Replacement cable pinch bolt for old XT rear der?

I have an old 7-speed XT rear derailleur with a stripped cable pinch
bolt, one of those small flat-headed bolts with the square shoulder
section above the threads. I'm having a heck of a time finding a
replacement online. I see Shimano 'cable fixing bolts' for sale
online for various RD models (of much more recent vintage) but with no
picture its not clear whether these would work for me.

Anyone know where I can get the correct part? Or perhaps an
alternative solution?

Thanks!

On Jul 29, 2:28*am, Dave wrote:
I have an old 7-speed XT rear derailleur with a stripped cable pinch
bolt, one of those small flat-headed bolts with the square shoulder
section above the threads. *I'm having a heck of a time finding a
replacement online. *I see Shimano 'cable fixing bolts' for sale
online for various RD models (of much more recent vintage) but with no
picture its not clear whether these would work for me.

Anyone know where I can get the correct part? *Or perhaps an
alternative solution?

Thanks!

I's just go down to the LBS and ask to dig through their dead
derailleur bin.

To answer your question (sorry, sorry, I know that's not allowed
here!), virtually every Shimano RD cable anchor bolt I've seen in the
last 20 years or so is identical.

On Jul 29, 3:35*am, "
wrote:
On Jul 29, 2:28*am, Dave wrote:

I have an old 7-speed XT rear derailleur with a stripped cable pinch
bolt, one of those small flat-headed bolts with the square shoulder
section above the threads. *I'm having a heck of a time finding a
replacement online. *I see Shimano 'cable fixing bolts' for sale
online for various RD models (of much more recent vintage) but with no
picture its not clear whether these would work for me.

Anyone know where I can get the correct part? *Or perhaps an
alternative solution?

Thanks!

I's just go down to the LBS and ask to dig through their dead
derailleur bin.

To answer your question (sorry, sorry, I know that's not allowed
here!), virtually every Shimano RD cable anchor bolt I've seen in the
last 20 years or so is identical.

That's what I thought, but its not so. The bolts are absolutely NOT
identical.

The only spare Shimano rear der I have is an old 7-speed RSX triple
and the bolt is substantially shorter.

Shops around here (west Los Angeles) do not have old parts bins,
certainly not any that they'd let a customer look through. The notion
of selling someone a tiny bolt when you could sell them an $80 part
instead is anathema to shops around here.

On Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:52:56 -0700 (PDT), Dave
wrote:

On Jul 29, 3:35*am, "
wrote:
On Jul 29, 2:28*am, Dave wrote:

I have an old 7-speed XT rear derailleur with a stripped cable pinch
bolt, one of those small flat-headed bolts with the square shoulder
section above the threads. *I'm having a heck of a time finding a
replacement online. *I see Shimano 'cable fixing bolts' for sale
online for various RD models (of much more recent vintage) but with no
picture its not clear whether these would work for me.

Anyone know where I can get the correct part? *Or perhaps an
alternative solution?

Thanks!

I's just go down to the LBS and ask to dig through their dead
derailleur bin.

To answer your question (sorry, sorry, I know that's not allowed
here!), virtually every Shimano RD cable anchor bolt I've seen in the
last 20 years or so is identical.

That's what I thought, but its not so. The bolts are absolutely NOT
identical.

The only spare Shimano rear der I have is an old 7-speed RSX triple
and the bolt is substantially shorter.

Shops around here (west Los Angeles) do not have old parts bins,
certainly not any that they'd let a customer look through. The notion
of selling someone a tiny bolt when you could sell them an $80 part
instead is anathema to shops around here.

Dear Dave,

This Shimano rear derailleur cable squashing bolt is 13 mm tall and 10
mm wide, with two flats:
http://i27.tinypic.com/2822jog.jpg

Is it the too-short version?

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Jul 29, 10:52*am, Dave wrote:

That's what I thought, but its not so. *The bolts are absolutely NOT
identical.

The only spare Shimano rear der I have is an old 7-speed RSX triple
and the bolt is substantially shorter.

Shops around here (west Los Angeles) do not have old parts bins,
certainly not any that they'd let a customer look through. *The notion
of selling someone a tiny bolt when you could sell them an $80 part
instead is anathema to shops around here.

To a first approximation, bolts are bolts (or screws are screws). You
can probably go to any decent hardware store and get a metric screw
that will do the job. My guess is the size you need is 5M-0.8, i.e.
5mm diameter, 0.8 mm pitch, and length to match your old one. It may
be the most common screw size in the world, although not in the U.S.A.

But first be sure it's the screw that's stripped. I think that with
most cases of stripped derailleur screws, it's the female threads in
the aluminum derailleur body that fail, not the (steel) male screw. A
new screw won't fix that problem, but a Helicoil thread repair will.

If this doesn't make sense to you, it will make sense to a decent bike
mechanic. Let them have a look. If they say "new derailleur," write
back.

- Frank Krygowski

On Jul 29, 1:28*am, Dave wrote:
I have an old 7-speed XT rear derailleur with a stripped cable pinch
bolt, one of those small flat-headed bolts with the square shoulder
section above the threads. *I'm having a heck of a time finding a
replacement online. *I see Shimano 'cable fixing bolts' for sale
online for various RD models (of much more recent vintage) but with no
picture its not clear whether these would work for me.

Anyone know where I can get the correct part? *Or perhaps an
alternative solution?

If you don't have a cool shop we have here, that keeps buckets of that
stuff around (an xt bolt is however gonna be rare as hen's teeth), and
the bike isn't a display bike, just pop any long cage mech on there.
It'll work fine. You can usually grab last season's Deore for about
$30.

On Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:51:53 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On Jul 29, 10:52*am, Dave wrote:

That's what I thought, but its not so. *The bolts are absolutely NOT
identical.

The only spare Shimano rear der I have is an old 7-speed RSX triple
and the bolt is substantially shorter.

Shops around here (west Los Angeles) do not have old parts bins,
certainly not any that they'd let a customer look through. *The notion
of selling someone a tiny bolt when you could sell them an $80 part
instead is anathema to shops around here.

To a first approximation, bolts are bolts (or screws are screws). You
can probably go to any decent hardware store and get a metric screw
that will do the job. My guess is the size you need is 5M-0.8, i.e.
5mm diameter, 0.8 mm pitch, and length to match your old one. It may
be the most common screw size in the world, although not in the U.S.A.

But first be sure it's the screw that's stripped. I think that with
most cases of stripped derailleur screws, it's the female threads in
the aluminum derailleur body that fail, not the (steel) male screw. A
new screw won't fix that problem, but a Helicoil thread repair will.

If this doesn't make sense to you, it will make sense to a decent bike
mechanic. Let them have a look. If they say "new derailleur," write
back.

- Frank Krygowski

Dear Frank,

I suspect that the bolt in question is an odd beast like this, which
doesn't strip the derailleur body:
http://i27.tinypic.com/2822jog.jpg
_
Two flats on the bolt's head (_}hold it in place in the derailleur
body, and the round nut tightens with an allen key onto a blind
threaded hole, squashing the cable with the washer.

That's a "cable fixing unit" (I think) from an old 7-speed, but it's
13 mm tall and 10 mm wide and is stubby enough that it may be the
too-short version that Dave mentioned.

Andrew Muzi at www.yellowjersey.org might know what's needed and sell
it for a few bucks and postage.

Lots of places like loose screws sell something that may be the same
thing for a few bucks, but they all seem to be too shy to put up a
photo:

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi... 523631412077

It's Shimano part #SH-5299804, according to #9 on that page, "Cable
Fixing Unit, M910, M900, M737, M563"--maybe it works on everything?

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Dave wrote:
I have an old 7-speed XT rear derailleur with a stripped cable pinch
bolt, one of those small flat-headed bolts with the square shoulder
section above the threads. I'm having a heck of a time finding a
replacement online. I see Shimano 'cable fixing bolts' for sale
online for various RD models (of much more recent vintage) but with no
picture its not clear whether these would work for me.

Anyone know where I can get the correct part? Or perhaps an
alternative solution?

Failing another ready solution, drop a low head 5mm allen
screw through from the inside. Pass the cable under the
(old) anchor plate, add a nut and tighten while holding the
allen screw with a key through the body.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Jul 29, 9:13*pm, wrote:
On Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:51:53 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski



wrote:
On Jul 29, 10:52*am, Dave wrote:

That's what I thought, but its not so. *The bolts are absolutely NOT
identical.

The only spare Shimano rear der I have is an old 7-speed RSX triple
and the bolt is substantially shorter.

Shops around here (west Los Angeles) do not have old parts bins,
certainly not any that they'd let a customer look through. *The notion
of selling someone a tiny bolt when you could sell them an $80 part
instead is anathema to shops around here.

To a first approximation, bolts are bolts (or screws are screws). *You
can probably go to any decent hardware store and get a metric screw
that will do the job. *My guess is the size you need is 5M-0.8, i.e.
5mm diameter, 0.8 mm pitch, and length to match your old one. *It may
be the most common screw size in the world, although not in the U.S.A.

But first be sure it's the screw that's stripped. *I think that with
most cases of stripped derailleur screws, it's the female threads in
the aluminum derailleur body that fail, not the (steel) male screw. *A
new screw won't fix that problem, but a Helicoil thread repair will.

If this doesn't make sense to you, it will make sense to a decent bike
mechanic. *Let them have a look. *If they say "new derailleur," write
back.

- Frank Krygowski

Dear Frank,

I suspect that the bolt in question is an odd beast like this, which
doesn't strip the derailleur body:
*http://i27.tinypic.com/2822jog.jpg

Hmm. I see. But as Andrew Muzi said later, that doesn't prohibit the
hardware store repair.

The only cable clamp I've ever stripped was on a SunTour Superbe Pro
derailleur. That was just a steel screw threaded into an aluminum
body, and I fixed the stripped aluminum thread with a Helicoil. If
SunTour had used a steel thread insert, I suppose it wouldn't have
stripped.

Which leads to the question: What's the advantage of using a
specialty fastener like that, versus a simple threaded hole with an
insert?

- Frank Krygowski

On Jul 29, 6:13*pm, wrote:
On Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:51:53 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski



wrote:
On Jul 29, 10:52*am, Dave wrote:

That's what I thought, but its not so. *The bolts are absolutely NOT
identical.

The only spare Shimano rear der I have is an old 7-speed RSX triple
and the bolt is substantially shorter.

Shops around here (west Los Angeles) do not have old parts bins,
certainly not any that they'd let a customer look through. *The notion
of selling someone a tiny bolt when you could sell them an $80 part
instead is anathema to shops around here.

To a first approximation, bolts are bolts (or screws are screws). *You
can probably go to any decent hardware store and get a metric screw
that will do the job. *My guess is the size you need is 5M-0.8, i.e.
5mm diameter, 0.8 mm pitch, and length to match your old one. *It may
be the most common screw size in the world, although not in the U.S.A.

But first be sure it's the screw that's stripped. *I think that with
most cases of stripped derailleur screws, it's the female threads in
the aluminum derailleur body that fail, not the (steel) male screw. *A
new screw won't fix that problem, but a Helicoil thread repair will.

If this doesn't make sense to you, it will make sense to a decent bike
mechanic. *Let them have a look. *If they say "new derailleur," write
back.

- Frank Krygowski

Dear Frank,

I suspect that the bolt in question is an odd beast like this, which
doesn't strip the derailleur body:
*http://i27.tinypic.com/2822jog.jpg
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * _
Two flats on the bolt's head (_}hold it in place in the derailleur
body, and the round nut tightens with an allen key onto a blind
threaded hole, squashing the cable with the washer.

That's a "cable fixing unit" (I think) from an old 7-speed, but it's
13 mm tall and 10 mm wide and is stubby enough that it may be the
too-short version that Dave mentioned.

Andrew Muzi atwww.yellowjersey.orgmight know what's needed and sell
it for a few bucks and postage.

Lots of places like loose screws sell something that may be the same
thing for a few bucks, but they all seem to be too shy to put up a
photo:

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi...ar%20Miscellan....

It's Shimano part #SH-5299804, according to #9 on that page, "Cable
Fixing Unit, M910, M900, M737, M563"--maybe it works on everything?

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

That picture shows exactly what I need.

Despite the best efforts of a helpful person at Shimano, they couldn't
help me. They don't have the part any more and no current fastener
they stock will work.

Does anyone by chance have a spare they'd be willing to mail me? I'd
gladly send a few bucks for your trouble.