SRAM 2012 GXP Crank is stuck!
04-26-13, 11:59 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
SRAM 2012 GXP Crank is stuck!
Hey all, I am in the process of "upgrading" my Fuji Team Issue from 9 speed Dura Ace to 10 speed SRAM Red. The crankset (and front derailleur) are new 2012 Red.
I installed the crankset into the SRAM Red bottom bracket as per the instructions, greasing the bits that needed to be greased and using a torque wrench to tighten the crank bolt to 420 in-lbs (50 N-m). The crankset fit just fine and spun smoothly (no side-to-side motion), however, I heard a bit of a rub each time the crank came around and so I thought I would take it back apart and see if I could see what was causing that..
I backed off the crank bolt until it hit the (self extraction) retaining ring, and then continued to back it off. It was tough to turn and made all sorts of sqwuaking noises. Finally, the retaining ring popped free! It seem the bolt threads and the ring threads have the same pitch and both are right-hand threaded, so when the bolt started turning against the retaining ring, the ring started to turn with it and turned itself out. And yes, there was grease between the ring and the bolt.
I used a 16mm nut and a 16mm wrench to reinstall the retaining ring, making sure the threads were clean and dry (I removed all grease from the threads on both the crank and the ring.) I tightened the ring down to probably 200 in-lbs or more, and tried again. Same thing. After about 1/2 turn of the bolt against the ring, the ring started to unthread again. I took the ring and the bolt out and checked to see if there were any burrs or any other damage to the two parts such that they wouldn't slide against each other. Both mating surfaces looked fine. That crankarm is just firmly stuck to the axle! (yes, lots of grease!)
So, last night I bought some blue loctite, cleaned everything off, and reinstalled the retaining ring with locktite. I'm letting it set for 20 hours and I'll again try to remove the crankset tonight. I really wish the ring had a couple of holes in it so that I could hold it in place while I'm turning the bolt!
Do any of you have any suggestions or ideas of anything else I could try if this doesn't work? I know that with stubborn square taper setups you could just loosen the crank bolt and go on a short ride to loosen things up. I'd do that but by bike is fully stripped right now.
I installed the crankset into the SRAM Red bottom bracket as per the instructions, greasing the bits that needed to be greased and using a torque wrench to tighten the crank bolt to 420 in-lbs (50 N-m). The crankset fit just fine and spun smoothly (no side-to-side motion), however, I heard a bit of a rub each time the crank came around and so I thought I would take it back apart and see if I could see what was causing that..
I backed off the crank bolt until it hit the (self extraction) retaining ring, and then continued to back it off. It was tough to turn and made all sorts of sqwuaking noises. Finally, the retaining ring popped free! It seem the bolt threads and the ring threads have the same pitch and both are right-hand threaded, so when the bolt started turning against the retaining ring, the ring started to turn with it and turned itself out. And yes, there was grease between the ring and the bolt.
I used a 16mm nut and a 16mm wrench to reinstall the retaining ring, making sure the threads were clean and dry (I removed all grease from the threads on both the crank and the ring.) I tightened the ring down to probably 200 in-lbs or more, and tried again. Same thing. After about 1/2 turn of the bolt against the ring, the ring started to unthread again. I took the ring and the bolt out and checked to see if there were any burrs or any other damage to the two parts such that they wouldn't slide against each other. Both mating surfaces looked fine. That crankarm is just firmly stuck to the axle! (yes, lots of grease!)
So, last night I bought some blue loctite, cleaned everything off, and reinstalled the retaining ring with locktite. I'm letting it set for 20 hours and I'll again try to remove the crankset tonight. I really wish the ring had a couple of holes in it so that I could hold it in place while I'm turning the bolt!
Do any of you have any suggestions or ideas of anything else I could try if this doesn't work? I know that with stubborn square taper setups you could just loosen the crank bolt and go on a short ride to loosen things up. I'd do that but by bike is fully stripped right now.
04-26-13, 04:12 PM
#2
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
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Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB
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Drip some oil inside the retaining ring to lessen the friction between it and the retaining bolt. Andy.
04-26-13, 07:26 PM
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
OK, the loctite didn't hold once I really started to bear down on the crankbolt, but, it did hold long enough for the crank to back off the spindle just a bit. I re-tightened the retaining ring and did it again. And again. Eventually, I was able to worry the thing apart.
I wiped it all down, cleaned the dried up loctite out of the threads, re-lubed everything and it went together much easier the 2nd time. I used loctite again on the retaining ring and hopefully next time it will come apart much easier.
I wiped it all down, cleaned the dried up loctite out of the threads, re-lubed everything and it went together much easier the 2nd time. I used loctite again on the retaining ring and hopefully next time it will come apart much easier.
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