Shortening hoses and bleeding Shimano M596 brakes

Giraffoto

I'm about to do what it says in the title - after the LBS said they couldn't do it for me any time in the next two weeks, I decided to MTFU, buy the official Shimano funnel and do it myself. Does anyone have any tips specific to these brakes, or is it just a case of following Shimano's instructions?

nicklouse

just do as it says in the manual.

if the shimano bleedless shortening does not work.

jsync

Bleeding:

http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/ ... no-brakes/

thelonegroover

Don't know where you are, but Shimano bleed funnels are out of stock everywhere near me.

Giraffoto

I got mine from Wiggle

Giraffoto

So here's what I did:

Prop the bike upright next to the Workmate. I don't have a workstand, and I was leaving the wheels on anyway. A good way to immobilise your bike when propping it up is a length of velcro strap around the wheel and the frame.

Adjust the position of the lever slightly so that the reservoir is vertical, with the oil port at the top.

Get the pads out of the rear caliper. Of course you do the rear first - if you screw it up the bike will still be relatively safe to ride to the LBS. Put the pads safely out of the way

Put a folded up business card between the pistons and rotor on both sides. This is a bit of overkill to stop the two bits of metal bothering one another

Pump the brake lever until the pistons are out a few millimetres on each side. One of them is more keen to come out than the other, but I think they both moved

Push back the rubber cover on the end of the hose and undo the hose joint nut with an 8mm spanner (crescent wrench for Americans), having mode a note of how far it's screwed in before you start

Pull the hose out of the lever. It may take quite a pull, which won't surprise you when you see how mangled the olive is

Cut the hose off to the required length with a sharp knife. At this point, any thoughts you had about the hoses being fragile and braided hose perhaps being a worthwhile investment will evaporate, and you'll make a mental note to check the blade before the next one.

Discard the offcut of hose, which has a small amount of oil still in it. So discard it into a plastic bag, don't just put it on the bench. There is now nothing to stop the oil pouring out of it.

Clamp the end of the hose in your Shimano clamping blocks in the jaws of the workmate, and hammer the hose insert in. All three of the other bits will fit over this, so don't waste time getting them on in order before you put the insert in.

Now put the rubber cover, hose joint nut and olive in place and give the hose a firm shove back into the lever. Tighten the hose joint nut until it's screwed in as far as it was before. Realize how the olive on the offcut got so mangled.

Go and wash your hands, or change your gloves. You've just been mucking about with oil and you're about to handle the pads. This isn't a joke.

Undo the oil cap on the lever. Screw your Shimano bleed funnel into it in case what you do next makes it overflow.

Use a couple of suitably thin levers to push the pistons back into the caliper. Put the pads back in, and don't forget the split pin. Also don't forget to spread it at the end when it's through.

Carefully remove the Shimano bleed funnel and put the cap back in. When you pushed the pistons back it will have forced oil out of the caliper, up the hose and back into the lever. And possibly out the top, too. If you're lucky, there won't be any air bubbles involved and you won't need to bleed the brakes.

Tighten everything back up, move the brake lever to where you had it, and give it a test. Success! The hose is a sensible length and the lever feels as solid as the other one.

I'm rather pleased with that, and it's made me a lot happier with the idea of doing the front one now. I'm particularly glad to have avoided the need to bleed them

jerryfudd

jsync wrote:

Bleeding:

http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/ ... no-brakes/

I did the front without needing a bleed but ended up having to replace the rear hose and after bleeding that there was quite a different feel so did both via the epic bleed kit and worked well although i'd advise removing the plunger on the lever side till its needed in step 8.

had to replace the rear hose as I fitted and shortened the front hose first and then found that most other countries have their front brake on the left so was left with a stupidly small hose to do the rear run as i got them from Germany...... £26 for a new hose.

Dan

Giraffoto

Just done the front one. It turns out you can use a cable cutter on the hose - much quicker than a sharp knife. Although Shimano recommends a needle to open the end of the hose out again, a panel pin is more the ideal size. Success x 2! I'm off to buy a lottery ticket . . .

jerryfudd

Giraffoto wrote:

Just done the front one. It turns out you can use a cable cutter on the hose - much quicker than a sharp knife. Although Shimano recommends a needle to open the end of the hose out again, a panel pin is more the ideal size. Success x 2! I'm off to buy a lottery ticket . . .

If you are buying anything from Epic they have a £4 hydro cutter that does a fine job in a split second.

Dan

pete_s

nicklouse wrote:

just do as it says in the manual.

if the shimano bleedless shortening does not work.

If anyone from the future looks at this thread then the manual can be a bit dodgey.

This video is really good, however, and explains it exactly (video is for 575 but will work for 596):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2c6ezHY0A4

DanDax1990

What I did when I first got my M596 brakes...

Used a Tektro olive and insert by accident, Which got mangled and stuck inside the lever. So I ordered a new lever straight away and then managed to get the insert and olive out the lever the following morning lol school boy error.