GrahamPaul
E*POWAH Elite World Champion
After 2500km and around 3 months of riding, the rear derailleur clutch seized on my Shimano SLX M7100 12sp. I tried to service it but the P-axle is entirely seized into the stabilizer unit (the bit with the needle bearings). According to this article, this is not an uncommon problem for the M7100, XT8100 and XTR9100 rear derailleurs and appears to be down to little or no grease being applied in the factory.
It really is a doddle to grease the stabilizer unit. Danny has a pretty good service video and the bit for the clutch mechanism starts here. (You do need to remove the derailleur from the bike and remove the blocking screw first). Full Shimano details, including torque values for the clutch which you never knew existed, can be found here.
I wish I'd seen the article earlier. It would have saved me a lot of problems.
Tomorrow I'll see if I can get a new P-axle and stabiliser unit easily. Otherwise I'll have to open a warranty claim with Shimano which will probably mean losing my bike for a while.
It really is a doddle to grease the stabilizer unit. Danny has a pretty good service video and the bit for the clutch mechanism starts here. (You do need to remove the derailleur from the bike and remove the blocking screw first). Full Shimano details, including torque values for the clutch which you never knew existed, can be found here.
I wish I'd seen the article earlier. It would have saved me a lot of problems.
Tomorrow I'll see if I can get a new P-axle and stabiliser unit easily. Otherwise I'll have to open a warranty claim with Shimano which will probably mean losing my bike for a while.
