Veloh

Why?

Here are pictures of the boss and parts of the right shifter. Left is similar except that the black nylon washer is now white.

What am I missing?

Chombi

If the nylon washer turned black, then there must be something chemically attacking it (some sort of solvent must have worked its way into the lever guts..) and that black stuff might be acting like a lubricant so its not providing enough resistance to the tension from the derailleur cable. Clean off all the black stuff from the shift lever studs on the frame and the nylon washer and see if there's a difference. If you can't adjust the lever to provide enough tension resistance, you might have to replace the plastic washer, as it might have lost some material from the chemical attack.

Chombi

Veloh

The black one isn't dirty though. It's just black colored and identical to the other washer, just in a different color. Both shifters have no friction though and the shifters themselves have significant horizontal play. It's like a need another washer or something or tighten the screw further but that's as far as it goes. Diagrams online show that I have all the parts though...

bearstronaut

Reseat them a few times. Shift levers with that design are sometimes finnicky and don't seat properly. Sounds like it could be the culprit.

Bianchigirll 

I s this a new build? Try putting a small extra washer just under the screw head, maybe the screw is bottoming out. I would also try some scotch brite on the nylon washers and the mating surface on the shifter.

repechage

This bike powder coated? If so, first check the installation of the backing plate, the alloy part that has the lever stop. It needs to be not sticking beyond the bottom of the stub where the first washer is placed. if so, you are compressing a poor spring and it will be "tight" but not taught. A fine file can be used to dress up the powder coat which it looks to me like what the color finish is, or really thick paint.

20grit

Looks like a lot of grease on that boss.

Veloh

It just a bit gunky. Paint is think and the limit plate touches the downtube. It's as if I'm missing a washer. Can anyone verify that I have all the parts?

Drillium Dude 

Yup - you've got all the parts.

Are the flats on the black nylon washer rounded at all? If so, that could be your problem. I have a spare I can provide if you end up needing it.

DD

Veloh

That's very generous of you DD. The black washer is only rounded on one side to fit into the shifter. The other side seems flat as can be.

BTW, I used your drillium prep post to rehab the Super Record headset. Looks beautiful now.

ThermionicScott 

Is there any junk inside the boss that's keeping the screw from going in all the way? Any chance that you got the wrong screws?

Veloh

Shined a light down the boss. Seems clean. Did Campy screws come in more than one size?

ThermionicScott 

I'm not an expert, but maybe you could thread the screws into each boss without the shifter to make sure it bottoms out where you'd expect. If these parts aren't priceless, maybe you could take 1mm or so off the ends of the bolts so that they'll make better contact before bottoming out.

Utedeej

I recall a post somewhere on here, where someone was talking about how sometimes the threads could be too "slippery" and wouldn't tighten with the campy shifters. The solution was pretty agricultural - scuffing the screws up a little on a concrete gutter to give a bit more friction!

Anyway, not sure if this is the solution for your problem, but good luck with trying them all out.

Drillium Dude 

They did - more than once I've had to cut one down a bit so that it wouldn't bottom out before becoming tight enough. In this case, it's not a blasphemous modification

Oh, and regarding the flats: I was actually referring to the flat areas of the hole through the nylon washer. If they get damaged they won't seat properly, allowing the washer to rotate on the boss.

DD

conspiratemus1

^ I think that's it. I believe that some builders used a long set-screw that goes through the frame tube from one boss to the other to line up the bosses diametrically opposite and in line. Your shifter bolt may be bottoming on the screw head at the base of the boss before it tightens down on the parts it's supposed to keep tight. You may need a shorter bolt on the side with the screw head -- check with your depth caliper and trim the bolt appropriately.

The other possibility is that the threads in the boss are not tapped all the way down or have been damaged or contaminated in some way. If you seem to have adequate depth but the bolt still won't screw all the way in you could tap more threads. Likely you will need one of those special taps that aren't tapered at the end -- plug taps I think they are called -- since the taper of a normal tap may bottom before it cuts the threads deep enough.

Veloh

I think the screw might be too long. I just added a few more washers and it seems to have enough friction.