Adjustable Cup stuck

[alexwang32]

Hi, I have a normal mountain bike bought from a department store about a year ago, I've been hearing a lot of creaking noise recently and found out that the spindle is wobbling a great deal ( not just the crank arms ).

After watching some videos, I discovered that the remedy seems to be simply adjusting the hex cup on the non-drive side, since I recognize it to be a ball & bearing bottom bracket.

I don't even need to take off the crank arm, my wrench fits in the gap between as you can see from the picture.


I took off the lock ring using a hammer and a flat-head screwdriver, but things have been stuck since then. The cap won't move an inch, I see from other videos that it turns easily, but mine is almost glued.

Now, I really hate having to take it to the shop ( $30 ), but I'm not sure how to proceed by myself. Should I try to turn the cap clockwise or counter-clockwise? Why is the adjustable cap so tight? I read that only the fixed cap gets super tight. Any advice on this would be most helpful!

Many thanks!

[DaveM]

The cup on this side does have normal threads, so you should be turning it counter-clockwise to loosen.
These don't give as many problems as the drive side does, but they can get stuck due to rust, etc. If you can't get it to move as is, you may either need to pull off the crank arm so you can get a better grip on it, or take it to a shop.

Note, that it may be wise to open up the bottom bracket, inspect, and regrease it anyway. If it's gotten loose, there's a fair chance that you need at least new grease, if not new bearings, cups, etc. 

If you are able to adjust it, you can try that for a while. But if you pay someone to work on it, have them open and inspect. Don't just tighten it.

[alexwang32]

(05-12-2015, 03:51 PM)DaveM Wrote:  The cup on this side does have normal threads, so you should be turning it counter-clockwise to loosen.
These don't give as many problems as the drive side does, but they can get stuck due to rust, etc. If you can't get it to move as is, you may either need to pull off the crank arm so you can get a better grip on it, or take it to a shop.

Note, that it may be wise to open up the bottom bracket, inspect, and regrease it anyway. If it's gotten loose, there's a fair chance that you need at least new grease, if not new bearings, cups, etc. 

If you are able to adjust it, you can try that for a while. But if you pay someone to work on it, have them open and inspect. Don't just tighten it.

Thanks Dave, I decided to take it to the shop, which turned out to be a wise choice. The bearings were all worn out due to rust, the mechanic replaced all the parts inside ( ball bearings, spindle ). He told me that I must have rode it when it got a bit loose, making it a lot worse. Guess I learned a lesson the hard way.

Again thanks for the tip, I'll keep it in mind next time.