RockiesDad

I have a few question on if I should get another bottom bracket and spindle. First, the spindle seems to have pits where the bearings sit and its a little rough when spinning the bearings and stuff. Is it okay to just repack it with grease and call it a day or will I ruin it in the long run? Should I replace the spindle? Second, there was a rubber gasket where the spindle pokes through the other cups to sort of seal it. I have one but the other one disintegrated. Can't find another one. Well, I would have to buy new set of outer cap ends. Should I just leave it off the one side? I think gunk would get in and mess up the bearings which maybe was the reason for the pitted spindle.

Should I just get all new parts or just use what I got? Trying to keep this build under $100. This might take half my budget. BTW the bike is a late '90s Specialized Crossroads hybrid.

dddd

It'll work fine for hundreds of miles, but might need periodic adjustment going longer than that because of the amount of surface destruction that will be going on. It's serviceable, just won't work like new parts.

If you put in 11 loose balls instead of the retainers, it may run smoother and last a bit longer yet.
New bottom brackets can be had cheap.

unworthy1

The seals are nice (when they are new and working) but not as essential as the accordion center tube which don't know if you were using (but get one cause they are cheap insurance). The spindle is bad if the cups' bearing surfaces are fine then just replace the spindle, if not then get all new. Correct that those seals are hard to find, packing well with waterproof grease will do better than sweating over these. Edit I think dddd's advice may be better than mine since your budget is tight but I'd replace the spindle and bet somebody here may have one that won't set you back much $.

merziac

As @dddd says, this can go 100's if not 1000's of more miles with the right setup, I use thick auto wheel bearing grease for this, then setup in the middle of a bit sloppy and a bit notchy.

The thick grease is the key IMO and YMMV.

randyjawa 

In my book, that would mean that, at the very least, the spindle should be replaced. The damaged spindle will, probably, have damage ball bearings also, so the bearing set should be replaced also. As for the cups, probably OK but no guarantee in that department either. All that said...

The OP's bottom bracket should be replaced, in my opinion.

The OP's bottom bracket will work but I will not go with it will work fine. It will never run smooth. Wear will be accelerated with use. And you will always know that the problem is present and perhaps ready to fail, completely, at the worst possible time.

Bottom brackets are not all that costly. For the life of me, unless a replacement is unavailable, I can see no reason to run with worn out parts.

tiger1964 

By the way, what's the technical name for those, and are there good sources? I have several bikes undergoing rebuild right now, I sen to be missing these in most/all of them.

repechage

The party’s over in my book.
the cups might be ok.
those seals did not work especially well

conspiratemus1

I feel for the OP. He asks for advice and gets suggestions all over the map. That's the internet, I guess. None of it is wrong, it just reflects the world-view of the advice-giver.
People who maintain complex, expensive machinery should be heeded when they advise replacing worn parts now to prevent very expensive damage later. Like replacing your timing belt to prevent destruction of the engine when it breaks. But this is a bottom bracket. On a bicycle. The worse that can happen, and assuredly will happen, is that the pits in the spindle will get worse and the assembly will become more rattly and notchy as time goes on. It will eventually become unsatisfactory to ride. So what? Replace it then. "Failing completely at the worst possible time."? How? A worn BB is not like breaking a timing belt, or brakes suddenly failing from a leak of hydraulic fluid.

Since the OP is trying to do this rebuild on a tight budget, it is perfectly sensible from his point of view to buy time -- maybe a long time, who knows? -- with a low-cost approach that uses all the old parts except for the bearing balls -- and replacing them with 11 uncaged balls is a good idea. Good thick automotive wheel-bearing grease is what I use, too, even with new parts. Sure, it won't be perfect. Adjust to the best compromise between bind-y and notch-y with the cranks off. Yes it may feel disappointing. But put the cranks on and their angular momentum will pull the spindle through the bind-y parts and it will feel better. Then add the resistance from the chain and freehub as you backpedal on the stand and you will notice it even less. On the road, pedaling against real-life resistance, you will not notice it at all. (This optimism assumes that only the spindle is pitted and the cups are fine, which is nearly always the case.) I bet there are thousands of bicycles being ridden happily with spindles more badly pitted than that. I say that from doing bike checks at charity rides when cranks rattle side-to-side in the BBs and the young kids who ride them finish in less time than I do on my meticulously maintained pride-and-joy.

In my circumstances, I wouldn't put that pitted spindle back in on my own bike because I'd know I'd be having to take the darn thing apart again when the replacement spindle arrived. And I would be annoyed knowing a worn part was in there. Sure. But the bike would still work. And a professional mechanic would be reluctant to do it because the customer would be hoping it would buy more time than was realistic. When it failed in less time than he hoped, he would bad-mouth the mechanic's work. So a pro wants to do the best job he possibly can. But for your own bike, you warrant your own work to yourself. Go for it.

But when he has a few bucks to spare, I would suggest that the OP replace the BB with a cartridge unit. You can still buy el-cheapo Shimano units new but even the good UN-71/72-level ones (used) aren't expensive. Spindles the right shape and length to fit existing cups were not easy to find even when Sheldon Brown was alive (and said so on his website.)

As for the missing seal, notice how the side of the spindle with the pits is the side that appears to have the intact seal (assuming the parts are demonstrated as they were in situ.) This shows that the seal does not prevent damage to the spindle. At best it keeps the grease clean longer. The spindle gets pits on the drive side first because it takes the full thrust of pedaling. So don't worry that one seal is missing.

unworthy1

I have no idea what they are called and probably varies by country of origin but let's say " plastic dust sleeve" and they aren't ALWAYS accordion-pleated but most of mine are. I have a few extras (not any that are in "minty condition" since they get both greasy and dirty) and would part with them for cost of postage but given the size/shape these would pack into shapes that would be considered "parcels" by USPS so not as cheap to mail as flat parts that can go into a small envelope, so keep that in mind.
As my Dad would say: "Free advice is worth just what you paid for it."

tiger1964 

Thanks but maybe the OP needs one FIRST... it's his topic. Just hit a few websites, not finding anyone making/selling new ones, eBay sellers want $18-$60 for used ones. Kinda surprised that Velo Orange does not have them made, but they sell their sealed BB's (but JIS taper only and I already have the scars from that train wreck).

jamesdak 

Looks just like the BB I taken out of a Miyata 914SE I recently picked up. Spindle has that scoring but the cups look fine. It was replaced with a new one but cleaned this up and kept it on hand. Plan to replace the spindle and then keep it as a back up. New ones are so easily available and not expensive so I usually just drop in a new sealed cartridge unit. That said, if trying/needed to save money I'd grease 'er up, put in loose bearing and let it go as it.

unworthy1

True enough so OP RockiesDad if you want one of these dust sleeves, just PM me, and if you're close enough (since in "Bay Area") to pick it up locally then save the postage!

RockiesDad

Thinking about it a bit more I might just bite the bullet and get one of those newer cartridge ones in my size. I think it would drive me a bit nuts knowing that its not "perfectly smooth" with every pedal stroke. I think I can get one less than $50 or so...

Thanks for all the replies and opinions. Enjoyed reading each one and its fun to know everyone has their own opinions just like... I'll leave it at that.

daka

So, just how important are those plastic sleeves? On a bike with bottom bracket cut-outs, the need is pretty obvious but when I worked in a shop back in the seventies bikes seldom ever had them fitted, even when new. The shop owner there instructed me to apply grease around the center of the bottom bracket spindle to "capture any debris that might come down the seat tube". I suppose the rear wheel of someone riding without fenders could throw schmutz up under the seat which then susequently fell down through the hole of an open-ended seat post......... or is there more to it than that?

dddd

I've serviced bikes that had accumulated a good handful of rocks and sand in the bb shell, usually a box-store bike and the spindle and cups far, far gone.

unworthy1

One thing that can accumulate and fall down to the "lowest point" in the frame (in spite of all tubing being "sealed" and most all have tiny vent holes) is rust. If air can reach steel then rust can form and flake off and find way to the BB (like water seeks the low ground). Rust can be pretty destructive to bearings, cups and races. My advice is use Framesaver, Boeshield or just BLO in your steel frames.