I noticed last week that I had some creaking coming from my bottom bracket. There was a small amount of play in my drive side crank arm. I removed the crank arm, re-torqued the bottom bracket and reinstalled the crank. Everything was nice and stiff and quiet. Yesterday, same creak and play. I took off the crank again and the bottom bracket was still nice and snug. Is it likely that the spindle on the drive side is going bad? Or should I try some loc-tite before I start ordering new parts?

Which BB? Which cranks? What frame? How old is everything? Fixed gear or single speed? Pictures?

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It's a 2011 Masi frame. FSA square taper BB. Stock Brev crank. Fixed. Probably has 2000-2500 miles on it. Not sure how helpful a picture is in this case.

Are you saying the crank arm came loose again?

Are torquing it to spec?

If the play is at the crank arm / spindle interface, it's likely the arm flats have rounded and will no longer stay tight. Meaning it's ruined.

I didn't use a torque wrench but I don't think I over-torqued. When I felt the slight play in the crank arm again yesterday, the crank arm bolt was not loose. The gist of my question is: where would bottom bracket failure be noticed first? Is it common for a bottom bracket to fail in the interface between the spindle and bearings?

I appreciate any comments. Thanks!

Is the play INSIDE the bottom bracket? Meaning, are the bearings sloppy and loose? Does the spindle wiggle up and down or in and out?

Or, is the arm sloppy on the spindle?

It is unlikely that the BB spindle will fail. It's hard steel.

When I asked about the torque wrench, I was actually concerned that you may not have tightened the crank bolt enough. What type of tool did you use?

Was the crank arm bolt loose the first time you disassembled...?

Guess: you need a new BB because the drive side bearing is shot, or you need new cranks because you were riding on a loose crank and the square, tapered hole is wallowed out.

I don't think the arm is sloppy on the spindle. Seems more like the spindle is a little loose in the bearings. When the crank arm is off, I don't have enough leverage to make it wiggle. The bolt interface on the spindle looks fine, as does the bolt itself and the crank arm.

I guess it's just time for a new BB. Maybe time to upgrade the crankset while I'm at it. I was going to spend upgrade money on a new wheelset first, but maybe I'll do the drivetrain instead.

Is the play in the crank arm or in the bottom bracket? Both sides would wiggle if it is a bottom bracket problem.

Usually all the adjustment is on the non-drive side.

There isn't a lot of adjustment in the new cartridge bearings. However, the loose bearings can be adjusted.

Oh, they are also designed to tighten with pedalling, so the locktite will cause more problems than it is worth.