Bottom bracket - loads of Issues

[young Ed]

okay then so my park tool crank puller arrived yesterday and as with any new toys you need to test them! so i took it down the workshop and after removing bolts and then cleaning threads in crank and pulled them off then i had a look and much to my amazement i couldn't find anywhere to use my new BB lock ring tool (the hook thingy) that hasn't come yet that is the first reason i am posting here as before i knew anything about bike maintenance the BB had a lot of play in it and i handed the bike to a mate of my mum who is a real cyclist and he replaced BB bearings and gave it back so now i am starting to think did he forget to put lock ring back on and lost it somewhere? (see images below)

secondly the cages were not cages and i remember when they were cages as i bought them (see images below)

and thirdly does it just need re-assembling with new grease and proper adjustment? is the adjustment just the tightening and loosening of the cups?

oh and yes i will eventually replace with un55 do not worry!

PHOTOS:

all the cones with the one lockring for one side
note cones are different

cone from one side
no lockring with this one

better picture of above cone

cone from opposite side
with lockring and different type cone



WARNING HIGHLY GRAPHIC IMAGE

The ex-cage!
this is the way they came out of the BB i did not mangle them to bits and then cover them in sh*t just for you!
oh and they are not the slag at the bottom of a furnace of forge!
Cheers Ed

 

[John the Canuck]

last pic..! bloody heck.

''he replaced BB bearings and gave it back'' was it all running ok at that point..?

 

[young Ed]

last pic..! bloody heck.

''he replaced BB bearings and gave it back'' was it all running ok at that point..?

for the first 5 maybe 10 miles yes! just great i thought and then it developed enough play to allow axle to move a mile or 2 side to side!
Cheers Ed

 

[Poacher]

Don't panic!
The right-hand cup, aka the fixed cup, doesn't have or need a lockring. It fits flush to the bottom bracket shell. Your mum's mate hasn't lost it!
The cages are convenient for holding ball bearings in place, but aren't a necessary component. Loose balls should be perfectly OK, especially if they're well greased so the balls don't fall out when the adjustable cup is removed.
As suggested by its name, the fixed cup shouldn't need any adjustment when properly (and very firmly) fitted - the adjustment is done on the left-hand side with, you've guessed it, the adjustable cup. This should be screwed in until the axle is firm but still turns without excessive force, then locked in place with, er, the lockring.

 

[young Ed]

Don't panic!
The right-hand cup, aka the fixed cup, doesn't have or need a lockring. It fits flush to the bottom bracket shell. Your mum's mate hasn't lost it!
The cages are convenient for holding ball bearings in place, but aren't a necessary component. Loose balls should be perfectly OK, especially if they're well greased so the balls don't fall out when the adjustable cup is removed.
As suggested by its name, the fixed cup shouldn't need any adjustment when properly (and very firmly) fitted - the adjustment is done on the left-hand side with, you've guessed it, the adjustable cup. This should be screwed in until the axle is firm but still turns without excessive force, then locked in place with, er, the lockring.

thanks mate you're a life saver it explains things to the noooooob (me ) and i feer i may need to order some new balls due to the possibility of one or 2 getting lost in the frame but why is the frame open into the BB shell, why is it not sealed?
Cheers Ed

 

[Poacher]

thanks mate you're a life saver it explains things to the noooooob (me ) and i feer i may need to order some new balls due to the possibility of one or 2 getting lost in the frame but why is the frame open into the BB shell, why is it not sealed?
Cheers Ed

'cos that's the way it is!
Old-fashioned but has stood the test of time. You can get plastic sleeves which protect the BB from stuff such as rust particles falling into the BB. I haven't got a picture to hand, but imagine a tube with corrugations at each end - rather like an accordion. As you mentioned, in the long-term a un55 or similar is the way to go.
If you've had trouble with the adjustable cup becoming loose, it may be that the BB shell threads have become worn. Some thread locking compound should solve this in all but the worst cases.

There should be no problem with balls going missing inside the frame - once the cups are reasonably tight there's no possibility of them slipping past the cones on the axle.

 

[subaqua]

thats why i got rid of the cages in the BB on my sons knockabout and bought new balls and gave it a good dollop of grease.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Oh and yes I will eventually replace with UN55 do not worry!

It is a no brainer TBH considering the COST.

You can get plastic sleeves which protect the BB from stuff such as rust particles falling into the BB.

 

[Tim Hall]

Ed, your last pic isn't a mangled cone, but a mangled ball bearing cage. As others have said, you can easily manage without it.

 

[fossyant]

I would put a UN55 in there now.

 

[young Ed]

Ed, your last pic isn't a mangled cone, but a mangled ball bearing cage. As others have said, you can easily manage without it.

sorry typo i meant cage and have now changed!

I would put a UN55 in there now.

my bank is very almost letting me! they just want me to count what i have first
Cheers Ed

 

[John the Canuck]

I would put a UN55 in there now.

they look good - how does one choose the correct size.?

excuse me Ed..............................................john

 

[young Ed]

they look good - how does one choose the correct size.?

excuse me Ed..............................................john

measure old axle?
goes and checks shimano website!
Cheers Ed

 

[young Ed]

i can only find un26 on shimano website?
Cheers Ed

 

[fossyant]

Check a bike retailers website.

Measure the length of the old axel and that of the BB shell on the frames. Road bikes are usually 68mm, MTBs 73mm shells. The next measurement is the axel length.

Also you may need to be careful if the crankset is French or Italian as they tend to be ISO square tapers, whilst Shimano and others are JIS