Bottom Bracket threading sloppy.
 

I am working on a 74 Raleigh International i just acquired. It had a a Shimano fixed cup BB in it that was loose , with both cups beingly only barely tight. The threads appear undamaged but the cups or a sealed BB can rock side to side slightly until seated against BB face. Reading other threads it seems Teflon tape will take up slack in the thread interface. My question is , if I use teflon tape should I use grease, or Anti-seize or install dry?

I could be wrong, but my intuition tells me to use it dry.. I've never used teflon on bike part threading though, only for plumbing and irrigation but in those experiences it works as a water tight seal between the threads. I also seem to recall that being roughly towards the beginning of the really sloppily made Raleigh's.. although that surprises me on an International.

I am not sure on how the threading "looseness" was initiated, from the factory or from running the BB with the fixed cup too loose. It does not appear terminal , I just want it as tight as possible when I torque the new sealed BB.

I've had a few Raleigh's from that era with the same problem, but in my cases the threading was DOA, luckily there's such things as threadless BB's, fortunately for you it doesn't sound like you need that solution.

I use Teflon tape along with plenty of grease when I install bottom brackets.

i've read on this forum a few years ago that an English BB in a Swiss BB shell will be loose. i think some internationals used nervex lugs. and nervex offered a swiss bb shell. sooo....

What bb threading does your Raleigh have? If it's the old Raleigh proprietary 1.37x26tpi it may have been damaged if someone forced in a standard English threaded bb (1.37x24tpi). "Raleigh International" may mean it has English threading, does it?

Otherwise, never, ever install a bottom bracket dry. Grease at the minimum and anti-seize works well but I'm partial to Teflon tape. About two layers gives a great water and dirt seal and keeps the threads clean, snug and quiet. Davet's tape + grease approach may be belt-and-suspenders but certainly works.

I would assume it is English threading, being a English BB came out and threads appear undamaged, just loose. In your Teflon tape installs am I understanding you to say you do not use grease?

Consider buying a BB that Bypasses the threading entirely .. Grand Cru Threadless Bottom Bracket - Bottom Brackets - Components

Maybe had the [in]famous but rarely seen outside of the Campy catalogue 0.5mm oversize cups at an earlier time.......... Probably not. I'd just try out the Teflon tape - it comes in varying thicknesses. I'd start with the thick and see how it goes. It's a cheap experiment.

I don't think I am there yet, I see another solution is available is Italian threading and BB although the internal threaded BB seems the simplistic fix if tape does not hold tight .

...I think that you can get away with the teflon tape for a while, but because of the constant and
unrelenting high torque in this area, it will eventually fail in use....probably depends on how much
of a void your trying to fill with it. In this application, I'd use it dry.

There is a recommended Loctite product I learned of in another thread that is used for the Cannondale
BB 30 pressed in bearing bottom brackets to stop the annoying squeaking problems a lot of people encounter.

If you check the Loctite site, it will be listed as a bedding compound, which is formulated to take compressive
forces and maintain dimensional stability in the void, you want the lowest strength one they make, that is
recommended for parts that require periodic disassembly, the others will simply weld the cups in place. And
since I've not used it for this purpose, even that might be too strong.

Regular old Loctite is pretty good in terms of filling thread voids of this nature, and can be taken apart again
without incident. I've personally not seen a DB 531 frame on the level of the International that was threaded
other than standard, but I've only worked on maybe a dozen of them.

...We just bought a set of Italian threading taps for BB for the co-op here with this sort of thing in mind.
You also need a reamer to take out some material to the appropriate diameter or it becomes a ruinous job.

I've never had Teflon tape fail and I've gone over 10,000 miles between bb inspections. However, as you mentioned, it depends on the gap you are trying to fill. Mine are all good bottom brackets installed in bb shells in perfect condition so the fit was first class.

A gap-filling version of Locktite should make a slightly sloppy fit work a lot better but your warning about using the proper grade is very important. A high strength formula will require a torch to disassemble.

I wasn't sure about the OP's threading except the "International" said it could be English. I've no personal experience with them. I believe Nottingham Raleighs were still using Raleigh's own threading in '74.

...I've actually rethought my advice, in light of the intention to use a sealed unit BB as the replacement, and I think I would just use the tape in one of the thicker sizes.
There is not nearly the same stress on a cup holding in a sealed unit, where the actual bearing surfaces are in the cartridge, not the cups.,Some of the installation cups
are made of plastic, so how much stress can there be on them ?

So forget what I said about bedding compounds in this instance, it is way overkill, and will probably lead to damage down the road.

Yes. Bicycle Research used to sell a reamer/Italian tap set for exactly this purpose:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/br-bb-reamer.jpg

Thanks Everyone for your insight!