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Howitzer Crank keeps coming loose.

3K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  Big B 
#1 ·
I have a brand new build on a Driver 8. The drive side crank keeps coming loose for some reason. I can't figure out what's going on. Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
Try using Loctite on it or something similar to keep the bolt tight. I have a good friend who had that crank on his bike and had the exact same problem. To make a long story short he no longer has that crank as nothing worked and no matter what he did or others suggested, it kept on coming loose.
 
#7 ·
i mean if you cant even figure out why it comes lose, might as well just give up riding. cuz most likely you dont have what it takes to learn the skills. you gotta know how everything works , so when you ride hard, you can fine tune everything. like any race car driver, they are not just drivers they all know cars inside out, so they can give orders to mechanic to change stuffs around for different courses

changing a new crank is like running away from a problem of your life. A real man never runs.
 
#9 ·
i mean if you cant even figure out why it comes lose, might as well just give up riding. cuz most likely you dont have what it takes to learn the skills. you gotta know how everything works , so when you ride hard, you can fine tune everything. like any race car driver, they are not just drivers they all know cars inside out, so they can give orders to mechanic to change stuffs around for different courses

changing a new crank is like running away from a problem of your life. A real man never runs.
According to your logic, the next time your hard drive crashes, you should stop going on the internet.

With any luck, that could be soon.
 
#8 ·
Let me guess - the bolt came loose a while ago, but you didn't notice it immediately and kept riding for a while?

If you ride with a loose crank, the spline interface between the axle and crank wears out - fast. Now the crank has play on the axle, which means that it will work itself loose again even if you do tighten the bolt. Loctite can help, but once this goes beyond a certain point, you are stuffed. You will need a new crank, even if that means akacoke won't consider you a "real man" anymore, which is incredibly tragic.
 
#10 ·
No, it was a brand new build, so after my first run I checked everything over, and it was just a tad bit loose. 2 runs later it was just a bit loose again. It was also loose after a couple of runs this past weekend too. Nothing catastrophic, but had a small about of play in it. The threads were all perfectly fine. I'll try the loctite and see if that helps.
 
#11 ·
I recommend taking the crank off and verifying there is a good amount of grease on the splines. Also, clean all of the grease off the bolt & bb threads before applying loctite. Lastly, use a torque wrench to 40 ft/lbs (I believe). I have them as well, that appeared to keep mine nice and tight.
 
#19 ·
Wow we have a handfull of internets armchair mechanics on here! :madman:

#1 problem the Howitzer interface does not stay tight is becasue the washer between the bolt and BB spindle has been lost or not used.

I used the Howizter/Holzfeller set up on 2 DH bikes 4-5 years and never had issues. If I recall I also went through 2 BB's with each set of cranks. The only time I ever experienced loose cranks with that BB in a shop setting was when the customer had to remove his crank arms and did not replace the washers.
 
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