Campag Power torque 'creak'

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bm0p700f
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Joined: Sat May 12, 2012 7:25 pm
Location: Glermsford, Suffolk U.K
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by bm0p700f

Well that bike with the odd creak came back and ofter checking everything I found the pedal threads a bit dry. Also it had stopped creaking when it was brought in so I can't tell at the moment if its problem solved or not.

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Monkeyboy3333
Posts: 632
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:41 pm

by Monkeyboy3333

Ok, I have had enough of this wretched Campag chainset, all best efforts and still a creak. All other things tried and failed...source is defo the chainset. If I Switch chainset to Sram Red/Ultegra /Dura Ace can I expect any compatibility issues? is it even possible - rest of 10sp Campag Centaur grouppo would remain....New BB obviously.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

You can use what ever chainset you like I believe.

Before you give up what have you done in order to try and resolve this?

Have you checked the bearings for smoothnes?
Have you faced the shell and chased the threads? - this could be the issue.
I assume your shell is with spec 67.2-68.9mm.
I assume you have fitted everything to campags specs
- i.e torque wrenches used.
New grease/coppaslip on pedal threads does not hurt ever.

If all of that is done and thewre is no play in the system then a new wavy washer might help. New bearings might help but if you existing ones are smooth then possibly not.

Powertorque shopuld not creak. there has to be something wrong if it does. Has a campag friendly shop had a look?

Tricky1
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:25 am

by Tricky1

My UT is still knocking, but many other creaks now gone while troubleshooting the knock. Brought it to the Campy shop for analysis today(I hate paying for service for lack of specialty tools :x -investing in a few soon however). I'll report findings by the weekend.

Tricky1
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:25 am

by Tricky1

If anyone is still interested, the knock I was hearing was not in the BB/crank, but was coming from the headset. I could only hear it when out of the saddle. After a quick H/S rebuild (as well as greasing the seat binder bolt, collar, stem bolts, etc...the other ticks and creaks substantially quieted) the knock is gone. These noises drove me crazy for months, hope this saves someone an aneurysm.

Monkeyboy3333
Posts: 632
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:41 pm

by Monkeyboy3333

Powertorque chainset removed , new ultegra grey chainset fitted , not a creak or knock in earshot. Definitely stiffer than the outgoing carbon centaur under my hefty weight!

CheapSkate
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:10 pm

by CheapSkate

Monkeyboy3333 wrote:Hi all I have a centaur powetorque chainset which has developed an annoying tick/click when under load. I gotta feeling this is down to the ridiculous wave washer that is used to preload the bearing anyone else have similar experience and a fix? It is soooooo annoying, a trusted mechanic faced the bb and prepped as per spec.

Hi Monkeyboy, I am trying to diagnose a similar Power Torque creak. I am in discussions with Campag.

If you still have the PT crank lying about, could you get the wave washer and tell me:- how much force does it take to squash it flat? Ideally can you do this on a bathroom scales and tell me eg 5 kg / 10 lb or whatever. If not, the simple test is:- can you squash it flat between thumb and forefinger? You might need to sandwich it between two bits of wood first, it tends to pop out otherwise. I've attached my photo below. Also, could you tell me
- how tall the WW is when uncompressed, just sitting on the table
- what colour is it (steel coloured or bronze).

You can read my very extensive thread on Power Torque here but the bottom line is I suspect the wave washer is too feeble to prevent side to side play. I am trying to get to the bottom of it with Campag.

I would really appreciate if you could carry out the simple test, it would give me some more data.

Thanks

CheapSkate
Attachments
P1050170.jpg

DaveS
Posts: 3922
Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:26 pm
Location: Loveland Colorado

by DaveS

The most common creaks are from the chainring mounting bolt area. Try some penetrating lube around all of the bolts and the contact areas between the chainrings and the spider.

The next common mistake is failing to grease all metal to metal contact areas. Grease all sufaces of the cups and bearings.

The power-torque wave washer is entirely different than the ultra-torque, but in either case, the idea of using two washers is a bad idea. Particularly with ultra-torque, the wave washer exerts a relatively high force in the 20-60 pound range, with only a small amount of compression. Using two washers would create excsssive prelod, greater friction and probably toast the bearings quickly.

5 8 5
Posts: 1315
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2006 2:36 am
Location: UK

by 5 8 5

Is it definitely the bottom bracket / cranks? I had a creek that I was sure was from the BB but turned out to be the rear skewer / dropouts. It's amazing how the sound can travel through the frame.

DaveS
Posts: 3922
Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:26 pm
Location: Loveland Colorado

by DaveS

I've had the rear skewer thing too, but it usually occurs only when pedaling out of the saddle. It still sounds like it's the crank/BB area.

5 8 5
Posts: 1315
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2006 2:36 am
Location: UK

by 5 8 5

Yes Dave you're correct it was creaking mostly out of the saddle, very occasionally in the saddle as well.

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