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Bleeding doesn't seem to fix my spongy XT brake

12K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  Aglo 
#1 ·
My rear XT brake felt weak and unresponsive and I could pull the lever all the way in, like they needed a bleed, so I bled them but they felt almost the same (maybe just slightly better) - did it again really carefully and there was a slight improvement but it still feels too soft with not a lot of resistance compared to front and I can pull the lever all the way in still - I can still ride since I use mostly front, but it feels awkward and I am wondering what is going on.

I have bled these brakes many times successfully using this method which does not use the syringe (since I don't have the Shimano syringe):



But after 2 bleeds w/ this method, still not working right. I was thinking that maybe this method w/out the syringe works to point, but maybe there comes a point where you absolutely need the syringe to push out all the air (maybe air is stuck in a spot really close to the lever?). Or is likely that there may be something else wrong w/ my brakes?

thanks for your advice!
 
#3 ·
This happened to a friends XTRs, narrowed it down to the hose, most likely the crimp on the banjo fitting going onto the caliper, only solution is to get it re-crimped (highly doubtful anywhere has a crimper that small) or just buy a new hose. If you want to test the theory, simply swap the calipers between levers, the other lever should now feel crap, then swap just the hose between levers. New hose is around $20, so not too expensive.
 
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#7 ·
That took care of it - thanks! I thought that other method was easy, but this only took about 5 minutes and they work perfect now. I didn't have the official Shimano syringe, so I just used a generic medical/dental syringe at it worked great - I was a little nervous keeping the pads in there the way he did in the video, but I was very careful and it worked fine!

Edit: Kliemann53 I noticed that discrepancy as well, pull and free stroke all the way out during the bleed as shown in the later video did the trick for me
 
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