captainlol

My bike has downtube shifters, but the left one snaps back after I shift into 2nd, and the right one has lost its 'click'. How can I fix this?

dabac

The left is probably a friction shifter. Simply tighten the screw holding the lever to the frame and you're done. For a more meticulous job, undo screw, clean away old gunk, apply thin sheen of grease, reassemble.

The right may have a wingnut- looking thingy. In one position it's indexed(=clicking), in the other it's friction. Try that first. If that doesn't do the trick, dissassemble, clean, lube sparingly, reassemble.

MichaelW

I never apply grease or oil to friction levers because they rely on friction. Clean with detergent and water. Dab some grease on the bolt theads that fix to the frame.
If you dissassemble a friction lever there are lots of metal and plastic washers. Put them on some wire to maintain the order.
Click-indexed levers usually have a friction mode. The switch may be the half-circle wire rotating bit. Is there a marked arrow with on/off or something?

captainlol

I applied some WD-40 to the left shifter, but realized it relies on friction so I disassembled it, rinsed it off and put it back together, and now it won't stay in position. Would adding more washers solve the problem? I didn't see an on/off switch on the right shifter.

Kimmo

Pics, or at least tell us what levers they are.

The left lever is either still loose, missing a bit, or incorrectly assembled. If your right lever used to click but no longer does, either it's switched to friction or malfunctioning and requires overhaul.

prathmann

Rinsing it may not have been sufficient to remove the WD-40. Use some detergent first, then rinse and dry before reassembling (make sure you keep the order of parts correct). I agree with others that we need either pictures or at least a specific product name/model to give decent advice.

FBinNY 

While they'll work dry, they'll work smoother and last longer if you grease the clutch plates. These are designed to work as wet clutches, and back when D/T friction levers were the standard, all three major producers; Campagnolo, Simplex, and Huret supplied them greased.

The goal is to allow smooth motion, with most of the friction coming from the inside, between the lever and clamp, with spring washers providing compression on the outside. When set up correctly the lever doesn't transfer it's motion to the outer cover, which is important because if that cover moves with the lever it'll walk the screw out and you'll need to tighten it hourly.

blue303

Does the shifter have a gear wheel that a piece of spring steel clicks on? I know that Suntour power shifters were made that way. The gear is one directional. It works one way and the other way snaps back if put together the wrong way.

Bianchigirll 

I agree with Snuffalupagus, it would be nice to know what shifter we are talking about.

the right one may have just slipped out of index mode while fooling around with them

bikeman715

With the left one if it still slipping take some sandpaper to the plastic disc and rough it up a little or reverse it and then it should hold . For the right one it could have slip out of index mode ,use the D wing and move it back into indexing.

FBinNY 

If all the parts are there, it should be easy to make these so tight you can't move them even if greased. Start with a basic diagnostics. Thread the screw into the boss with the lever or washers to make sure it threads far enough and you're not bottoming on a bad thread.

Next take a moment to look at the parts. The lever usually has a flat recess on the bike side to mate with the non-moving back plate, and a curved recess on the outside to accept spring washers, or a curved nylon washer. The flat washers can turning, with a round hole, or static with a either a tab or keyed hole to meet the boss. Lastly the outer cover is kept from turning either with a keyed hole, or a leg that goes back to the backplate.

Organize these in your mind, and figure out how it needs to go together so that non-turning washers can squeeze the lever to create friction, while the outer cover, and often the first washer under it will be kept from turning. Put it together, greasing the parts and tighten.

captainlol

They're suntour shifters, I'll get some pictures up when I get the chance

captainlol

Update: I simply turned the dial on the right shifter to indexing mode, and now it seems to be working fine; still working on the left one