SRAM hydro lever issues

mattsccm
mattsccm Posts: 409
edited May 2019 in Workshop
After an event I lost virtually all braking from my Rival hydro brake. No amount of bleeding completely solves it. Bone dry around caliper and lever but I guess that this isn't a 100% guarantee that seals are not dodgy.
However, the brake lever has always rattled (maybe not from new but certainly from when I adjusted the reach.) Getting desperate I search and found a LFGSS thread suggesting that the piston in the lever assembly might stick. I thought I would check this out.
Winding the lever adjuster back out to give me room to remove it has given me my brake back, albeit at the expense of needing to grow my fingers.
Any thoughts or experiences with this?

Comments

  • paulbnix
    paulbnix Posts: 631
    My SRAM Rival hydro levers have always rattled. I assume its because, unlike rim brakes, the levers are not under any tension when completely released.

    Also after a period of fiddling I have found that the brakes work well from the tops regardless of the reach setting but they don't work so well from the drops unless I have the reach set quite far out.
    There is a lot of movement in the lever until the brake bites fully and from the drops the lever ends up close enough to the bars to worry me.
    I can still reach the levers from the drops and pull them in without applying the brake ready for when I do want to brake.
  • joey54321
    joey54321 Posts: 1,297
    I had a rattling lever which developed into having no brake as the lever hit the handlebar before the brake came on.

    I had to drain the system, remove pushrod and regrease with DOT compatible grease which fixed it. Apparently it is quite a common issue with sram levels.

    Just looked through my email from sram techs support:

    "In that case then yes you will need to remove the lever blade and Dot grease the mastor push rod assy and that should resolve the issue you have with the brake.

    Here is a link that shows you how,



    https://www.sram.com/sites/gen000000000 ... techdocs/e"

    Unfortunately, it no longer goes to a valid URL.
  • joey54321
    joey54321 Posts: 1,297
    https://www.sram.com/sites/default/file ... nglish.pdf

    This doc has it. Page 16 onwards.
  • mattsccm
    mattsccm Posts: 409
    Cheers. What a pain to do.
    Any short cuts eg can I do it on the bars?
  • joey54321
    joey54321 Posts: 1,297
    I seem to remember leaving the shifter it on the bars, though it can get quite fiddly so not actually sure its a time saver when all said and done. I guess it depends on how expensive/how much you like your bar tape.

    Edit: I should say, this is what fixed my issue of a loose, rattling lever. Not 100% sure it'll fix yours but it's at least an avenue to explore.
  • mattsccm
    mattsccm Posts: 409
    It does seem to be the answer to the lack of pressure. At least worth a try. getting the circlip that hold the lever pivot in is the biggest hassle.
  • alexragozny
    alexragozny Posts: 2
    Hi, bros.
    I am servicing my SRAM Rival now, changing all details to new. 
    https://sram.com/globalassets/document-hierarchy/service-manuals/sram-road/brakes/gen0000000005217-hydror-rev-d-english.pdf
    Please look at page 16. 
    I bought on bike components de small parts, which include STOP PLATE GEN. 2. 
    My bike has older specs and I have under lever STOP PLATE GEN. 1. 
    My question is - can I change STOP PLATE GEN. 1 to STOP PLATE GEN. 2.? 
    I see that in GEN 2 is ROLL PIN (also shown on page 16) holding STOP PLATE. I can't understand if the same ROLL PIN is in older configuration. Should I try to tap out what I consider to be ROLL PIN? Or in older configuration it is solid? 

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