I have a set of late 80's 401's that I purchased for VERY little money. I can't seem to remember how to install the BB. Do the cups and bearings go in first? And then I push in the spindle? It seems like the spindle is VERY ight inside the bearings. I have some washer pieces too. I dont know where they go either. I just don't remember, please help!

Sealed bearings or loose ball?

If it's sealed - there's a sleeve that the spindle goes through and it lives inbetween the bearings. So before the spindle goes in, the bottom bracket should have the two bearings and the sleeve inbetween the bearings - and the sleeve needs to be EXACTLY the right distance between the bearings - this can be tricky and can require much tweaking with a file. Once all that's done - you slide in the spindle. The washers then go on - they are spacers to prevent the crank arms from hitting the frame, and to properly align the front and rear cogs. Then slide on the arms and tighten up.

If loose then, this should help...

Damn that loose ball installation instructions would be perfect, if they were loose ball. My bad i should have specified. These are sealed bearings and There is no sleeve. I will photograph what I have tomorrow and post it. Thanks a bunch for the help!

Running w/out the sleeve puts a WHOLE BUNCH of excess stress on the bearings. You NEED the sleeve. You should be able to order one from the LBS for cheap. It's just a thin aluminum tube essentially.

Also - I'll rummage around my stuff for sealed bearing instructions. I might have some somewhere.

Okay... dumb question... but whats LBS? If you have the sealed instructions that would be GREAT! Thanks

LBS = Local Bike Shope.

does your spindle have threads for a bottom bracket (like the one in the instruction pic), or is it threadless? that will make a big difference in what sealed BB you have/need and how it works.

I couldn't seem to locate my instructions, but here's a little sketch I did that may help. Granted, the spindle looks more like a profile spindle than a flight - but you get the point.