, I would spin it, and would go for days... There isn't any audible noise when i spun them (grinding, sandy sound, etc), just not a frictionless spin.

 

[markom]

Now, by ticking noise is on both sides!! Not just the drive side! 3 hours I've been goofing around with this...

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