campy ultra torque bb problems



BikingBrian

New Member
Sep 25, 2003
361
0
0
54
I bought a Centaur UT crankset in December and after putting it on my bike, I used it on the trainer throughtout the winter. From the middle of March, I started using it outside....no rain, a bit of riding through a couple of melted snow puddles but nothing that seriously contaminated the bearings.
Starting about a week ago, I start hearing and feeling a clunk clunk when I put out a little torque.
I took it apart the other day and....the clip that holds the bearings in their cartridge is completely in smithereens :eek: there are pieces of it floating in the cartridge, with the bearings now not evenly spaced, but rolling *****-nilly.
Fortunately, I had an extra set of Campy cranks on my TT bike that I took off and stuck on the road bike for now.
Any ideas as to what happened?? I'd like to not have it happen again :confused:
When I assembled them, I followed Campy's instructions and put in a good amount of grease (Phil Wood). The bb shell (it's on a CAAD 9) seems to be within spec (68 mm). Admittedly, I am not sure whether it has ever been faced.
Also: does anybody know of any sources for Campy UT bearing pullers? When the bearings go south on a UT crank, is there no other option but to send it back to a Campy service center?
 
BikingBrian said:
I bought a Centaur UT crankset in December and after putting it on my bike, I used it on the trainer throughtout the winter. From the middle of March, I started using it outside....no rain, a bit of riding through a couple of melted snow puddles but nothing that seriously contaminated the bearings.
Starting about a week ago, I start hearing and feeling a clunk clunk when I put out a little torque.
I took it apart the other day and....the clip that holds the bearings in their cartridge is completely in smithereens :eek: there are pieces of it floating in the cartridge, with the bearings now not evenly spaced, but rolling *****-nilly.
Fortunately, I had an extra set of Campy cranks on my TT bike that I took off and stuck on the road bike for now.
Any ideas as to what happened?? I'd like to not have it happen again :confused:
When I assembled them, I followed Campy's instructions and put in a good amount of grease (Phil Wood). The bb shell (it's on a CAAD 9) seems to be within spec (68 mm). Admittedly, I am not sure whether it has ever been faced.
Also: does anybody know of any sources for Campy UT bearing pullers? When the bearings go south on a UT crank, is there no other option but to send it back to a Campy service center?


First, I modified a gear puller to get the bearings off and bought a Cyclus bearing installer. I suspect the BB shell faces were not parallel causing a side load on the bearing killing it.

Any decent bike shop that 'qui si parla Campagnolo' should have these bearings. They are 6mm in width, not 7mm as some have said. You cannot use the 7mm bearings that are common replacement dimensions, ID and OD.

I also have the clip for the RH bearing, FC-RE-008 and all the seals, bearings, etc.

Cal me or send it to me and I can OVH it. BUT you need you BB shell faced.
 
Peter@vecchios said:
First, I modified a gear puller to get the bearings off and bought a Cyclus bearing installer. I suspect the BB shell faces were not parallel causing a side load on the bearing killing it.

Any decent bike shop that 'qui si parla Campagnolo' should have these bearings. They are 6mm in width, not 7mm as some have said. You cannot use the 7mm bearings that are common replacement dimensions, ID and OD.

I also have the clip for the RH bearing, FC-RE-008 and all the seals, bearings, etc.

Cal me or send it to me and I can OVH it. BUT you need you BB shell faced.

Thanks, Peter. I'm going to see if I can get the shell faced....only problem is LBS is about 4 hours away. Then I've got to look into how the Campy Service Center operates here (if it exists!)....very, very few stores work on or have Campy stuff here (Japan = ShimanoLand ;) ). If that fails, I will send it to you.
One more question: I've read that the loctite method of installation can be used in cases where the faces may not be parallel....true? Bad idea?

Brian
 
BikingBrian said:
Thanks, Peter. I'm going to see if I can get the shell faced....only problem is LBS is about 4 hours away. Then I've got to look into how the Campy Service Center operates here (if it exists!)....very, very few stores work on or have Campy stuff here (Japan = ShimanoLand ;) ). If that fails, I will send it to you.
One more question: I've read that the loctite method of installation can be used in cases where the faces may not be parallel....true? Bad idea?

Brian

BAD idea. With a little moisture, the cups may become bonded into the frame and you would have to resort to heat, etc, to get them out. If you look at the Campagnolo website, they list Campagnolo Japan, maybe they can help with a shop but there are NO 'ProShops' in Japan. Too bad. When I lived in Japan, they seemed crazy for things American or European, like cars, motorcycles, clothing, cameras(Leica was HUGE), etc. Surprised they don't have some local guru that 'qui si parla Campagnolo or "ここに話されているCampagnolo".
 
FWIW. I've mentioned this before ...

You can confirm whether or not your BB shell is square with a piece of "typing"/copy paper ...

Roll it into a tube, fit it into the shell ... push one edge flush with one side of the shell ... square the edge that isn't inside the shell ... IF THE EDGE THAT YOU PUSHED AGAINST THE BB SHELL CAN BE MADE TO FIT FLUSH ALL THE WAY AROUND, THEN THAT EDGE IS SQUARE & DOES NOT NEED TO BE FACED.

Repeat on the other side.

N.B. If there are any intrusions into the shell like the end of a bolt for the cable guides then remove the bolt/guide. If the ends of the stays/downtube (as found on some older, less expensive steel frames) intrude, then this method is less practical.
 
Thanks, Peter and Alfeng for your replies. I went to a local hardware mega-store yesterday and was pleasantly surprised: they have gear pullers and bearing pullers as well :) It looks like either one could be used with a little modification quite easily, and I've found the Campy UT bearings online. With the lack of LBSs where I live, I've learned to do all my own wrenching, so no problems there either....so now do I invest in a facing tool?? LOL
Actually, I'll probably resort to bringing it to an LBS when I go to the other side of the island for my next race. Hopefully, my bearings don't get ground to dust before then :D
Peter: Yeah, no service center, although there is (finally!) a Campy agent down in Yokohama. Most of the other Campyphiles here, like myself, work on their own stuff out of necessity...not necessarily a bad thing, as you learn how to be self-reliant, of course. (except in the case of having to get expensive shop tools :rolleyes: )
 

Similar threads