Square taper BB torque

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Undoubtedly because of the quality of the BB spindle and crank flats..'catching' on the spindle when assembling..sorry Jan, dry spindle..maybe wet on yours but on Campag and shimano...dry.

Actually, Shimano is silent on the matter of greasing tapers, and has been for many years. Their instructions mention grease on BB cup threads, and grease on the splines of Hollowtech cranks, but they make no mention at all about preparing the surfaces of the square taper joint. However, it should be noted that many Shimano square taper cranks come from the factory with grease pre-applied to the taper faces.

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/dm/DM-FC0002-12-ENG.pdf

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by stephenmarklay

My new cheapo SS crank started to creek after a fee rides so I snugged it up a little and it was quiet. Today it was little loose again so I want to properly torque it it is a no name set and i am thinking around 38NM based on what I have seen.

Is that reasonable?

Regardless of what the correct torque may be (or whether tapers are dry or greased), one important point is that the crank bolts should only be torqued once (per installation). Continually re-tightening cranks can lead to damaging the cranks, as the cranks are driven further and further up the taper. If you decide to try a higher torque than you had initially used, pull the crank off before installing with the new torque.

[Ronsonic]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Undoubtedly because of the quality of the BB spindle and crank flats..'catching' on the spindle when assembling..sorry Jan, dry spindle..maybe wet on yours but on Campag and shimano...dry.

Is this my cue?

Don't grease your Tapir!

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Ronsonic

Is this my cue?

Don't grease your Tapir!

Thanks!! Needed that..just 'slept' last night with the gizmo to determine if I have sleep apnea..=not much sleep..needed some humor..

[stephenmarklay]

I went out for a short half hour ride but there are some hills I have to stand on (SS here…) and the crank was silent. I tested it when I got close to home by putting some pressure on it and it was still quiet.

So I appear to have narrowly avoided new cranks (which would have been ok too )

Thanks everyone!