FEDEXdoobie

I recently purchased a used cup and cone bottom bracket and when I installed it with new bearings it made a clicking noise when I rotated the cranks. This was my first time working on a loose ball bb and after 45 mins of trying to get rid of the sound I gave up. I degreased it, repacked with alot of grease, and adjusted the cups accordingly but its still making noise. It sounds like a clicking noise, and I have no idea whats making that sound. I put new bearings in and also checked for pitting however I didnt use the bearing retainer after repacking the bearings, so could this have anything to do with it? Any advice on how to get rid of this noise would be greatly appreciated

DOS

Did you use same number of bearings as were in the retainer? If so, could be that the clicking is bearings bouncing around because without retainer, there is more space in the cup. Add a bearing or two to take up additional space made available by removing the retainer. Or put the bearing back in the retainer.

operator

Don't bother with the retainer. Re-pack it loose, (full - 1) amount of bearings. Spin the cranks without the chain attached. Consider that the clicking noise can be coming from say the pedals. The condition of the bb cups will be apparent with a ballpoint pen trace. Make sure the cranks are attached with the proper torque.

FEDEXdoobie

I did all the things you said but when I repacked the bearings I put in 11 and I thought that was how many you're supposed to put in. Should I only put in 10? Also there are no pedals or anything on the cranks right now thats why I'm so puzzled.

Bill Kapaun

I use 11 as do many others on the forum.

Does the click seem to be in the same crank position every revolution? Every other revolution or ???

Did you put the spindle in with the same orientation? Some spindles have an offset, so there's a possibility if you mounted the short side to the chain rings, you might have a chain ring rubbing.

Do you have a kickstand not fully retracted?

Panthers007

Make sure you're placing the loose bb's in the races where they will be riding when the bottom-bracket is together. The usual rule of thumb is there should be enough space for one-half more bb in the cup.

davidad

The bearing should be adjusted so that there is a slight amount of drag called preload. If the bearings are new and the cups and axle are not pitted don't worry about a slight amount of noise. With the preload you may feel that it's "lumpy". Don't worry it's the nature of the beast.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/bb-adjust.html