Shimano XT M785 Brake Lever Full Teardown And Rebuild

Thank you all for watching! In this video I'm rebuilding a pair of Shimano XT brakes I got off eBay. They are well used and in need of a service. This video shows the steps to take the levers apart, clean them and put them back together. Hope this video is useful. I tried to show a few tips and tricks to how to make this job a bit easier and make your brakes last longer.
0:00 Introduction
1:00 Visual inspection
2:10 Required tools
2:45 Detaching the brake cable
3:42 Removing the lid
5:05 Removing the lever
6:01 Removing the piston
7:57 Overview of all parts
8:34 Lid assembly
9:44 Piston assembly
12:53 Lever assembly
15:25 Conclusion
#shimano

[@OTBkid]

Tremendous help. Same disassembly as the Zee levers.

[@buckbikespent4588]

Thank you! Glad I was able to help :)

[@spencenexus7]

Thanks - I just had to replace the lever blade. That bloody spring! Your video is the only place that I could find the correct orientation and install method.

[@irasdeejay]

You saved my life. Thanks for this video, it helped me a lot.

[@buckbikespent4588]

Glad it helped!

[@Thepoeticmtbr_The_poetic_mtbr]

Thanks for the vid, added to my bike maintenance playlist 👌

[@buckbikespent4588]

Glad it helped!

[@rsm609]

Thank you. Saved my brakes :)

[@buckbikespent4588]

Glad it helped!

[@user-pu9vu7bd5g]

Great video

[@buckbikespent4588]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@leepowelldev]

Great video - just fully stripped mine and rebuilt, this video makes it very easy. Thanks :)

[@buckbikespent4588]

Glad you found it useful! Enjoy :)

[@leepowelldev]

@@buckbikespent4588 I was a bit nervous of using grease for the piston in case it blocked the timing holes. I used a bit of mineral oil instead.

[@buckbikespent4588]

I used silicon grease just to try and preserve the rubber seals but I guess mineral oil will not hurt.

[@leepowelldev]

@@buckbikespent4588 Do you know if Shimano recommend using silicon grease? As I didn't see any residue of grease when taking them apart.

[@buckbikespent4588]

I don't know if they recommend it or not. It is something I decided to do as I'm reusing the old piston and seals.

[@BogartBikes]

Great vid. Helped me a lot! +1 sub

[@buckbikespent4588]

Awesome, thank you!

[@trdano]

thanks so much for the video

[@buckbikespent4588]

My pleasure!

[@AmmiHamzah]

Awesome. Thankyou

[@buckbikespent4588]

You are welcome!

[@aerodynamik]

Bravo bel tutorial!

[@buckbikespent4588]

Many thanks!

[@emanuelpradera9717]

Hi, nice video, I will give it a try and overhaul my levers as well, but can you do a video on how to overhault the actual brake pistons and calipers? Thanks!

[@buckbikespent4588]

Yes, definitely, I will put it on my list for future videos.

[@antn8387]

thanks for the clear video. everyone else's videos are all terrible.

[@buckbikespent4588]

Thank you very much for the feedback! I'm very happy that it was useful to you!

[@JohnnyOshika]

Great video! Thank you for taking the time to post this. I have a strange click in my SLX lever and I think it's coming from the plastic parts that sandwich the metal pin that you attached your wrench to when removing the rod. I'll try to use your technique to replace this part.

[@buckbikespent4588]

Thank you, I'm happy you liked it. I wonder what would be clicking there. It might be worth spraying some lube there to see if it will help before taking everything apart.

[@ProMountainBiker]

The click is normal

[@JohnnyOshika]

@@buckbikespent4588 I removed the lever blade and cleaned everything. I also sprayed a bit of lubricant in there. The click is still there but better than before. It clicks when the lever returns to its rest position. The servo wave roller rolls along the lever blade, and in the final moment of the lever retracting, it roller jumps and makes a clicking noise.

[@JohnnyOshika]

@@ProMountainBiker That's good to know, thank you. My left lever is significantly louder than my right, but it's good to know that it's normal.

[@matiasatamaniuk5266]

Thanks.

[@buckbikespent4588]

You're welcome

[@Macu3]

Either my fingers are flimsy or putting back the bloody spring is insanely difficult. I spent 2 hours on that with my m8100 levers. When I squeezed the lever, there was no opening allowing me to put it in.

[@nicezic]

I have a problem with the brake lever. First, the lever's tank is blocked, bleeding is impossible. I cannot push the oil out. Second, when I grasp the lever, the oil in the tank doesn't flow in and out at all. I think the problem is because the lever is contaminated. Thank you for your uploading!!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@buckbikespent4588]

The oil in the tank shouldn't really flow when you move the lever, there should be just a tiny movement of the fluid up and down. I haven't seen a lever that contaminated so bleeding is not possible but in your case this might be the issue. If the lever is contaminated, probably the whole system is so you will need to change the whole fluid and clean the lever.

[@todzulu6]

Great video, thanks! Do you know where I can get Zoom brake replacement pistons?

[@buckbikespent4588]

Thank you! I'm happy you liked it. I'm not familiar with the Zoom brakes. If they run with mineral oil, probably you can swap the caliper/lever with shimano or magura. I'm yet to try shimano levers and magura calipers.

[@todzulu6]

@@buckbikespent4588 oh ok, thx for the info!

[@youbertuber8109]

how full name of silicone grease?

[@Max-vk9ki]

Hi, I had a pressure problem with my brake, so I took apart the lever and the lower pin of free stroke adjuster is broken (the part you struggle with at 11:17 in your video). Do you know if it's possible to get a spare part? I can't seem to find it on Shimano's component diagram. Thanks!

[@buckbikespent4588]

Hi, I usually don't use the free stroke adjuster, I just unscrew it all the way out. I suspect that you had it all the way in, this piece broke and you just needed to bleed your brakes. I don't know if you can get a spare part but maybe keep an eye on eBay or similar places for broken levers. People sometimes sell leaking levers quite cheap that you can steal this part from. Until then just bleed your brake or change your pads if they are worn and it should work fine.

[@Max-vk9ki]

@@buckbikespent4588 thanks! I'll try to bleed and see what happens.

[@GeloVillanuevaMTB]

My XT m785 is leaking fluid in the levers. near where the levers pivot. Im planning on servicing it and hopefully fix the leaking problem. But i have yet to buy a bleedkit and some mineral oil. Would like to hear your suggesttions on how to troubleshoot it thanks in advance : )

[@buckbikespent4588]

The only thing I can think of that can cause the leak is maybe the piston seals. It probably starts there and the fluid make its way down to the pivot. Depending on how bad it is, you might be able to fix it with a good clean but maybe you will need to change the seals on the piston. Also don't buy the smallest bottle of mineral oil as you might need to flush the system. Sometimes dirt gets in from the leaking point and the whole fluid gets contaminated. Good luck!

[@GeloVillanuevaMTB]

@@buckbikespent4588 The Fluid is leaking on the right hand Lever and not in the calliper piston. Are there seals that i can replace?

[@buckbikespent4588]

The lever also has a piston. I remove it in the video here: 7:30 .

[@GeloVillanuevaMTB]

@@buckbikespent4588 Thanks so much you earned a subscriber hehe

[@JamesWilson-vf1mf]

Hi when will you be doing full suspension build ?

[@buckbikespent4588]

Hey, I have to make a video about the forks that are going on the bike as I have to service them as well and then the build can begin. Everything depends on how much free time I have but definitely in the next month or two.

[@kukkuk188]

Hello! Where can i buy the lever axel from? :) Myne is worn too! :) Thanks!

[@buckbikespent4588]

Hey, I got mine off amazon uk here: www.amazon.co.uk/Shimano-Y8VC05000-BL-M785-lever-axle/dp/B00G99TFYS

[@emanuelpradera9717]

Also, which brake cleaner did you use?

[@buckbikespent4588]

I used one from Lidl, it was 2 quid for the whole spray bottle.

[@icecreamsandwichiify]

Was this a new piston? I'm having this problem.

[@buckbikespent4588]

I just cleaned up the old piston and it is holding fine for now. Is your leaking or sticky? You will have to inspect your piston, clean everything and try it out but if you want to be sure and not do this again, you can just replace it.

[@1juicyj3ri]

How to remove the mineral oil to proceed to this process?

[@buckbikespent4588]

There are several ways you can do this. For example, if you don't want to remove all of the oil, you can just unscrew the nut that holds the hose to the lever, split them apart and let the oil from the lever drain into a container. On the other hand, if you want to remove all of the oil, you will need a hose that can slide on the bleeding nipple on the calliper and a syringe. Unscrew the lever reservoir screw, put one end of the hose on the syringe and the other on the bleeding nipple, slightly pull the syringe with one hand and with the other start unscrewing the bleeding nut on the calliper until oil starts flowing. In the end, dispose the oil responsibly. Hope this helps.

[@1juicyj3ri]

@@buckbikespent4588 Thank you very much! ❤️

[@jayempalubon8827]

is this same with deore m615

[@buckbikespent4588]

I haven't worked with a Deore lever before but from the pictures they look similar.

[@multig]

No, lever isn't replaceble. But you can fix it if you have some tools and good hands. I can give you a link to video, but there is all only in russian.

[@francisleesc]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@buckbikespent4588]

Thanks!!!

[@xxmr_coolxx5215]

Can i purchase this spring from somewhere?

[@buckbikespent4588]

Hey, are you talking about the one that is supposed to push the piston back?

[@xxmr_coolxx5215]

@@buckbikespent4588 no for the lever 13:06