Sticky front deralieur - replace or overhaul?

gimmiespacerock

I've been struggling with a sticky FD (Shimano 105 5700) for months. I have to spray lube into the pivots and work by hand to free it up about once a week. It's doing my nut in!

Last week I decided to sort it properly so I took the FD off the frame and slid it forwards round the chainwheel so it was hanging under the chain. I cleaned it with white spirits by soaking it and brushing it with a toothbrush to try and get the spirits well into the pivots. After lots of hand manipulation it freed up nicely. I then wiped it down and sprayed the pivots with GT85 and reinstalled. After a bit of fettling to get the alignment sorted it was running nicely - shifting up and down really smoothly. Job done or so I though.

Did a wet 50 miler and 2 days later I return to the bike to find the FD stuck solid again. Checked the cable - no stickiness there. The pivots on the FD had seized up again. Bugger.

So, what did I do wrong here? Not rinsing out the white spirit well enough? Not enough lube (or the wrong type) on the pivots.

I have read on here that some don't regard these pivots as needing much lube. I find the FD to be incredibly sensitive. Perhaps it's due to the crap dripping down into it from my rear mudguards.

Should I try again to sort this FD out or give it up as a bad job and buy a new one? I also have just bought a new chain and cassette as the current one has just started skipping. It would be a good time to change the FD as I'd have to split the chain to do it anyway, but funds are tight and I'd rather not have to spend the twenty odd quid if I don't have to.

Cheers for any advice.

Mike

gozzy

I'm not sure that GT85 will be sufficient, I'd get a bit of grease on there. I'd also get a KMC split link so you can split your chain whenever you need.

alihisgreat

How often do you change on the FD? My FD only ever stuck when I was using a compact and staying on the big ring pretty much all the time, and therefore not using the FD often.

Now I'm on a 53/39 I change much more often, and find that a spray of GT85 or TF2 on the pivots whenever I lube my chain (once or twice a week?) is enough to keep it running smoothly (at least as smooth as is possible with 10,000 mile old cables!). It takes seconds to do the front and rear-derailleurs.

shmooster

Not convinced white spirit is the best cleaning option, it's going to remove all the lubricant as well as the dirt. better using mucoff or a citrus degreaser and making sure you lube it afterwards.

rhext

GT-85 isn't a good lubricant for this. Spray with GT-85 and then use a proper lubricant (something like Finish Line Cross-Country at this time of year). Change gear a few time so it gets into the pivots, and then wipe off any excess. Repeat every time you clean the bike.

keef66

Past experience with FDs on road and mountain bikes has been that once the pivots start playing up it's best to simply replace the thing. Wasted hours cleaning, lubing and wiggling the things back and forth, only to have them seize up again a week later.

Having said that, my 5603 triple front shifter has been faultless for 6 years, with just an occasional wipe and a spot of 3-in-1 oil on each pivot.

gimmiespacerock

Thanks for the replies. So it sounds like perhaps I just haven't used the best lubricant.

I have some finish line dry lube and some green wet lube (can't remember the make). Would this be better? I have tried using these before on the pivots but as the lube comes out in quite thick droplets I found that it seemed impossible to get the drops into the correct area - it seemed like it wouldn't penetrate right into the joint.

Would putting grease on the general area provide some protection once the thinner lube has gone on? I'm a bit wary of putting anything too viscous on there as I understand that this will attract dirt and cause it to clog even quicker.

Thanks again

keef66

I haven't had anything seize up since I have been periodically lubing all the pivots with a drop of bog standard 3-in-1 oil (front and rear mechs and brake calipers)

Wipe clean to remove any dirt, apply drop of lube at each pivot point (lots of them on a parallelogram!), leave for a minute to soak in then wipe off any excess so it doesn't attract dirt.

I use the same oil / procedure on the chain.

rhext

GimmieSpaceRock wrote:

Thanks for the replies. So it sounds like perhaps I just haven't used the best lubricant.

I have some finish line dry lube and some green wet lube (can't remember the make). Would this be better? I have tried using these before on the pivots but as the lube comes out in quite thick droplets I found that it seemed impossible to get the drops into the correct area - it seemed like it wouldn't penetrate right into the joint.

Would putting grease on the general area provide some protection once the thinner lube has gone on? I'm a bit wary of putting anything too viscous on there as I understand that this will attract dirt and cause it to clog even quicker.

Thanks again

I use an aerosol can of finish line. It comes out in a sort of sticky foam, which expands to cover the area you're trying to lube. You work the joint a little and then wipe off the excess. It's easier to apply than drops. Quite expensive, at £10 a tin, but you only need to use a tiny bit at a time and a can lasts for ages.