NRRider

The instructions just say "apply grease to the bottom bracket before installing it".
I've been getting a clicking sound from that area and I assume it has something to do with the bottom bracket installation (which I did myself). I pulled the crank today and applied grease everywhere, including outside the bearing area and on the spindle. (Haven't ridden it since.) Then I just read something that said you shouldn't apply grease to the spindle area. Should I pull the crank again and remove all that grease and just grease the threads?
Also, I have a titanium frame and have been reading I should use teflon tape on the BB threads. Is that right?

MudPie

See the following link from Park Tools regarding bottom bracket installation:

https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=94

An excerpt reads:

"If the bottom bracket frame shell is aluminum or titanium, use anti-seize compound. Even if lockrings are steel, use anti-seize. Anti-seize is available at some bicycle stores, hardware stores, or automotive parts stores. Grease can be used in place of anti-seize, but anti-seize is more durable and provides better lubrication during tightening. Apply this only to the threads."

I've also read/heard about using teflon plumber's tape for titanium frames to prevent the bottom bracket from creaking.

NRRider

Thanks. I must have read the same thing or something similar when originally installing the BB, since I did use anti-sieze when I first put the bike together. Problem is occurring with the anti-sieze on there.

MudPie

I believe I read about the teflon plumber's tape for titanium frames on Bicycling Magazines Repair Book. I don't have it handy, so I cannot verify, but I'm pretty sure a couple of wraps of the tape will lubricate and quiet the creaks. Make sure you wrap the tape so when the cup is installed, it will "self tighten" the tape. Anyway, a roll of that stuff costs a buck and is pretty ubiquitous, so it is worth a try.

sivat

Other things to check:
Does the bb spin freely?
Are the chainring bolts tight?
Are the crank arms installed and tightened correctly?

Those sealed bottom brackets are pretty straight forward. Its more likely that the sound is coming from the cranks.

swifty

If it is an outboard type BB, make sure to ream and face the BB shell, to ensure that the BB bearings sit absolutely parallel to each other.

NRRider

Thanks guys. I'll try the teflon tape and tightening the chainring bolts this am, and the ream/facing also if that doesn't work. To the original question, where am I supposed to be greasing the BB? Is it just the threads and nothing else?

HillRider

Yes, the grease/anti-seize/teflon tape are only applied to the threads. I suppose a light film of grease on the crank spindle might be useful too.

One way to determine if your bottom bracket shell is significantly out of true is to notice how the spindle goes in as you feed it through the cups. If it slides through the drive side cup and lines up precisely with the opening in the non-drive-side cup, then the bb shell is true and facing isn't needed. If the spindle has to be forced into alignment with the nds cup, your bb shell needs to be faced and trued.

NRRider

Thanks. Is the fact that I put grease all over the BB and crank, including on the rubber rings, a problem, or can I just wipe off with a rag and be OK? I assume acetone on rubber is not a good idea.
By the way, the spindle enters the non-drive side cup with no effort at all, which I guess means facing isn't needed.

HillRider

Just wipe off the excess. The grease won't do any harm but it is a dirt and crud catcher.

Proximo

I grease the BB threads, the inside of the bearing housings where the spindle will contact them and the face of the bearing housings where the crank arms can rub. No problems so far.

fmw

Just grease the threads. What caused the clicking, however, was a loose bottom bracket. It needs to be very tight. Use a torque wrench or tighten it with the tool as tight as you can get by hand.

NRRider

Resurrecting this thread since I'm having a lot of noise coming from the BB area (Ultegra external BB).
Here is a quote from Mark Hickey on this subject that I found in another thread (https://groups.google.com/group/rec.b...350e00c345ac):

"Teflon tape is basically a VERY thin sheet of lubricant. It takes up
very, very little room, and I recommend it highly for the installation
of bottom brackets.

1) Thoroughly clean everything (BB shell, cups, etc.)
2) Wrap teflon tape around the BB cups (making sure that it's in the
direction that won't "unwind" when you screw in the cups).
3) Slather the inside of the frame's BB shell with grease
4) Slather the inside of the BB cups (in the case of a cartridge BB)
with grease, and put some on the outside of the cartridge where
they'll be inserted into the cups (this interface is one of the
biggest potential "noise generators" on a bike)
5) Slather some grease on top of the teflon tape
6) Install, torquing to spec (pretty darn tight if you don't have a
torque wrench).


This will keep your BB quiet and happy for a long, long time."

I used teflon tape (lots of it, like 3-4 layers) on the BB. Worked fine for 20 miles or so and then started clicking. I tightened it pretty tight (didn't use a torque wrench). I could have tightened it a tad more but was worried about stripping the BB or the cups (more likely the cups).

Any new thinking on the advice of Mark Hickey above? I didn't use any grease when I installed the cups, just teflon tape. Any other ideas? I assume if I use all my effort I can strip the BB cups, and obviously don't want to do that.