Refurbish XTR rear derailleur (rust due to road salt)

Equipment
1

I underestimated how heavily roads are salted in Austria. It cost me a chain (I just switched to wax-based lube, which is superior to oil-based lubes in almost all situations … except to prevent corrosion). And my fancy-schmancy XTR rear derailleur stopped working reliably.

I’m getting an XT rear derailleur since this is my daily, but I want to try to revive it. The problem seems to be with the clutch, sometimes it fails to provide any tension and the chain sags and drops off the chain ring.

2

Shimano clutch service

2 Likes
3

I actually followed GMBN’s video this weekend.
The clutch was sticking, and the spring inside my derrailleur turned out to be VERY rusty. Followed the video, cleaned everything and works great again!

2 Likes
4

The clutch is something like the drive train which requires regular cleaning and maintenance

1 Like
5

Thanks all for the info, I’ll definitely try to revive it after my move in two weeks.