pstock

When it was just one bike, I figured it was destiny and that I could deal with it.
I now have two Shimano 600 8S equipped bikes, and both the RH brifters are failing, usually to engage on the upshift (from small rear to larger rear). It just is a void.

this could just be old age but it completely ruins the ensemble.

anyone have experience or a suggested fix or salve for this?

many thanks

Peter

FBinNY 

Sometimes they just die from old age, but often it's curable problem caused by dried gummy lube and dirt. Flush with WD-40, or a similar solvent, ans work the mechanism while wet, to loosen and flush the crud. I find it easiest to shift to low, then work the lever while tensioning the cable by pulling it away from the downtube. This eliminates the need to pedal. Or you can do the same with the rear wheel off.

One it's flushed and acting normally, let it dry, then lube with something very light.

Fred Smedley

Flushing may or may not work and is a Band aid IMO. It did not work for me, I ended totally disassembling , cleaning and re-lubing. Their are two different venders on Ebay who will do this for you, or you can buy a 10 speed campy Veloce for 115.00 with cables and be good for a long while as they use the same 2.8 cable pull. Their aere places inside those shifterts you are not going to flush out , even with a can of brake clean and compressed air.

reptilezs

if it is just dried up grease then flushing with solvent works 90% of the time. for the last 10% i strip it off the bike and throw it in the heated parts washer. relube with oil when done and oil periodically. if a part is physically broken then it is junk

Fred Smedley

Have you ever pulled these shifters completely down to the shaft?

Al1943

Why do that when 90% of the time a good hosing with WD 40 will fix them good as new.

IthaDan 

Spray WD40 [through the straw] till you're bored of spraying, then soldier on and keep spraying. If it works wait a day for the solvent (yes, wd40 is a solvent) to evaporate the follow with a proper lubricant like triflow or chain-l #5 . These shifters are rather robust, burning a $4 can of wd40 before you write them off seems like a lot of potential reward for not a lot risk.

Fred Smedley

Have you ever pulled these shifters completely down to the shaft?

reptilezs

olders ones yes but i don't bother. customer aint paying for that kind of labor

Fred Smedley

Having pulled them apart it's my opinion is that there are places inside those shifters where you are not getting grease out of and lube into unless they are disassembled. For shifter longevity grease is going to be a much better choice than light oil IMO . How long does light oil hang around in tight clearances in your chain for example?

HillRider

One problem with Shimano brifters is there are no repair or replacement parts available. So, if degreasing and relubing isn't sufficient, the only alternative is replacement and, of course, 8-speed has been out of print for a long time.

I've seen Fred's recommendation for using Campy's 10-speed brifters as a compatible replacement elsewhere and it seems to be a viable alternative if you want to stay with 8-speed.

fietsbob

8 speeds still show up on lower cost new bikes, so, they are sold as a repair part, as well, 1 per box.

LBS, here, tries to have 1 on hand.


customers are not as flush for cash around here , so that is reflected in the inventory.

FBinNY 

As a practical matter, not only will a thin solvent oil blend penetrate everywhere, there's no way to prevent it from doing so. Capillary action ensures that it'll wick effectively, and the thinner & tighter the spaces the better it'll wick in there.

As for lubrication, that can be done the same way but using a thicker oil or grease in solvent to help wicking. Once in place, the solvent evaporates leaving the lubricating film.

BTW- after lubing, let it stabilize (OK to ride) for a while, so all solvent is gone. Then use a Q-tip or rilled corners of a paper towel or rag to dab as much as possible off exposed surfaces. This will help slow the adhesion of dust over time.

The flush and relube cycle can be repeated as needed, and will keep levers working for a long time. Don't get anal, because it is possible to kill with kindness, but doing it once in a while, maybe after a rough winter is good PM.

Fred Smedley

Not in my case , the solvant did not penetrate and disolve the old grease and the lube did not penetrate the innermost parts of the shifers. I used LOTS of both and still the large lever continued to hang up. YRMV

reptilezs

the oil hangs around just fine in a shifter, the parts are lightly loaded. you can get spray grease if you really want. grease just gives you longer service intervals. the parts washer with heater really takes care of the stubborn ones.