Centaur Bottom Bracket issue

[Moneywatch]

I recently installed a new Centaur tapered 53-39 crankset and bottom bracket on my Merlin Solis. The install went smooth. However, the dreaded clicking sound was evident from the beginning. I have tried all of the known fixes and I have narrowed it to the bottomm bracket. It's the silver bottom bracket with the sealed cartridge. On closer inspection, there is a slight bit of play on the axel, but the right & left cups are all the way as tight as it can be against the bottom bracket. I was thinking of the following solutions:

1) put an o ring between the cartridge and the left cup

2) order the black Centauer BB which appears to have an adjustable cup

3) go to a Phil Wood BB.

Anyone have any ideas or have experienced the same? Thanks for your collective ideas.

[Alan]

Get a Phil Wood. I used to go through a Campy bb about once a year riding 5K miles per year. It is a lot easier to buy a PW once.

Alan

[thwart]

Don't know exactly what's going on with your BB... if you can move the axle it's either defective, inadequately tightened, or as you mentioned somehow it's not matched up at all well with your BB shell width.

I'd remove it, apply some plumber's teflon tape to the threads, and re-install it.

[97CSI]

I have about 5K on a black Centaur BB. And it is growling at me. Only been in light rain for one ride. Once I get around to changing will go to a PW. My other bike has a PW that was installed in '98. Put on new bearings ($35) after 8 years just as a routine maintenance item (still rolled smoothly, but 8 years and any number of wet days...............). Nice thing about a PW is that you can move it from bike to bike as you make changes. They last forever.

[tmessenger]

I had a White Industries BB on my MTB some years ago and the cartridge bearings would click in the aluminum cups, I cured the problem by red locktighting the bearings into the cups. Don't know if that is your problem but might be worth a go?

tm