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The derailleur on my Rail is some fancy pants XT clutch mech and will only go down the cassette smoothly and consistently if the switch is in the off position. This the second time this has happened, although it's been a gradual deterioration this time, rather than a catastrophic failure like the first time. Mech was replaced under warranty the first time, but was only a few months old. The current mech is about a year old at a guess and appears to be out of stock everywhere.
Can it be serviced or is it new, unobtainable, mech time?
The clutch went on my 12 speed SLX mech. Tried servicing it with no luck, however, all Shimano clutches are the same inside. I used one pull from an old 10 speed mech. All good now.
It could be the clutch is gummed up, or gunk and shite on the axle which goes into the pivot behind there. Both are relatively easy to service if you take your time. Definitely worth a go. Be careful not to round off the little bolts holding the cover on.
I must admit I have the clutch off on both my bikes anyway. Not dropped any chains recently.
Is it worth chucking the mech in an ultrasonic bath?
Quite easy to do.
I took mine apart after watching a similar video. Pretty easy to do. Make sure that you don’t use any chemicals on inside of the clutch bearing itself. Lots of places say it has special factory lube in there that needs to stay put. You can buy a servicing kit for it - haven’t got the part no to hand but Si.Shimano.com will help you find it. Or just clean it up. My guess is it’s gunked up if it has been working ok. Don’t over tighten anything.
oh, actually have you checked the adjuster which is accessible without taking it to bits. Under a little cap on the rear facing bit of it. Small hex. Look in the dealer manual from si.shimano.com
Thanks for the video @uggski it was just what I needed.
Mech is now stripped, cleaned, greased and reassembled. Just waiting on some new jockey wheels to replace the ninja throwing stars that are currently fitted.
I've got a 12 speed XT mech that's also a tiny bit sticky. I can't be bothered to try service it and I don't run a shimano drive train anymore so gonna put it up for sale with its bar mount XT shifter.
If anyone's keen to take it and sort the clutch pm me
if its not gone too far, take off the clutch cover clean and regrease the band and bearings.
If its gone to far like my Solaris' did, then your roller bearings might be rusted out beyond saving and the axle pitted.
The roller(needle) bearings are a 1 way bearing so should rotate CCW, not CW
On the solaris' mech, I swapped in the roller bearing from a saint mech and cant now remember if I was able to wet/dry and polish the rust off the axle or is I also used the sain axle.
On my genius, failed mid ride, the mech wouldn't return to take the slack out of teh chain so stuck forwards. I was able to clean it up and save it but I do have a replacement stabilizer kit ready to drop in.
Either way, there wont be enough grease on the bearing so anyone with an XT 12 speed should jump on it and regrease.
@shanner can you let me know if you've sold the mech please? I broke the clutch lever on mine this week.
Conversely I got back to the car after several hours to find I’d been riding without the clutch engaged on my 10sp Deore. No chains were dropped, the chainstay wasn’t covered in chain rash, and to the best of my knowledge no kittens died. Conversely shifting up and down the cassette was a joy and I spent the whole ride patting myself on the back for being such an ace mechanic.
I think we’ve all been lied to.
My SLX clutch stopped working and used the video above to clean out but i used SRAM butter as a lube and its back to normal function.
I'd forgot about selling my mech and shifter and just put it up for sale if anyones still looking
funds for axs required