Deore LX ST-M563 Brifter problems

[DuoTech]

Does anyone have experience of opening these up and troubleshooting shifters that won't shift? I've tried the usual method of blasting out the old grease around the pawls with WD40 but it still isn't engaging. Just asking on the off chance anyone has come across similarly stubborn '93 LX combo shifters that don't respond to the degrease treatment and managed to sort them out, before I give up and hunt a replacement. Apologies if I've popped this in the wrong forum.

Cheers

 

[fearfactoryüberalles]

Try to remove (very carefully) all plastic cover which seems removable or moveable. Old plastic can be brittle and don't ruin your stuff unnecessarily.

Then use brake cleaner fluid to degrease on the mechanism, NOTE! goddamned WD-40 is not a degreaser, but a water repellent (hence its name Water Displacement) substance and the material of Satan itself.

The tiny ratcheting pawls (silver alloy) are most likely stuck, so while spraying the cleaner, try to move them with a flat screwdriver on their axle, they will sooner or later break free and act as they should (engaging). Rather frustrating at first, very rewarding when the shifters come alive again.

I do not advise to dismantle the mechanism, it can be done, but only for those with hard-wired nerves or watchmakers. It's a cleaning issue, not a broken/missing part problem in most of the cases. It's worth a try .

 

[DuoTech]

Re:

Thanks for the tips. I'll blame the WD-40 usage on desperation and delirium!

Gave it another 10 minutes of cleaning and trying to work the pawls back into action after I saw your reply. They felt less stuck but still nothing engaged. In the end I just put a cable in the shifter, pulled taut on the cable and it shifted smoothly across the range. Took the cable out, tried again and nothing engaged. Looks like it just needed the tension of being linked up to a mech to get it clicking? Doh.

 

[fearfactoryüberalles]

Re: Re:

Thanks for the tips. I'll blame the WD-40 usage on desperation and delirium!

Gave it another 10 minutes of cleaning and trying to work the pawls back into action after I saw your reply. They felt less stuck but still nothing engaged. In the end I just put a cable in the shifter, pulled taut on the cable and it shifted smoothly across the range. Took the cable out, tried again and nothing engaged. Looks like it just needed the tension of being linked up to a mech to get it clicking? Doh.

It looks like you're halfway with it. It must engage without any cable tension, so stick to your guns. Clean it again and while spraying, click it constantly or move the pawls with a tiny screwdriver on their axles. Gummed-up grease in tiny springs & stuck axles is your enemy, so set them free, 10 minutes simply not enough, don't be frugal with the brake cleaner, 1 whole can easily should be used if needed. If it works again, get some lightweight oil inside, as the cleaner made the mechanism dry. Good luck and use proper masks to avoid getting a sniffing habit :facepalm: !

 

[legrandefromage]

The pawls will need a bit of manipulation to get the goo moving in order for it to be broken down by the penetrating oils and lubricants

A drip of 3in1 when they're working will do them some good too

 

[Rank_21]

I've had a few of these, aswell as the stx's, alivio , DX etc that have similar internals. They all tend to have issues with the springs that have lost tension or grease that has hardened. For the springs, it's either the 2 small ones that do the shifting or a larger ones in the centre of the mecanism that need to be retensioned by undoing the locknut inside and bending them in the opposite direction. Sometimes for the grease, you need to undo everything to really get to the parts and clean them. Putting it back together can be a bit fiddly.

...Infact someone's currently posting a rebuild of a xt shifter, it's fairly similar, although the lx is more plastic

 

[nic0]

Re:

you have to move the pawl with a small screwdriver (blue arrow)

 

[DuoTech]

Re:

Thanks all. I'll have another session working on those pawls tonight. Managed to take apart and successfully reassemble a spare DX thumbie back in the winter by following an excellent thread on here, but the rapid fire shifters look like a different ball game. I also don't have a spare LX brifter and given the prices they go for on eBay I'd like to try and get this one working in the most risk-free way possible!