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Crank axle keeps loosening up.

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Old 07-28-21, 06:42 PM
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robertj298 
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Crank axle keeps loosening up.

I've taken the bottom bracket apart and put it back together 3 times. I've adjusted
the adjustable cup 3 times and locked it tight. I ride 2 blocks and the axle wobbles.
Any suggestions?
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Old 07-28-21, 07:51 PM
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We can't see or touch the bike... improper assembly, cross threaded cup, really badly pitted axle/cup, damaged lock ting threads, more??? Andy
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Old 07-28-21, 09:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Andrew R Stewart
We can't see or touch the bike... improper assembly, cross threaded cup, really badly pitted axle/cup, damaged lock ting threads, more??? Andy
None of the above, I've done 10 of these and it's a pretty straight forward job. The only thing
I noticed on this one was the cage fits pretty tight against the axle cone and yes I have them in the right direction.
Maybe the cage is slightly bent. I'll try putting the bearings in loose tomorrow.
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Old 07-28-21, 09:22 PM
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Could also be the wrong cage?
What part is coming loose after riding? You're saying the axle starts wobbling but is the fixed cup and the lock ring still tight to the frame the way they should be or is one of them working their way loose? If they're staying tight then as you say, something is wrong with the bearings somehow, installing the cage backwards due to your experience would seem to be an absent-minded thing to do but the best of us have done similar things when distracted. Do the new bearings exactly match the old ones, are the races clean and even and is the spindle straight?Any of these being off could result in adjusting wrong and having it come loose under load.
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Old 07-28-21, 09:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Russ Roth
Could also be the wrong cage?
What part is coming loose after riding? You're saying the axle starts wobbling but is the fixed cup and the lock ring still tight to the frame the way they should be or is one of them working their way loose? If they're staying tight then as you say, something is wrong with the bearings somehow, installing the cage backwards due to your experience would seem to be an absent-minded thing to do but the best of us have done similar things when distracted. Do the new bearings exactly match the old ones, are the races clean and even and is the spindle straight?Any of these being off could result in adjusting wrong and having it come loose under load.
The inside of the bottom bracket is the cleanest I've worked on. The axle and cups and cones look new.
I don't think the bike had many miles on it so I just cleaned everything and regreased everything and used the original bearings .I've made stupid mistakes
before but I checked the cage orientation 3 times lol
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Old 07-28-21, 09:57 PM
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BB face(s) off alignment? Miss matched axle and cups? Andy
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Old 07-28-21, 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Andrew R Stewart
BB face(s) off alignment? Miss matched axle and cups? Andy
Possible but by the condition of the bike and the history I would bet everything is original even the original seat looks new
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Old 07-29-21, 05:33 AM
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More ideas here https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ing-loose.html and https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...direction.html
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Old 07-29-21, 11:16 AM
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
In his third (c&v) thread on this subject, he had the bearing retainer in backwards.
^ This.
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