Debate: wet vs dry torquing bottom brackets

I got told by an old shop guy that I should always grease the threads on a square taper BB before torquing, but then a Park Tool video said to keep everything bone dry for accurate readings. It made me wonder if that extra 5 Nm I was adding was actually over-tightening all along. Do you guys stick with grease or go dry on BB installs?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica7071mo ago

Grease every time, dry torque specs are overrated nonsense that only matters in a perfect lab. Real world dirt and corrosion make greased threads WAY more consistent than some YouTube video's clean room fantasy.

umar491mo ago

Big time. This is just like how people treat recipes, they expect a perfect result from exact measurements but ignore that your oven runs hot or your flour is different. Same with tightening bolts, you can follow a dry spec all you want but humidity and thread wear change everything. Grease gives you a known starting point that accounts for the mess we actually work in. Ever notice how the people who preach dry torque never live in a place with real rust?

claire_davis311mo ago

Blow your engine up once from over tightening greased bolts and see how quick you change your tune.