severe play in crankset ?

must-tri-harder

something hadn't been feeling quite right on my Felt F55 and having finally bitten the bullet due to the snow and got the turbo trainer out this morning, it appears i have massive play in the crankset, is that most likely a worn out bottom bracket and is that a simple replacement job I can do at home ?

It's an Ultegra crankset and i assume an Ultegra BB.

Thanks for your help.

murraymint77

If it's internal bb then it's had it. If its external then it may just need adjusting.

Bozman

If it's your BB, they're easy to replace, all you need is the a Shimano bottom bracket wrench and a little grease. You can pick the tool up for about £10 and if you google "shimano bottom bracket removal", there are a few you tube videos etc on the subject. I'm useless at stuff like that but i found it easy. If it's hollowtech ii, it tells you what side and which direction to tighten the cups on the bracket. Doddle!

must-tri-harder

on further inspection it's definitely the non drive side BB cup, unbelievable amount of movement, no wonder the drivetrain was feeling a little 'flexible' recently, that'll be one of the side effects of 6000+ miles in the fabulous british weather.

oh well looks like i'm going to be £80 poorer and the proud owner of a ceramic hope bottom bracket in the next few days, anodised red of course. Just the appropriate splined spanner required and it looks very straight forward on youtube.

cheers for the replies chaps.

must-tri-harder

i've just disassembled as much as i can without the BB tool (which is in the post), and the crankshaft or axle whatever you want to call it doesnt look very pretty on the non drive side at all, that was the side with the defective BB cup, the drive side is almost mirror finish perfect whereas this is clearly worn and quite rough.

dont tell me i'm going to have to fork out on a new crankset on top of the BB ?

I got clever and took some pictures:


SN201625 by MustTriHarder, on Flickr


SN201618 by MustTriHarder, on Flickr


SN201615 by MustTriHarder, on Flickr

Yes i know the bike needs a clean.

sturmey

Looks like the axle is just tarnished. If it still feels smooth when you run your fingers over it it will be fine.

But if that dark ring round the axle nearest to the driveside is actually a groove worn away in the axle then that's another matter and you would have to think about replacement.

edjo

it looks like grease remnants that've dried over time. scrape - gently - to remove the worst and then clean up with wire wool or a kitchen scourer. when you refit, the contact surfaces of the axles where they are in the bearings should have an anti-seize / assembley paste applied to atop any seizing on the bearings; 'normal' bike grease will helps, but isn't as good.

must-tri-harder

cheers for the replies.

i received my new dura ace bottom bracket today from CRC, still waiting for the tool .. hurry up merlin cycles. they have a great value icetoolz hollowtech BB tool by the way.

The surface doesnt feel too rough, it's not perfect but neither is having to fork out an additional £150 (minimum ultegra) for a replacement crankset.

it'll probably do the job, if not i'll have to splash some more cash and the family's christmas presents all just got a little bit smaller.

must-tri-harder

received the BB tool today but cannot for the life of me get the god forsaken thing to move, i've been leaning on it with all my considerable 75kgs and very nearly had a major tantrum as a result of it.

any ideas !?!?!!

AndyOgy

You know about the reverse thread on the drive side, right?

must-tri-harder

yep, i am pushing in the opposite direction to the little arrows saying ' Tighten > '

I just cracked the censored actually, i've been wandering aroung my flat trying to find something to give me some extra leverage, after cunningly disassembling my stainless steel kitchen towel holder and sliding the cap off i had a good 12 inches of extra leverage and booom! i managed to move the stubborn little blighter.

i have a sore shoulder and slightly dented knuckles to show for it, but at least it's now off and i can fit the new one !! after applying liberal grease/anti-seize compound of course.

this has been my least favourite bike maintenance task ever, so far ..

ride_whenever

It's all about the cup style tools, that surround the entire cup and you can stick a breaker bar on!!!!

must-tri-harder

i had the icetoolz cup style tool, just couldnt find anything long enough to stick on the end of the thing !

this weekend i shall add to the tool box (via work account for free) a suitable breaker bar.

then next time there will be no fooking about with it.

Evil Laugh

Yeah the tool is good but you need the leverage. I just used a foot long adjustable spanner clamped to the hex key.

Twostage

I used a seat post to give more leverage when loosening a BB.

keef66

That's why I think the socket type BB tool might be better than the flat spanner thing. I have an extension bar in the socket set so imagine it would be easier to get the required leverage. With the (genuine Shimano) flat spanner it's quite difficult to heep it snugly engaged when you're mucking about with bits of pipe etc, and it's put some little dents in the BB cups.

I went for the spanner thing cos it was cheaper than the socket types, which are a silly price.

must-tri-harder

the icetoolz socket tool from merlin is only around £8 inc postage.. best value i could find, and it works.. obviously with plenty of leverage as discussed.

this one:

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Workshop++Tools/Tools/Tools+-+Workshop/Icetoolz+Hollowtech+2+Tools_1237.htm

keef66

Right, I'm having one of those!

Ta.

must-tri-harder

any tips on sorting out a botched cross threaded BB installation? also how to fix your knuckles and fist shaped dent in a plasterboard wall ?

this was not a job to be attempted on a friday evening.

in all seriousness it's possible to fix a lightly cross threaded BB shell isnt it ? I've got it in maybe 1 turn and it just goes tight. i really dont want to force it and fook it up completely.

peter101cycle

must-tri-harder wrote:

any tips on sorting out a botched cross threaded BB installation? also how to fix your knuckles and fist shaped dent in a plasterboard wall ?

this was not a job to be attempted on a friday evening.

in all seriousness it's possible to fix a lightly cross threaded BB shell isnt it ? I've got it in maybe 1 turn and it just goes tight. i really dont want to force it and fook it up completely.

Have you looked at both the shell and BB threads, to make sure they are not damaged?
I am assuming you cleaned the inside of the BB shell didn't you, to get rid of any muck? If the threads still look intact and smoothish, then it should go in.
I am also assuming you are using a decent lithium grease or something similar?

If so and when you thread the BB gently in (assuming it goes in straight!) you still get "stuck" which does not get any better with a small amount of leverage, then it may be worth taking it to a LBS.