[Smurf Hunter]

I've got a new Sugino XD crankset and a fairly new (6 month old) Shimano UN-54 cartridge bottom bracket. I've maybe ridden 100 miles, and have been trying to isolate and eliminate a "clicking" noise.

I had a noise from my left crank arm originally. I removed, wiped down the spindle taper and put loctite on the threads and torqued it pretty well. That side seems fine. I did the same thing to the right, but still have a slight click when the arm is at 1:00.

I'm hesitant to over torque and strip the taper or worse my new crank arm, so should probably purchase an 8mm hex socket.

Anyhow, back to my subject line - should I be putting bicycle grease on my crank bolt threads instead of loctite? That's what parktool recommends:

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=103

Thanks

 

[Buck268]

Thats what I do at the shop (unless its an unusual situation). Always works great.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

You're putting loctite on the crankbolt threads? I'd just use grease personally. Are you not even checking the bb cups? Check your cups, too and that's where you want some threadlocker (blue, like Loctite 242) on reassembly. Torquing to spec is what you should do, rather than "pretty well" whatever that means. More likely your cups are a source of creaking than the tapers or crankbolts, but then I think of your "pretty well" thing again.

 

[Mike T.]

In a creaky cup primer I saw a few days ago from Park Tool they were using plumbers' teflon tape to cure cup creaks.

 

[Smurf Hunter]

On my Shimano UN-54, the non-drive side has that plastic cup, and the drive side is one piece with the BB cartridge unit. I did use a torque wrench for installing the BB. I've actually removed it and checked the torque at 35lb.ft. and those threads are greased.

Even on new bikes where I've removed BB cups (cartridge as well as external outboard), I either find white lithium looking grease or some other water proof grease.

I'd consider loctite on the BB cup threads, but I potentially need to get in their for semi-annual cleaning. This is my all weather bike and it gets filthy in between late fall and early spring.

 

[DeeEight]

Square taper cranks are always more likely to creak from installing the crank arms without lube on the tapers (which leaves to galling and fretting), than from any of the threads in the cups and crank bolts. .

 

[Buck268]

I'd never use a threadlocker on the cups, but teflon tape and graphite antiseize works a charm

 

[rePhil]

I use LocTite 242 on clean bolts. Grease on the cups, unless it's a Ti frame,in that case it's antiseize. Be sure to put some grease on the inside of the cups too.

I clean the tapers and cranks with brakeclean to get them very dry, clean and grease free.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

On my Shimano UN-54, the non-drive side has that plastic cup, and the drive side is one piece with the BB cartridge unit. I did use a torque wrench for installing the BB. I've actually removed it and checked the torque at 35lb.ft. and those threads are greased.

Even on new bikes where I've removed BB cups (cartridge as well as external outboard), I either find white lithium looking grease or some other water proof grease.

I'd consider loctite on the BB cup threads, but I potentially need to get in their for semi-annual cleaning. This is my all weather bike and it gets filthy in between late fall and early spring.

Yeah, no threadlocker on the plastic cups (although it seems to me Shimano did apply something to those threads on the plastic cups, some special compound that worked with plastic? I also remember Shimano used to apply a threadlocker on their cups, always wondered if it was engineered to work with grease, thinking it might be the white stuff you're referring to as well).

Sorry to think you weren't checking specific torque, but it wasn't apparent from your post. I've had most creaking on my square tapers come from bb shell contamination rather than the taper interface (grease or no grease). I haven't liked the quality of anything about the UN5x series bb FWIW. BTW I wasn't talking about anything but a threadlocker like Loctite 242...

I assume you've made sure you don't have a pedal bearing making the noise?

 

[Zoke2]

I had a BB click that i couldnt locate or silence for the longest time on my last square taper BB. It turns out it wasnt the BB at all, it was the drive side crank arm slowly cracking a little at a time so pull the crank arms off and clean them and look for any cracks.

 

[Smurf Hunter]

I had a BB click that i couldnt locate or silence for the longest time on my last square taper BB. It turns out it wasnt the BB at all, it was the drive side crank arm slowly cracking a little at a time so pull the crank arms off and clean them and look for any cracks.

That was actually the case with my previous crankset on this bike. You can imagine my frustration when I again heard clicking - though this time from the opposite side.

I've found that I can some times isolate a crank arm noise by unclipping a foot while riding and ratcheting with the remaining cleated in foot.

 

[i like downhill]

Did you fix this problem yet? If it is a clicking noise and not a creaking noise, its possible that you might have a slightly bent chanring tooth, especially if it always happens in the same spot. Check it out, maybe its not, but just an idea.

 

[Smurf Hunter]

Did you fix this problem yet? If it is a clicking noise and not a creaking noise, its possible that you might have a slightly bent chanring tooth, especially if it always happens in the same spot. Check it out, maybe its not, but just an idea.

It is clicking, but doubt it's chain ring teeth. It's a brand new crankset with just over 100 miles on it. I got an 8mm hex bit socket and put it on my budget torque wrench. Since my wrench is the wiggly needle type, I had to eyeball 25-30lb.ft. I rode it to work this morning to test it out. Seems I significantly reduced the click, but there's a tiny bit remaining. Possibly another person wouldn't notice, but I know to listen for it.

I'll again check my torque on the drive side and see if the spec sheet calls for a few more lb.ft. The new crankset has 175mm arms, (was 170mm), so that little extra leverage might require things be correctly tightened.

 

[MikeDee]

It is clicking, but doubt it's chain ring teeth. It's a brand new crankset with just over 100 miles on it. I got an 8mm hex bit socket and put it on my budget torque wrench. Since my wrench is the wiggly needle type, I had to eyeball 25-30lb.ft. I rode it to work this morning to test it out. Seems I significantly reduced the click, but there's a tiny bit remaining. Possibly another person wouldn't notice, but I know to listen for it.

I'll again check my torque on the drive side and see if the spec sheet calls for a few more lb.ft. The new crankset has 175mm arms, (was 170mm), so that little extra leverage might require things be correctly tightened.

I had a click and it was in the the pedal threads. Remove your pedals and apply antiseize compound to the threads and the face that contacts the crank arm. Antiseize lasts a lot longer than grease and I use it on the BB threads as well.