Originally Posted by alwayssummer
Would this job be worth the $ & effort for 97 STX derailer or should i find something newer/better quality. It still seems to shift well most of the time, but it's kind of noisy. Might this replacement help that?
If it's shifting well and the wheels are not worn, I wouldn't bother replacing it, unless you just like to have new stuff (nothing wrong with that but personally I'm too cheap).
If it's noisy, maybe you just need a cleaning & lube job. It's pretty easy to take apart the derailer cage and get to the wheels. Depending on how old, which model, you might be able to get inside both pulley wheels and re-lube (clean thoroughly & re-pack with waterproof grease). If you can't get inside, just clean it as good as you can. You should definitely be able to get to the innards of the top pulley which is a likely source of noise. As noted it may be a brass bushing, which can be lubed. I'm not sure when they switched to ceramic.