Burke Wells

My Cannondale has Shimano 105 Flight Deck levers on it, and the little tip of the left one has become very loose. It's rattling around as if it'll fall off, and I can't figure out how to get the little thing tight again. The rest of the brake lever/shifter seems fine; just this little trim piece w/ the decal is really loose. How is this thing attached, and how can I tighten it back up again? (the one on the right shifter is perfectly tight. Not sure what happened to his brother on the left.)

Any advice is appreciated.

Burke

jeffremer

I've replaced the 5510 series nameplates before but never the 5500, on the 5510 there's a little screw you can expose by engaging the brake.

You can get replacement 5500 nameplates:

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...Nameplate.aspx

capwater

There is a small plastic tab in the front which fits in a slot, probably snapped off, then the other end is secured with a screw. Either get a new faceplate or easiest would be just a dab of superglue.

Burke Wells

Thanks for the link. That was interesting to see the black plastic piece that's within. However, there is no screw (visible), like I noticed on some of the other models. Those seemed pretty self-explanatory (regarding the visible screw upon engaging the brake). But mine has me totally perplexed. How I wish I could find some type of instruction about gaining access to the thing. Even if I bought a new faceplate at that link, I have no idea how to get into this thing to install it (unless instructions come with the faceplate).

While I admit that it does sound like the easier option, at the moment, I'm not real comfortable dabbing superglue into this component. Especially since I can't quite determine the exact spot it would need to go. After looking at the image of a new one at that Jenson link given above, I believe that the black plastic piece is still in full contact with the faceplate itself. Because when I wiggle the very loose faceplate, the black piece moves with it, as if they're one piece. Yet despite how loose the thing is, it's hanging on like a loose tooth that doesn't wanna let go.

There's gotta be a way to get into this thing and gain access to where the faceplate is removed or installed. Surely I'm not the only one that's encountered this before. Can anybody tell me how I go about gaining access to what I need to get to? I can't stand this thing the way it is, and I'd really love to gain the knowledge to fix it myself.

(Thanks for all the info so far.)

Burke

Burke Wells

Found this illustration while digging around on the Shimano site... I can see how the screw (3) holds the black plastic tab piece in place, but I don't understand what holds the nameplate itself to the black plastic tab piece. Surely that thing isn't glued on, is it?

tellyho

bubble gum.

Burke Wells

Problem now solved perfectly (and believe it or not, without bubble gum or super glue).

Printed the exploded view illustration I previously posted, and showed it to a mechanic at my LBS. I explained what was loose, he said it was surely just a loose screw, and he told me exactly what to do...

1. Carefully insert a screwdriver in between the top of the name plate and plastic piece, which un-snaps the name plate from the plastic piece behind it (name plate is held on by two small tabs, one on top & one on bottom).
2. Tighten loose screw.
3. Snap name plate back on (inserting top tab first, then snapping in bottom tab).

Nothing was broke. No need to buy a new one. No need for super glue, and certainly no need for bubble gum.

krets

Thanks for this. I was having a really hard time figuring it out.

gabog91103

Dear Burke,

You're a genius. Thank you. Went to two different bike shops and both didn't want to touch it / didn't know what to do. I had the exact same problem on my girlfriend's left shifter! Right one was fine. Weird, eh?

Your instructions were awesome.

I would just send caution to those out there attempting this repair with removal of the plastic cap, as you said, Burke. The little plastic tabs at the top and the bottom can easily break. My top one was find but unfortunately snapped the bottom plastic tab. Here's where some fun little super glue came into play! Worked like a charm! So, you are correct, no need for bubble ***, no need to buy a new one, no need to go to a shop that can't deal with this easy fix. You may need some super glue.

Now the Shimano 105 left Flight Deck shifter cap / name plate is tight and not rattling, finally! Woohoo!

Thanks again, Burke. The little joys in life, how fun!

Cheers,
gabo

PS: Someone needs to post this on Youtube! I shoulda done, it, but didn't take them time... Any takers? Took a while to find this post!

Burke Wells

Very good, I'm glad my experience was helpful to others. Congrats on getting it fixed

Plyguard72

Thanks Burke for your feedback on this fix. My left name plate was driving me nuts for two weeks until I ran into this post.

fasterbike

Thanks Burke, I was trying to get my head around how to stop the rattling (left plate as well).
I pushed the top part away carefully and it didn't release from the black holder.
What happened is the black plastic holder shapes at top into a pin which came out and I could rotate the plate + holder around (the pin role is to stop it from rotating).
Then I could see where the plate is connected and I slid a small flat screwdriver to remove.
The rest is easy just tighten the screw and push the plate back which snaps in place.

pstock

I had this problem with my 9S Ultegra ST-6500s.
as suggested here, I popped the nameplates off (havning brought teh bike indoors to warm up a bit first, fearing the cold plastic could be too brittle) easily enough. But even tightening that screw to hold the black piece tighter, the nameplates still rattled.
My solution was to stuff the insides of the nameplate cavity with about 4 thin strips of duct tape to make the fit more snug.
Not very elegant, but that worked. No more rattle.

BikesAllDay

Now it's 2022, and those tabs are gettin' brittle! I followed the instructions here, and bent the bottom tab back putting the plate back-on. Also, maybe a bit came off the top tab. I tried to outsmart those guys with a dab of grease, but to no avail. So now, It's actually on there, but instead of a screwdriver, I can now pull it off with my fingernail. The screw underneath was a bit loose, so I tightened it. The cover still rattles about the same. In hindsight, I'm pretty sure the previous owner took the plate off, because I saw screwdriver markings. The tabs were probably already somewhat compromised causing the rattle, but I just made it worse. I think I'll go with he superglue method; but I'll have to clean the grease off really well.

bikemike73 

Great info and schematic !!!!!!!

I always wondered how these " caps" came off !!

Thanks for sharing !!!!