So during my ride yesterday I fell over on the side of the street. Nothing major, just a small scratch on the knee and the handle bar. The pannier took most of the hit, but the left shifter was smacked as well. It still works fine, but it's no longer tight at all with the bars. It feels like it's the cable it self that holds it in place and I can rotate it about 30 degrees each side.
Does that mean its interior attachment broke?
It probably just needs to be tightened.
See:
http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/te...9830628723.pdf
If I recall correctly, you need to tighten turning allen wrench counter clockwise, not clockwise. After you remove the shift lever, the allen wrench goes into a hexagonal hole in the bolt (number 4 in figure). When you remove the lever, be careful that part number 2 in the figure stays in the same position when you reassemble.
I am not sure if yours is an 8 or 9 or 10 or other speed, this link is for the 9 speed but I think all are the same general construction.
I needed to loosen mine to fit the bike into an Amtrak box. Not a big deal. You can see how mine is turned so I could get it into the box.
