CRACKED Piston Repair Deore XT Brake Caliper NEW METHOD ¦ Budget Mountain Bike Repair & Upgrade

[@lebot3403]

The longer i watch this bike parts repair,the easier it kinda looks,which is amazing.We need some more bike parts repair like this in the future.

[@justk6988]

Yeah ikr

[@tysonm2525]

Amen!

[@huskerfan3352]

Rained Tuesday and Wednesday here so hyped to ride

[@ianthompson043]

Lucky! Barely got a little sprinkle where I’m at

[@huskerfan3352]

@@ianthompson043 probably got a solid inch or 2 here in Tucson

[@ForEverMTB]

Your videos are gold bro. I just replace my front hub my self because of you. Greetings from a loyal suscriber from Mexico

[@eugene44569]

If you ever buy the new medium axum and upgrade it you should do a head to head battle with the nucleus like you did previously. This time its more fair because they are both the same size

[@jvsabas]

Great job! You give me confidence to tear in more deeply on bike parts repair. Thanks.

[@Daniel-gp4em]

Nice video, keep them coming! I think its a good idea to only change that one piston to compare and see how it holds up to the OEM pistons. Maybe do a check on them again in a few months.

[@iamamodel7]

WARNING: At 5:00 you are using the wrong brake bleed block. You must use the correct yellow Shimano two-piston brake bleed block otherwise you can crack the pistons again because the ceramic pistons won't be straight in the bore and you can crack them exactly as shown in the cracked one you removed. Twice I have cracked a piston unknowningly by using exactly the same bleed block you show - and I didn't know the bleed block was the problem it until one pair started leaking around the piston and the other pair had a piston that wouldn't retract 100% because the ceramic chips made their way behind the piston over time.

[@Charlessowers]

Thanks for pointing this out!

[@dtibor5903]

You absolutely don't need to squeeze hard the brake levers hard when bleeding it.

[@rogerfloyd852]

Officially one of the best mtb channels now

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Huge compliments thanks Roger. I have some pretty big video ideas coming up in May. One of them is a no air pressure challenge 😂😂😂

[@jinavl]

@@EvansMTBSaga just subbed..ive got slx m7000 brakes and my brake handle wont retract so i cleaned,pushed and worked the pistons back to normal but my lever still wont retract..any ideas of what could be the issue

[@mikewesty2864]

Impossible to find calliper piston replacement videos! Thanks a ton from Australia mate!

[@WattWireNet]

To answer your question, I found one way to crack a ceramic piston--when bleeding your brakes, stick in a plastic tire lever to stop the pistons from coming out. The wedge shape of the lever didn't engage the flat face of the piston, causing uneven pressure. One final hard squeeze right before finishing up the bleed, I heard a sharp snap sound like a small chicken bone being broken. I second later mineral oil started shooting out the side of the piston, doh!

[@iseeker3845]

SAME!!!! Tonight!!! except I was using a bleed block so it should have been fine. but your description is exactly what happened to me. I guess now it is buy a new caliper time (mine was slx br-m7100)

[@UniverseReef]

Exactly same scenario..

[@WattWireNet]

@LB & iSeeker, I ended up buying after market piston kit and rebuilding them myself for pretty cheap... and it wasn't that difficult (following a YT vid). They've worked flawlessly since, and the hard plastic replacement pistons are shatter-proof :)

[@iseeker3845]

@@WattWireNet Let me know which one you went with. Could be a fun little project. THanks!

[@NeutralGenericUser]

I think you made the right call replacing only one piston. Besides the tolerances of the replacement pistons, you also have spares in case another piston breaks!

[@nultianeks]

I read a few comments and I want to say shimano ceramic pistons can get damaged with normal use(usually they chip off a bit, rarely crack). Heat has nothing to do with that, that's reserved for their plastic pistons which are even worse. It's a sin shimano doesn't provide spare pistons for cheap.

[@TheMatfo555]

Just watched a few of your videos, great channel and good job! For anyone not familiar with this procedure, just make sure to wear protective equipment (eye, face) when using air to push out pistons. These things can become bullets and explode all over the place if pressure builds in... even with cracked pistons. Keep up the good work! Cheers.

[@antoinedefat4546]

I confirm that it is really dangerous and we must wear glasses

[@bora01vr6]

I had the same issue with some XT two piston brakes . I bought a new piston on Amazon . It works great it’s been on my bike for around 3 months now

[@bora01vr6]

The Amazon piston was a knock off Chinese one . We will see if it fails, hopefully not while I’m doing anything crazy .

[@dylan-5287]

How did it break originally? Did you use something metal to push the piston back or apply uneven pressure? I'm always nervous when pushing pistons back, seems like they're super delicate. I've always used an old set of pads to apply even pressure and it's worked so far.

[@bora01vr6]

I honestly have no clue how they broke . I noticed that my brake felt a little spongy . So I bleed them and noticed that I was leaking mineral oil from the piston . So I took it off . Used the syringe with water to push the piston open and noticed the broken ceramic piston in there . So I ordered a new Chinese piston and seems to work great .

[@AndruComedy]

Hey Mathew any feedback on the Amazon piston over time? I'm about to use some and I'm nervous.

[@marg1867]

More of this, KZbin tutorials got me into fixing up my bikes and in turn interested in riding them. Hate having to wait weeks and spend crazy amounts of cash for jobs that could be done at home.

[@doranimal]

I've broken them by pushing them back in unevenly. Also by not having the correct adaptor/rotor and then squeezing the lever. Basically if the piston moves at anything other than dead in line it cracks. You can sometimes just have the base of them broken and they still work. You'll only know because they won't push right back and you hear a crunching sound:-).

[@Storm____]

This guy is super underrated

[@jacobclark89]

Yes, you probably want to get the Piston upgrade kit. Thanks for the video, I just happened to have a rock shock adapter laying around , now I have a reason for it.

[@mlav-ln5fe]

You know, there are air nozzles with rubber tips that will blow out the pistons...

[@woppertonius]

Worked for me after initial bleed... We'll see how it holds up over time. Thanks for the great video!

[@pabliche85]

So, worth it? Did you change all 4?

[@jeremywatts2768]

I'm glad you made this. I was seriously pissed when I bought a pair of SLX 7120's and found one had a cracked piston OOTB new. I'm only finding the 2 big/small piston kit on Amazon, so I guess I'll have to go with that since I only will replace one large piston. Man, this is getting expensive. If you need the banjo o-rings they're 8.5OD x 6.5OD x 1.0MM DIA and you can get them in bags of 50 for about $7.

[@jeremywatts2768]

The only problem I can see with the metal piston is rust like a car vehicle piston. Hopefully that doesnt kill off the seals or cause sticking before you replace or upgrade them. Quite frankly, I dont see why you'd bother replacing the other pistons if they're in good condition and look to have no wear on them. I also didn't crack it on the bleed block, but there is a tiny hole inside the lip of the ceramic where I can see fluid shooting out.

[@jeremywatts2768]

I think you can buy a MT520 to scavenge the ceramic pistons and its not much more than the knockoff kit.

[@dr_dafuq1054]

Glad to see you went for blue

[@dylan-5287]

Haha I just recently put a 4 piston front brake on my Mythique as well. Found a shimano Zee on a killer sale. Just insane how much better it is than the stock m401 brake, which wasn't a bad brake or anything. Now I want to do the back lol, but it's not available anywhere. Also just ordered a new dvo topaz shock for $100 off. Definitely love the direction the channel is going. I love working on my bike but you've got way more balls than me for the level of repairs you're willing to attempt. Super entertaining and you're increasing my confidence for taking on bigger more challenging repairs. Keep it going!!

[@johnsonjay60]

Nice :) I would have replaced all the pistons while they were apart personally brother 🤙. Glad u found one :)

[@dylan-5287]

I'd probably do the same, it's already apart. Plus with how it shattered I'd be worried about pieces getting behind other pistons and harming the seals.

[@joecanuck3751]

... and you can keep the used ones as spares. (After 20 years you can toss them out, then about a week later you'll find a need for them.)

[@MTBAlex]

The tutorials is a good idea, but I think it will benefit many if you explain more the process

[@MTBAlex]

That is what I used to do at the beginning, now, if I'm doing something I already did, I try to just emphasize the steps, quick and easy. But this one was great man. What is the website you got them at?

[@dylan-5287]

@@MTBAlex yeah I'd definitely appreciate going a bit more in depth and explaining it all some more. Easily could have stretched it out to 12 minutes while still being entertaining and more watch time for channel growth. Pretty sure he said pinkbike too. The BuySell forum on there is gold, so many amazing deals to be had.

[@MTBAlex]

@@dylan-5287 yeah, the kind of repairs @Evan is currently doing are great, but hard to find diys like that

[@dirtwolfmtb]

What worked for me was, while on the bike, remove the pads, put in a 4 mm allen wedged into gap, pump the brake lever until they are tight with allen key. Now split your caliper in half, the pistons can be removed with needlenose, replace one piston and seal at a time.

[@ALwinDigital]

$30 for a caliper with a broken piston and $44 for a replacement kit. I can get a brand new 4 piston XT M8120 caliper for about the same total.

[@eserr4441]

Heck I didn’t even know that was possible to repair. Awesome video 🤘🏼

[@WOLFTICKVIDEOS]

I kinda feel like if they ain't broke don't fix'em in this case. Nice vid, the quality, and editing is great. We might have to send you some broken stuff🤣.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

I agree! I would love some busted parts, but not those super bent bars from the Cats Meow crash, those are toast 😂😂

[@Luca-fk8yt]

Ceramic pistons, happened to a friend of mine when he bled his deore 4-pot caliper. Now he gave the caliper seals and remaining parts to a buddy with zee's.

[@nicolasclement7946]

Well produced video, keep on keeping on Evans!

[@petererbse6253]

I also thought of buying a 4 piston front caliper but I have tektro dracos. I am now buying Trickstuff break pads and discs. They make pads for almost every kind of break and I heard that their products are the best in terms of breaks and break components

[@joecanuck3751]

Your English is pretty good. The correct spelling when talking about stopping is 'brake'. The other spelling or 'break' means 'to damage' and is usually bad when talking about bikes and riding bikes.

[@robertnunezsf]

Just FYI... The IFP adapter is the same size as the bleeder valve but different thread pitch -so screwing it in will damage the threads in the caliper, though the IFP thread section is only a 1/8"m or so. I used a bleed block which was able to position to hold 3 of the 4 pistons, and just use the existing fluid in the system to get it out...

[@tustain5179]

awesome video, i love your style and dont understand how you dont have so many more subs!

[@andrey_rider]

Hey Evan! Any long term update about the repair kit or the functioning? I just bought a pair of Saints which need piston replacement and would be great to know if this is a permanent solution. Thanks!!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Yup still working as of yesterday!

[@hclee6103]

Shimano uses 1.8 mm rotors, while the one you're using is probably 2.0 mm thick. I'd be curious about how well the Magura rotor with Shimano Caliper gets along with each other. Keep up the good work! Cheers

[@dylan-5287]

Good point, I'd be curious if they tend to rub a lot more with less space.

[@justing6614]

@@dylan-5287 i run shimano XT 4pot calipers with magura 2.0mm thick rotors for over 8months works very very good no rubbing at all.

[@jamesmarchant5837]

Tried blowing mine out today for a little maintenance…….. fired it out at 100mph and broke the piston! Make sure you put a cloth in between the caliper before you try blowing them out

[@Mt.herzberg99]

We do love the knowledge from you.

[@123moof]

I had one cracked bad enough that neither compressed air or a syringe worked, just not enough pressure built up. Having little to lose I used a center punch to fully shatter them. After a very thorough cleaning of all the ceramic dust I was able to install fresh pistons without further issues. Risky, but it worked for me.

[@jamble7k]

did you have good luck with the knock off pistons/seals?

[@123moof]

@@jamble7k Yes, the caliper is issue free.

[@jasonfrodoman1316]

I watched your excellent video to help me get the pistons out of my XLS caliper. They came out using the water pressure method. One was cracked. Anyway, I was wondering where you purchased the new pistons for your brakes. I"m in Boulder City NV and hope to find a source here in the US. Thank you. Oh, and have you considered doing a parts exchange program. Send in a core, get a rebuilt unit at some price less the core credit.

[@xcarpzx]

Enjoying the channel keep it up! I really like the repair videos, will definitely help when I have to do it to my bike!

[@LesssIsMore]

Nice video!!! Thanks for posting. You're so positive on your videos, that great. Do you still want bike parts or have you been inundated? I have a Stealth dropper and the only thing broken is the hydraulic hose from a crash. At the time, I couldn't locate a replacement part so I bought a new dropper. After removing one piston from one caliper side, didn't the air blow out of the empty spot? Did you plug us the hole so you could remove the other piston?

[@OneGlobe360]

I'm a part of the CreatorNow community - super excited to see your next videos!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Heck yeah! I'll check out your channel as well.

[@OneGlobe360]

@@EvansMTBSaga thank you so much!! 🙌🏻

[@pipecfh]

Next time lube the pistons with mineral oil, not grease, other than that great video! you earned a new sub here, loved your channel!

[@mestery.j378]

I think the only thing that would make a difference is that the replacement piston (based on its color) is not a ceramic piston therefore it won't dissipate heat that well when braking

[@dars0n1]

Awesome video! I'm really hoping something similar exists for SRAM. It looks like you were blasting the air through the bleed port side is that right??

[@chaosrides3079]

Great video. I would suspect that the piston was either mishandled or dropped at the factory or had a defect right from the start.

[@lucasdurham6830]

i have a broken piston n my XTR trail, gonna do this soon!

[@VirManG60]

So to confirm why the piston broke...just a few days ago i went to bleed my brand new M820 Saint and accidentally used the bleed block for 2-piston brakes. Funny enough the rear one was OK but the front one broke :( Shimano guys are being huge jerks for not providing replacement parts, especially for high end equipment to i will order a single new ceramic piston from a well known site from China and fix it. Luckily i had M520's in the box so i'm using it now until the other one gets fixed. Amazing way to destroy a 200$ brake. Again, always pay attention to the size of the bleed block you are using guys.

[@mtbboy1993]

Sweet you got seals and pistons, good to be able to fix the brakes after warranty goes out, but you can fe tpsrts form shimano, so nice there are after market parts. Did you find master cylinder pistons and seals too? If so That will make it Shimano brakes a etter value than they are now, but I saw something on Instagram, their eight be master cylinder pistons coming from a new brake brand, Radic is the name, but they experimented with 3d printed caliper, now they do cnc caliper, and do aftermarket small parts . I've had 4 warranty replacement brakes leak. I just gave up. But had Servo wave and no adjustment so adjusted for my reach they were too weak anyway. Thx for sharing links to items used.

[@mtbboy1993]

@RollinRat buying new brakes and having to do it and its being out of stock, not nice, I rather have bunch of seals spare, and swap if needed to. not having to buy and wait for brakes, I could of course have spare brakes, but if you can fix it why not. especially if it's a expensive brake costing 5 times or 10 times as much. like trickstuff, the most expensive brakes on the market.

[@iffy_too4289]

My guess at the broken piston is someone trying to push the pistons back after a service or lever pull with the wheel out. They used a flat blade screwdriver between the piston and brakepad and probably twisted it. With resin or metal pistons this will be fine, but ceramic will shatter.

[@mkhitarkhodaverdian7159]

Love your videos man keep pushing

[@michaelszymura9454]

I had exactly the same problem with both brakes xtr 9120. Purchased OEM pistons from China and got them replaced after maybe 2 months both brakes got leaked contaminating brand new pads and rotors... Ended up buying Saints just to see how long they will last.

[@MattGlynn]

brilliant video and excellent quality! thanks for sharing.

[@yogeshshrama9739]

Great item! Would highly recommend!

[@philippebenard1075]

Great video. Super informative thanks. So cool to know you can fix this

[@pellabandgeek]

Free knowledge? Liked and subbed.

[@dvxShoeN]

Good idea, only if I add that up, a new Deore or even slx brake caliper would be cheaper.

[@ethangalbreath1884]

I would have put new pistons in all of them while I already had it apart but that personal preference

[@andreasbrandstetter9221]

broke one of mine too. happens when i put a wrech between and then squeezed the lever to push the bistons out a bit to clean them. the wrechn is not totaly flat and so the piston cracks very fast.... where my first ones out of ceramik...... happens fast....

Congrats. You saved less than 10$ assuming your time is worthless

[@fackerhidonbush8420]

You can get crazy powerful breakpads from aliexpress for 3$. Metal or ceramic would be the best choice

[@becyk_du_quebec]

Love the well made vid, easy sub! How well did they perform once on the bike (the new pistons). Any durability issues after a while? Thanks!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Been using them almost a year now, feels like OEM!

[@TheCaptainsCog]

You should have wore the lab coat cuz that was straight up brake surgery!!! Blue is lookin good but I still think some gold would have been 🔥🔥😎⚓👍

[@BrokeGalaxy41]

i thought you couldn't get seals for shimano callipers. Also how effective would a track pump be on getting the pistons out. BTW I picked up a full set of saints for $50 and i think they need a full tear down. If you have any more input it will be greatly appreciated

[@adamneulander]

Ceramic pistons can get broken when you're careless about pushing them back in, like if you put all the pressure on one side. You have to push them back in from the middle.

[@dylan-5287]

I've always heard to never use metal either, only plastic tire levers if touching them directly. I've got an old set of worn down pads I keep just for pushing pistons back to keep even pressure, no problems so far.

[@fireboyjosh12]

Uberbike do amazing break pads, great video! Helpful, what grease /fluid did you use on the pistons on installation?

[@EvansMTBSaga]

I just used Shimano mineral oil. Almost used a full 3oz bottle doing a full bleed!! So many contaminates.

[@pumpkin8680]

Sick vid man :))

[@alanknott6851]

Great video, I've a cracked piston. Any links to the kit you bought?

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Sorry to hear that. Check the description.

[@chrishorbatt3504]

I would have atleast replaced the other same size piston on the opposing side incase it was slightly different and didnt apply the same.

[@aljalilhamor3814]

try to go to a machine shop, to fabricate that piston so it will never be break again that's how we do here in the Philippines we replaced that ceramic pistol to stainless or Titanium so it won't break.

[@Schmittr]

Any update on long term performance of the pistons you used? Still holding strong?

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Yup still using them on every ride! No issues whatsoever

[@AndruComedy]

Great video. Any feedback on the Amazon piston over time?

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Still working great!

[@mtnbikerva1]

Have they fixed the wandering bite point and leaky seals?

[@twowheelsforlife]

How did this work out? I have 1 leaking as well.

[@greatapex2280]

Main reason to replace all pistons instead of 1: -The new pistons are from a different material, this may lead to uneven brake pressure/retraction. My race bike now has a cracked piston, I'm replacing them with ceramic (non-OEM) pistons. Fingers crossed! (Replacing pistons because of world-wide caliper shortage)

[@ultiss]

there is no problem here. The force of the piston will be determined by oil pressure on piston surface. Piston fits the same hole so surface should be the same. the piston retraction happens from the rubber seal flexing which has no effect on braking performance. The only difference is thermal conductivity, ceramics are better isolators and thus better at keeping the heat out of the caliper

[@MarioGoatse]

@@ultissDifferent materials also have different friction coefficients, so it might be faster or slower to retract, giving imprecise braking modulation.

[@tomgillard4768]

This is so sick!

[@anthonymoraleshidalgo7281]

Serfas you would be an excellent brand

[@jinavl]

amazing how mtb brakes are more than for cars

[@leroibrewis1859]

Less goooo!!

[@tone1822]

A brake test out on the street would have been good enough but great video nevertheless

[@99EMERSONIC99]

Couple of pointers: 1. Don't use metal to take the O-rings out. 2. You might wanna replace the other piston on the same side, since the original is ceramic and the new one plastic, you wanna have same material both sides. 3. Don't spray brake cleaner directly on parts, eventually it will damage paint. Better unto a rag and wipe. Nice content men, keep it up 👌👌

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Heck yeah man thanks for the pointers. Always learning!

[@davao0506]

kumusta evan?nice video

[@hench_wrench_repairs]

Hey evan, please could i get an update as my shimanos are cracked aswell because they're so terrible, i might buy the same pistons you got

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Still working flawless! I use the repair caliper weekly and no issues. Getting the piston out was difficult, just be persistent!!

[@eugene44569]

Take a look at the nortchrock xc series from Costco which is 350 dollars or the gt agressor pro

[@marc-andregilbert6280]

If I may ask, what grease did you guys used for the seal ?

[@aidanchapman5271]

Do you know if you can use any other non branded pistons

[@omarcraft840]

I hope u can help if u had a raw photo or video of that bolt. Thanks a lot.

[@aidanchapman5271]

what sort of grease or oil did you put on the new pistons

[@omarcraft840]

Hi at 3:15, are the 2 fixing bolts the same? I had an slx m7120 which has missing bolt at the front end of the caliper.

[@pauloriordan7369]

Where did u get the replacement pistons can't find them anywhere. Thank you

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Check the description for the link

[@MrMeheheh]

It would be a lot more useful to know where to buy just the seals for leaky pistons that are not cracked. Buying the kits is pretty simple but the seals would be less than $1 a piece.

[@insanebmxthomas]

@EvansMTB can you help me with this: I've been buying Ti bolts for my bike. Now I'm looking for the 2 bolts that tighten both halves of the caliper (timestamp 1:43 to 1:47). Do you have any idea what size they are and if they have holes in them for hydraulic needs? Shimano has exploded view on their website, these two bolts are the only parts that aren't listed in that diagram 🤣

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Oh man I'm not sure. I do recall seeing some dots on the bolts, so that could be for hydraulic fluid.

[@insanebmxthomas]

@@EvansMTBSaga Thanks for your reply! I've heard similar stories from other people about those bolts being channeled/ported. Guess I might just have to take mine apart to find out. On a side note, did you (need to) replace the o-rings in between the 2 halves? And if so, did you buy a generic o-ring or shimano part?

[@rg8707]

Good stuff , looking for some rebuilds if you find any send them my way good videos

[@trepaslames]

Did this repair hold up ?… my caliper just poop 💩 on my and I Saw this kit on Amazon

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Yup still using it on my main bike !

[@wifimtbvlog1206]

More powers idol.. 👍🏻

[@blackpearl209]

Do you have a sizing chart ?

[@roccokammer4105]

The pistons look like smarties

[@SprezzaturaLifestyle]

There is a cheaper way which is to just buy another broken xt caliper and remove the needed ceramic piston from there. Then sell this thing with 2 working pistons or keep it for future piston spare parts.

[@a.n.mwaliullah1632]

Shimano Brake caliper piston popped out. How do I get it back in? :

[@prerakkantverma]

The caliper is not leaking after that all stuff ?

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Nope! Just used it a few hrs ago and it works like a charm