Hello again Aaron, I got your message and I can say this is by far the worst part of that disassembly. As for the snap ring pliers- that sucks too! I have ordered 6 different pliers and I don’t have favorite that I would recommend. I can only recommend any snap ring plier that has a fair amount of long reach. I have had to alter the tip on most of my pliers to make it work too. I have had to use a sharp pick to at times and I don’t recommend it but pulling it out. I have plenty of spares which is why I pretty much yanked it out. It puts it out of round and it might break too so not the best choice. If you have a good set of pliers and don’t mind shaving the tip down to get a good fit in those small eyelets I would go for it. I have been told to try jewelers pliers but have yet to try those. I hope this offers a bit of help for you. Rest assured this is by far the worst part of this whole “fix”! You can email me directly if you like ragedracer@gmail.com I will have fingers crossed and hope this works for you.
@@ragedracer hi Adrian I deleted the comment as I kept trying and managed to get the snap ring out. I completed the refurb of the lever and it now works perfectly. What a great video and very informative. Saved me lots of money!
@@Bigfoot0510 I was wondering where the comment went and thought it was an instant message thing but either way it’s ok. Very happy to hear you got it completed!! Congratulations and hope you don’t have another issue like this! Thanks again for watching and messaging!
Excellent DIY video. I followed your sanding instruction as my 1st order from amazon had the wrong aluminum piston, and I want to ride. I'd recommend replacing the plastic piston as all it takes is someone being aggressive and grabbing the brake lever & applying excessive brake pressure. This crushes the piston and causes it to swell. I've reordered the aluminum replacements on Amazon and will update them later. Cheers!
Dennis De Nio thanks for commenting! I have heard from others who have commented that the aluminum plunger is the way to go! Thanks again and hope you get to ride soon!
I’d like to say a massive thanks for creating and sharing this video. I’d suffered the issue on both front and rear brakes (2016 Guide RS) and was either going to buy two service kits (not cheap) or new brakes (even more expensive). After following these great step by step instructions, the sum total of my investment was some wet and dry paper and time! Both brakes are now working perfectly, and hopefully will for the foreseeable future. One note in case it helps others - my circlip pliers didn’t have small enough ends, but I managed to remove the circlips using two hooks/picks like the ones in your video, and did the same in reverse - it’s not a big circlip, and doesn’t require much force.
Andy Brooks thank you for the feedback I always appreciate it and even more so that it helped you out! Or anyone else for that matter. The snap ring to this day are a still a pain, even with pliers they are a headache. Thanks again and it’s great riding weather! Go an enjoy it!
Just repaired my front sram guide R here in the uk , all i can think is a hot shed caused the piston to expand . Wet and dried , works perfect ! I didnt need any tools to bleed, I kept my calliper on the fork with the bike upright , dissconnected the line from the lever . When re assembling attached the line to the lever , mounted the lever on the handle bars with the reservoir open and level , lever was highest point with straight hose , Worked lever , slowly released bubbles , Did this until slight movement in brake piston. Then refill reservoir reattach reservoir lid , rotate lever whilst still working the lever , after 2 minutes regained full brake. Thanks!
sam e thank you for commenting! And thank you again for providing another good way to work on these without tools! Great idea and glad this worked out for you! Happy trails and have fun!
Update. SRAM has extended the warrantee of levers to 3 years from date of purchase, if you want to go that route. Yes, you have to have proof of purchase. I was inside the window but no receipt, so I just got the lever rebuild kit from WorldWide and it went super smooth following your video. The official SRAM video says to rotate the snap ring to a specific orientation once you install it, that's basically the only difference. Also the kit comes with a new bladder and some other small bits. I recommend, once you have the bladder and everything out of the body, clean the whole thing, including inside the bore, with isopropyl. There was some grit in the lock ring area and some inside the bore too, maybe left from the worn old piston. That and some Q-Tips got it all shiny clean before putting it all back together. Oh, and remember to have new ends for your hydraulic lines, not a good idea to reuse the old ones: www.amazon.com/SRAM-Stealthamajig-Hydraulic-Brake-Fittings/dp/B01F0FC8OU Here's the SRAM video: ruclips.net/video/Ihb2cBiXp2U/видео.html Here's the kit from Worldwide www.worldwidecyclery.com/products/sram-guide-rs-lever-internals-kit-2nd-generation And here's a really good video on how to clean your calipers without disassembling them to hopefully get them almost back to new without a full disassemble: ruclips.net/video/ys9bUOJ0qg0/видео.html
@@ragedracer Yea, crazy thing is one bike is basically exactly 3 years old. Ridden hard and in all kinds of conditions. Never had a problem. Then last week, while sitting in the sun, blam! Pistons would stick badly. Cool off in the shade, not sticking at all. Then I checked my other bike which is 4 years old with no problems, and in the sun they were sticking sort of badly. So might be a new batch of people having this problem after a few years of service.
@@Chuckolicious it’s amazing to me how this is still a problem. I do think it’s more of a “batch” problem. Being here in Arizona it’s quite common but I have had some guide lever brakes with no issues. Thanks again for taking the time to post this information. I do hope some people will take advantage of this information and use the warranty if valid.
Thank you so much. I was about to drop 100s of dollars on new brakes because nobody else knew how to fix my brakes. Makes so much sense now why my wheels were locking up.
Matt McDonald don’t throw them away! They can be fixed! It’s known problem and if you contact Sram you might be able to have them warranty the levers. It’s worth a shot! If not I am sure some elbow grease will get them back on the trails! Good luck either way you go! Thanks for watching and feedback!
I won't! I believe I found a replacement aluminum plunger online that isn't supposed to swell or rub so im going to give that a try. Its amazing the 2 bike shops that I visited didn't know anything about this. They just told me that they aren't being warranted any more.
Matt McDonald a bike shop didn’t know bout this!! It was the number one problem bike shops were seeing the past couple of years! Sucks to hear that they are not warrantied anymore. I have had a couple of guys comment on the aluminum plungers and say they did great and can’t tell the difference. Thanks again for your info! And again good luck on the rebuild with the new plungers!
@@ragedracerMy friend, thank you, I bought sram db 5 brakes on my bike and they were responsible, I solved the problem thanks to you, greetings from Turkey
I haven't had a chance to try this out yet, but, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to make this video! I also can't believe people have the gall to complain about the 240p resolution on a FREE video that you created simply to help others out. Good grief! Thanks for your time in creating the video!
Andrew Bretz thank you! I always appreciate comments and feedback regardless of it positive or negative. It’s constructive criticism and helps out! I don’t mind the 240p resolution comment, as far as I knew I was uploading in hi def but this is the way it uploaded.. I am new to the whole RUclips upload how to but I will fix it one of these days. It’s a reasonably good gist of what you have to do to get your brakes back on the road and fellow commentators have put in their 2 cents of making it even more cost effective with not even using special tools. It’s no problem on helping others out I enjoy it since this is a rather troublesome problem that can make and break a good weekend! Thanks again for commenting and hope this helps you out when you get to it! Any problems or adding your 2 cents to this always welcomed!
@@lidarman2 if you can’t reach it, you can try a hook and pick set or maybe an ice pick and try to hook one of the eyelets on the snap ring and squeeze it in. A real pain yes and it’s metal so if you distort it removing it, you can bend it back. I keep buying different pliers to help others with that choice yet I still haven’t found “the one”!
Didn't know this was so common a problem! Already bought a rebuild kit for front and rear levers, but this helps a lot even for just installing those - plus it's good to know as I'm sure my levers are going to seize again within a couple of years. Great info, thanks!
Shannon Jennings thanks for commenting and yes quite the problem. I think most issues have been resolved within the 2018 models but anything prior we’re likely victim to it. I did have issues with some rebuild kits as to the plunger still “swelled up” and thus the problem reoccurred. So this would resolve all those issues. Hope your back on the trails soon! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Helpful video thanks, I ordered a new alloy piston from eBay seller complete with seals already mounted. The new piston fitted perfectly and works beautifully with nice modulation again after refilling and bleeding. The biggest problem as others have said was removing the snap ring even though I have a selection of internal snap ring pliers, however all is possible with patience!
nick hammond awesome to here that those alloy pistons work great! I completely agree on that snap ring! I have three sets of pliers and all of them have a tough time removing those rings! Glad I could be of help and thanks for the feedback and commenting!
This video has been SO helpful!! The rear lever from my new RS brakes was seized, and my local bike shop told me a new one would cost me $115 and a months wait. So this video saved me quite some trouble. I found the process was pretty simple, the only hard part for me was removing the snap ring. But a little patience and some decent tools solved that problem. Thanks!
Landon F thanks for your comment and feedback! It’s a shame to hear that replacing the lever is so costly, wasn’t too long ago you can get an rsc lever for 80 bucks. 115 and a month wait! No wonder people are throwing these away! Happy trails Landon and have fun!
Oh man, thank you so much Adrian! You saved my Guide RS' butt! Hardest part for me was to get the snap ring under control - which caused one failed attempt I guess. But I'm superglad I got the job done right at second try! Big ups for this straight-on and effective walk-through!
Moritzlikesit thank you and very happy this helped! That snap ring is a pain but with the right tools it’s makes it easy! Thanks again for commenting and have fun on the trails again!
Ryan Dawkins thank for watching and commenting, I always enjoy hearing the feedback! That snap ring is the one of the biggest pains on the rebuild, it’s a one and done thing! Happy trails and have fun!
Really helpful ! Appreciate your effort and the time you have spent making this video. Thanx to you i have managed to complete this task on my own . All the best
Thanks for the video. Suddenly had this problem this year and now my lever works again. The only annoying part is the snapring without the pliers, but got it after a while. Just need to bleed it now :) Still, I'm a bit disappointed with SRAM. Don't think I'll buy those again.
Grimmjow J. The snap ring tends to be the biggest pain in the a&@ our if this whole thing. I am glad to hear your lever works again and hopefully this video helps. yes SRAM definitely dropped the ball on these models and I get what they were trying to accomplish but I am sure they never anticipated the plunger swelling so much to cause brake lockup. As much as these were a problem, when fixed they do work quite well. I do think either sram or hope as you yourself can work on the brakes. I have yet to find a solution for fixing the shimano lineup ( xtr, xt, lx etc) nothing is out there on the market to fix on your own. Thanks for watching and commenting I always appreciate the feedback!
I have the problem on my 4 years old Canyon (warranty over) and yet they sent me brand new levers! Sram have a policy on replacing faulty levers. I noticed the hole in which you put the Allen key is now way bigger in the new version.
Good to hear they took care of you cause I foresee this happening to my Guide Rs on my new Stumpjumper. Already had issues while riding in hot weather.
Steve Capone thanks for the feedback! Glad the video helped you, if you don’t mind sharing how you managed with the snap ring in there. Had other people share what they used and for other watchers I like to tell them what else is readily available to try. Thanks again for watching!
Just did this fix this weekend! Hope it works and lasts a long time! Thanks for the awesome video!! I was about to buy a new set (different brand too) of brakes and it's not even a year old
villajuan81 thanks for commenting and also the feedback! I hope they last a long time too! If your already planning on buying a new set why not try and see if you can fix it right? Thanks again and glad to hear your on the trails again!
How does Sram manage to continue to put out such garbage brakes. My new Stumpjumper has these pieces of shit on it. 2 weeks old and already trouble. Really pisses me off !
Encountered this problem today. After over a year of good service (from my brakes - guides R) in any wheater. It surprised me a lot. Supposedly, there is some replacement kit from SRAM to solve the problem. I dont trust my hands that much to deliver just minor shave around whole circumference. :) It is nice video anyways, but (as many) i would also appreciate higher resolution.:)
madworkzer I agree I had no idea on the resolution problem until someone noted it bout 2 months ago. When I loaded it I assumed it was high resolution because that is what I chose, I will have to reload it one of these days! As to the replacement yes it a little cumbersome but well within a weekend warrior with some patience! I don’t blame you not wanting to do it and in fact if you have a reputable bike shop they maybe able to send your levers in for warranty. It’s a very well known problem and they can advise how to work it out with sram. Don’t toss them though! Even if you decide to sell as is you can get some money for it!
For anyone doing this. I got a replacement piston. Old piston that was seized had a diameter of 9.45mm when measured on the callipers. The new piston that was smooth and freely moving was 9.30mm so sanding it down to 9.3mm is maybe a good figure to aim for.
Curtis it sucks that all I could get is 240P, all I can say is centurylink modem 4 years ago. The best that I could do. Hopefully it did help you some.
Done it!!! Very helpful mate!!!! Just realised I need a bleeding edge gadget now though lol😂 Amazon time.... I burped the lever with a syringe, and it all pressurised OK. Cool.
What is the symptom of needing this fix? Would it be that the wheel is locked up from the brake or that the brake doesn't work reliably? I have a set of SRAM Guide R brakes and the back one seems to work for a couple moments and then essentially stop working. They have been bled multiple times and I've even tried reducing the gap between the pad and the rotor which only resulted in rubbing. Trying to decide if this is actually what's wrong and worth the effort (would also need to procure the tools to perform).
Hello Cory! Thanks for messaging! So when do you need this fix… the lever issue is primarily when you apply the brakes and the lever does not return. The issue I think your having is probably the caliper which is common and I should do another DIY video. So fine dust accumulates in the pistons within the caliper. It can sometimes cause hesitation or non responsiveness. One easy way to see if this is an issue is to see your brakes pads and if the wear pattern is uneven. So typically you have two pistons in each side of caliper if one is being hung up then you have uneven wear on one pad.. you can look without removing the caliper off the bike. If you want a rebuild and your in the states then message me and I will be happy to service them! Thanks again!
Gavin McDonnell thanks for commenting and watching! Just as long as you keep the deals wet for installation, you should be fine. I have done multiple rebuilds at first without the grease and they still work out just fine. Good luck with rebuilding yours!
Hey Jim, yes I still to this day can’t seem to find a strong enough snap ring pliers and to add you need ones that have a long enough reach. Glad to hear you were able to make do and improvise! Thanks for your feedback! Hope the video helps you out.
This fix worked great on my SRAM DB5 system!! The hardest part was removing the snap ring. I used a small pair of needle nose pliers and grinded/ grounded the tips, would be best to get the correct tool though. I also wet-sanded the "plunger" in small increments and then would clean it and test fit it back into the housing. Once I was able to "blow" it out as in Adrian's video, I stopped sanding at that point. I didn't have the avid grease, so I just used some of the 5.1 dot fluid on the seals of the plunger for reassembly. After reassembly, I proceeded to bleed the brakes as per the sram tech video, but came out feeling "spongy" and wouldn't stop "hard". So, I research for a alternate bleeding method and it worked great. Here's the link that brake bleed video: ruclips.net/video/mYlm0lFJEsU/видео.html Thanks Adrian!! I owe you a beer! And BTW my local bike shop tried to sell my new brakes instead of trying to fix these. You would think most techs would know about this issue with SRAM brakes. Just a 2 minute search online shows a bunch.
SuperDave awesome! Glad to hear that this worked and yes the 5.1 DOT fluid will work as a lubricant and that’s how I started doing them initially but found out bout the grease so have been using that since I do quite a few of these! I also did the “grind the tip of needle nose pliers” it’s cumbersome and with perseverance you will succeed! I think most shops just don’t want the hassle and would rather make the money on a marked up brake item than rebuild what you have. Shops don’t take into account your not replacing anything it’s just all elbow grease! Thanks for your comment on letting others know it’s not that difficult and thanks for the feedback! Beer offers are always welcome but for now... “cheers” will do! Thanks again
Paavo Pohjonen yes you can but you might as well keep it off. Chances are it will happen again while your riding and then you really would be in an emergency. If the plunger has swelled and locked up as it did now it’s still going to happen again if you push that piston/ plunger back. Thanks for commenting!
Hello Adrian, Thanks to your video I was able to restore my lever to like new feel. Took me a few minutes more than you but .... Where do you get the long and small snap ring pliers? Could you provide a link? I used to scratch awls. Worked but primitive and I was concerned ring might fly off into space !!! Thanks again for the great tutorial video .
Alan Cook thanks for watching! And of course taking the time to comment. As for the pliers... it sucks, the one I have I bought from harbor freight the problem is the tips on them was still too big for the snap rings so I had to dremel the tips even smaller for it to work. I have heard from other viewers that Home Depot has a pair of snap ring pliers that will work but I can’t say for sure since I have not seen them. The parks snap ring pliers are not long enough to reach in there to pull out the ring. I have also seen some long nose snap pliers that might work at hobby lobby but yet have tried them to see if that will work. I may do that this weekend and if it works I may provide a pic or link to them. Thanks again for watching and the awls is what I first used too! I will be in touch.
@@ragedracer Just saw these on Ebay. What do you think? www.ebay.com/itm/Cycling-disc-Brake-Lever-Internal-Snap-Ring-Pliers-tool-fit-SRAM-db5-guide-Level/302384445016?_trkparms=aid%3D333200%26algo%3DCOMP.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225073%26meid%3D9987c3482bf34e50ad437dc1f5f7d18c%26pid%3D100707%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D3%26sd%3D164196826348%26itm%3D302384445016%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2485358%26algv%3DItemStripV4&_trksid=p2485358.c100707.m1851
Alan Cook those look very promising to try! If your not in a rush I think it should work. Coming from China I think it will be a couple of weeks. If you do order them please let me know I will be happy to give you a thanks for anyone who asks. Thanks for looking and sending me that link.
@@ragedracer I am not going to order pliers for now as I got both levers done and second went smoother than first using the awls. I do recommend a small white room in case the ring decides to launch :-),
Thanks for the vid! I am about to buy used Guides. Did this method fix the problem in the long term? I live in Australia so anytime I want to ride it is usually 30-40 degrees Celsius. Just want to make sure I am not wasting my money on brakes that get sketchy every time I ride.
Caleb Torrisi first off thanks for commenting! Second is yes, this does fix it for the long term. I still have my guides both RS and RSC working and I live in Arizona, so we had a lot of problems here when these first came out. I tried making this the most cost effective for riders and I am sure if you read comments some People are very creative with tools and can make the best of it with not having the proper ones. If at all you get stuck on something feel free to message again and be happy to help where I can! Good luck and happy trails!
marc clasara thanks for commenting and asking. After over a year my levers are still doing great! Never had to fix this problem again. I don’t know if you read other comments but some people have chosen to buy the metal plungers and keep the original seals and that work great too. You already have to tear down the lever this is an easier option to try, if it doesn’t work at least you know how to reassemble for when you order the parts. I have had pros to amateurs all do this fix and it’s worked great. Hope this helps you either way! Good luck
Gary Arnold did you go bout it this way to fix it? The plunger should have very little resistance when you reinstall it without seals. I am going on 2.5 years on my levers so far and still have yet to have this issue reoccur. I would definitely try it again.
Gary Arnold, if you don’t have grease you still should be fine with dipping the plunger with seals installed ( after removing some material off the plunger of course) into DOT fluid and reinstalling it. I have done it this way before with no failures.
Gary Arnold that would be my only guess. Remove a little at a time and try it. From my video very little resistance is needed, just blow on the end and the plunger should come out ( no seals installed of course) with no problem. Any problems feel free to ask away! Thanks for asking and commenting!
Danny bowlzer thanks for watching! And of course thanks for commenting! You will need an 8mm wrench/ spanner. Hope this helps you and good luck on the rebuild!
@@ragedracer Thanks, your video has finally given me the confidence to tackle this very annoying issue. One more thing do I need to drain the oil out of the system before I remove the hydraulic pipe ??
Danny bowlzer good job on tackling this! I have a lot of people who do this and didn’t think they could so I think you have no problem! No need to drain fluid from line or caliper. Just undo bar clamp, use your wrench/ spanner and undo the brake line from the lever. Make sure you keep that line upright or tie a plastic bag to the end of that line to avoid the fluid to drain onto your bike paint... it will strip the paint if it sits on it too long. Good luck!
Hey, nice video. I hope that fits my problem. I can´t bleed the my brake. But one more request: can you write the equipment that you have used in your description, like 800 abrasive paper, the grease or what ever you have used? THX ;-)
Ek Af thanks for commenting and watching! I did make another video of all the tools I used and where I got them from to help out. You should be able to see my other videos I posted. If you need anything else feel free to comment and message me! Thanks
Hey Thanks for the support first of all. Do you have a video after this method the brakes are works properly? I mean during the action, after ride. Because this problem coming out by the heat. My brakes was totally useless when i kept under sun for a couple of minutes. Levers dont even moves back and forwards. Stucks in one position. :( I just want to be sure this operation are effective. And also, i found on ebay those plastic plunger but made from alloy/metal. Is it worthy?
LEW K. So you bring up a very good topic here! I do need to do a follow up and yes years after doing this the plunger works great. SRAM was great in developing this brake with very minimal variance in the plunger which was also its downfall. I am sure they didn’t anticipate the swelling of the plastic plunger to that degree ( no pun intended), once heated up that plunger swells and thus making the brakes useless. The metal one on eBay has a greater threshold and more “give” since it’s metal. So I think if you wanted to go that aspect it would be valid and probably work great... cheaper alternative is the video I did. Hope this helps you some and I will be glad to do a follow up on the brakes I did! Thanks for commenting and subscribing and hopefully this helps you either way!
o_O thanks for commenting! Well Sram will warranty the levers so I am going to assume the plunger will be replaced as well as the seals involved. If your buying them second hand you can try to contact a local bike shop and see if they can run them under a warranty but I can’t help you in that aspect. As for buying new plungers, yes they make aftermarket metal ones I have seen on eBay and it’s a direct replacement. Just swap out the seals and your good. Hopefully that helps you out some. Thanks again
Momma Mia thanks for commenting! You can see the other comments. If you have some mechanical knowledge and tools with help hopefully from the video you can do this. The snap ring is probably the biggest pain to remove but with effort it will come out! I have had people buy the tools and return them to help save on costs but that’s your call. Hope this video helps you, if I were to rate this on level of difficulty I would say 6 with 10 being very difficult.
Momma Mia I might have read your comment wrong! If you asking bout rate as far as doing the repair just email me ragedracer@gmail.com and I can go over different costs to what works best for you.
Great video! almost lost my sh** trying to get this stup** snap ring out. gotta hate SRAM for such silly design! not to mention finding the right pliers with tips thin enough 0.8 or 0.9mm is hard to find and very expensive like 40 USD+ just for the pliers!!! just Omg !
OMG is right! I can understand the simplicity what SRAM tried to do but why did it have to be so hard to remove! Yes the pliers are a different ordeal! I have ordered multiple kinds and nothing is working like as in one I would recommend. - Parks, snap on, blue point, harbor freight, husky, Amazon kinds… all suck. I just ended up grinding down a pair and hoping it works. Thanks for watching and especially commenting I appreciate it. Hope you had luck and was a success for you.
@@ragedracer I ended up buying a basic pair of snap ring pliers with 2mm tip diameter and kept filing it until reaching the right diameter (very small probably 0.8mm). Even the more expensive ones i tried thinking would so the job didn't work. The parktools RP-1 are supposed to be specifically made for this, and 0.9 or 0.8mm tips. But were hard to find, and expensive.
@@romatou18 yeah the parks didn’t work for me. The tip broke and I ended up filing the end down some more but it still didn’t work. Very frustrating but I still got the work done.
I first thought it was the seals too, if you use the wrong brake fluid then yes the seals will go bad but I figured out it was the plunger. Hope you checked it out and this video helps. Thanks for messaging.
BuckeyeMCS yes sorry the resolution as much as I can try still could not get resolved. I have tried to talk to know what to expect and what to do to help with this. Most people who work with this have the biggest problem with the snap ring.. it’s a huge pain but yes it does and can come out. Most of everything is simple and you get a gist from the video. Thanks for attempting to watch and of course appreciate the comment! Good luck
BuckeyeMCS it’s the season man... just did 2 rs models and working on some TLM’s right now and those snap rings I have to admit have been the worst at of all the models. Just a quick note, did you try to contact LBS or SRAM to warranty your levers? I heard they still are doing it, and not as backed up as they once were.
Drew Willardson yes you are correct, there is a very pain in the butt snap ring that keeps the system closed. Bent lever will be easy to swap! Thanks for asking and the comment!
Eddie Hewitt I had to get some snap ring pliers off of amazon and retrofit them to make it work. Another commenter said he got the Park Tool RP1 .9mm straight internal. Hope this helps you!
Bennett Swerve the ones I got from Amazon I had to take a dremel to the tip and remove quite a bit of material in order for them to fit inside the holes of the snap ring. So basically I had to remove stuff and try it and remove a little more and try it... little by little. In the end it would have been better to just buy the parks tool pliers but if you have some snap ring pliers you don’t mind modifying then give it a try. Thanks for commenting and hopefully that helps you some.
Adrian Castro awesome thanks for getting back to me, just got a pair of 40 channel lock snap ring pliers that come with a set of different heads, I didn’t have to cut or modify the tool in any way! I just had to pull the tips out all the way and then lock them down with the set screw and with a little bit of cleaning the snap rings came out. Now back to Home Depot to return them!
Dan Bott anytime you do this lever correction or plunger replacement you do have to do a thorough bleed. You are emptying the plunger area of any DOT fluid so you have air once the plunger is serviced or replaced. So yes a bleed is necessary after this fix. Thanks for commenting! Anything else feel free to ask.
Dan Bott no that is not necessary. You disconnect the line and caliper from the lever so everything else is just like a normal bleed and eliminate that air in the lever. On a side note if you did remove the caliper you might have to spread the pads apart because sometimes residual pressure from the stuck lever will still squeeze the pads together. Good luck and thanks for watching!
canyon mercer - I had a previous you tuber write in and Park Tool RP 1 Snap Ring Pliers 0.9 Mm Straight Internal for Bike Repair will work for this. You can find them on eBay or amazon. I will probably order one myself to have an easier reference
mxgregg3544 it’s the park tool rp1 snap ring pliers .9mm straight internal for bike repair. Another youtuber has posted a link but I don’t see it right now of one on amazon that has worked too. Hope this helps you!
I have Guide R and the most difficult and frustrating thing to do is re-attaching the blade back to the lever body. Also getting the rubber ring off and on the piston. SRAM suck, big time!
John Cruz well I am sure SRAM engineering dept were taking a nap on variances cause I have seen this plunger problem in earlier juicy models but nothing of this magnitude on their guide models. I do understand that seal is a pain, I found that picks like dental tools ( found some at harbor freight) made removing the seals easier... but not easy! And yes aligning that spring and the same time the pivot bolt on the lever is tricky! Hope you succeeded in the rebuild though!!
Ty Sutherland yes I know the resolution sucks it’s been said many times. Unfortunately this being one the first times to post a video of “how to” which I assumed in my mind came out great... only to realize after posting that was not the case. I will update again with better resolution and hopefully less amount of complaints. Thanks for Watching and always enjoy helpful criticism.
@@ragedracer I deeply regret my a-hole comment. I was very angry at a certain brake lever at the time. I sincerely appreciate your effort and please keep up the good work. Alternate solution: try jabbing a screw driver around blindly to pry the jammed piece apart. Works everytime!
Ty Sutherland constructive criticism is never a bad thing. I know what you meant and I know how you feel as well as hundreds of other riders.. I have been there and wanted to do something bout it. Sram really f’d it up with this first generation brakes. The brakes ARE awesome when they do work, and at least “we” as riders are able to fix it on our own without sending them in/ out of warranty. Thanks again for commenting and no need to apologize, I know if people are watching this they are already frustrated in so many ways. If you have issues or need second hand parts feel free to message me. Thanks!
Adrian Castro My brake went from not working at all (lever completely stuck) to slow returning lever :D Hate these brakes... Actually I got a new Sram Guide RS 2 days before and it feels amazing. Even better than Shimano
You try taking them to the local bike shop to see if SRAM will fix them? I hated the brakes and THEN when they worked, they were awesome. They really have a great response.... When they are working that is! Nothing against Shimano, but I do like overall how guides work.
Adrian Castro I took them to a bike shop (I did not know that it is possible to fix them inside) and they told me they are broken. The breaks are too old to send them to Sram... :( I love my new ones too
Well this is where you can take them apart and fix them, if it works then sell them to offset the cost of new brakes!...(just an idea) but don't toss them throw them on eBay, something is better nothing right? Hope your new set lasts a while.
Why wouldnt sram make an aluminum replacement Comsidering what they fucking charge for a set of guides cool vid tho seen aluminum ones on ebay outta chinatown
Well I personally don’t know, my guess is cost? Your right though the cost on guides you would expect them to be made of a quality part. I have installed the aluminum plungers and honestly they work great. It’s a toss up, work with what you got or pay some extra and get aluminum ones. I have heard Sram did warranty the levers but no idea if that’s still valid. Thanks for commenting and watching!
Howard Petrie ha ha you have a point, until your Shimano lever or caliper leaks! If you know how to fix those on your own then you have a game changer!
I have SRAM on my full suspension MTB and it does seem sticky pistons are an issue with the front brake causing brake drag. This and your problem are common issues with SRAM - they need to do better. The pistons in my SRAM Guide R are aluminum. Shimano uses ceramic pistons. Shimano brakes have worked flawlessly on my road bikes and hard tail. Anyway, your video should be useful to those with the same issue.
Howard Petrie I agree with your statement completely! On both SRAM because yes they can do better since this has been a known problem even with their Juicy / code/ elixir lineups it was just not as prominent as it has been with there newest stuff ( guide/ level). Now I have and have had xtr and xt on my hardtail. My biggest problem was my lever on my m975 and it was leaking, second was an xt caliper leaking around ceramic piston..the only remedy was going through LBS and send it to Shimano to have them fix it. Prior to problems I can agree with you that they work flawlessly! But hence the video I am a DIY’er so I felt defeated in the sense that I couldn’t fix them on my own. Anyways like I stated in my other tutorial both companies have pros and cons just choose what suits you and your ride best! I do appreciate you commenting!
I'm disappointed with Sram. I upgraded from Shimano to Sram Code R and they were incredible good modulation and stopping power but the build quality is poor and can be dengarous. I can't understand the logic behind the design, brakes are the most important thing on the bike and looks like safety is not a priority for Sram. The piston in the lever is made of plastic (in Shimano is metal) and will deteriorate quite fast and it will get stuck, the rubber seals are not godd quality either. The pistons in the calipers get stuck as well and resulting in unbalanced braking(3/2 working out of 4).All of this happened with me a little over 1 year wit only a few rides, noting extreme. It's insane making this compromises just to shave off a few grams. This brakes are unsafe and they should not be allowed on the market.
Albert Szabo thank you for commenting. First I have to say I don’t work or promote SRAM. Yes I do agree that quality of parts should be higher and their R&D department should have known but I do know that they corrected this mistake and working on the past with complete replacements. Now as for shimano and Sram this is and always will be an ongoing “who’s better” battle. There are many versus between the two here on RUclips. They both have pros and cons- I have and currently own and have owned most of the top brands of brakes. The reason for this tutorial is because PARTS are available! Plus the DIY’er at home can do this. Last I checked shimano does not offer anything of this. You can’t replace seals on your own, and the caliper with ceramic pistons are fragile they can crack and thus your only replacement is a complete new caliper... makes sense? If you happen to know how to replace seals on a caliper or on an xtr975 levers let me know. I have plenty that have this issue and shimano can fix this for a fee but more times than not it’s at least 3/4 of the cost of a new brake. Again I don’t work for any mountain bike biz, was just a frustrated rider like yourself and wanted to help others in this situation. I appreciate your comment / opinion and hopefully your next set of brakes will satisfy your riding style.
Hey Dmitry Z, Google has said that my videos are in HD but it's your connection speed that makes it play in 240. They said in the upper right hand corner you can select how you see the video. 240 plays with poor connection speed. Hope this helps you.
My lever stopped working and I thought I'd have to buy a new lever. I will 100% be trying this before buying a new one. Great video and great advice.
Thank you for watching and commenting! I hope it does help you out! Any questions feel free to ask.
Hello again Aaron,
I got your message and I can say this is by far the worst part of that disassembly. As for the snap ring pliers- that sucks too! I have ordered 6 different pliers and I don’t have favorite that I would recommend. I can only recommend any snap ring plier that has a fair amount of long reach. I have had to alter the tip on most of my pliers to make it work too. I have had to use a sharp pick to at times and I don’t recommend it but pulling it out. I have plenty of spares which is why I pretty much yanked it out. It puts it out of round and it might break too so not the best choice. If you have a good set of pliers and don’t mind shaving the tip down to get a good fit in those small eyelets I would go for it. I have been told to try jewelers pliers but have yet to try those. I hope this offers a bit of help for you. Rest assured this is by far the worst part of this whole “fix”! You can email me directly if you like ragedracer@gmail.com I will have fingers crossed and hope this works for you.
@@ragedracer hi Adrian
I deleted the comment as I kept trying and managed to get the snap ring out. I completed the refurb of the lever and it now works perfectly. What a great video and very informative. Saved me lots of money!
@@Bigfoot0510 I was wondering where the comment went and thought it was an instant message thing but either way it’s ok. Very happy to hear you got it completed!! Congratulations and hope you don’t have another issue like this! Thanks again for watching and messaging!
Excellent DIY video. I followed your sanding instruction as my 1st order from amazon had the wrong aluminum piston, and I want to ride. I'd recommend replacing the plastic piston as all it takes is someone being aggressive and grabbing the brake lever & applying excessive brake pressure. This crushes the piston and causes it to swell. I've reordered the aluminum replacements on Amazon and will update them later. Cheers!
Dennis De Nio thanks for commenting! I have heard from others who have commented that the aluminum plunger is the way to go! Thanks again and hope you get to ride soon!
I’d like to say a massive thanks for creating and sharing this video. I’d suffered the issue on both front and rear brakes (2016 Guide RS) and was either going to buy two service kits (not cheap) or new brakes (even more expensive). After following these great step by step instructions, the sum total of my investment was some wet and dry paper and time! Both brakes are now working perfectly, and hopefully will for the foreseeable future. One note in case it helps others - my circlip pliers didn’t have small enough ends, but I managed to remove the circlips using two hooks/picks like the ones in your video, and did the same in reverse - it’s not a big circlip, and doesn’t require much force.
Andy Brooks thank you for the feedback I always appreciate it and even more so that it helped you out! Or anyone else for that matter. The snap ring to this day are a still a pain, even with pliers they are a headache. Thanks again and it’s great riding weather! Go an enjoy it!
Just repaired my front sram guide R here in the uk , all i can think is a hot shed caused the piston to expand . Wet and dried , works perfect !
I didnt need any tools to bleed, I kept my calliper on the fork with the bike upright , dissconnected the line from the lever .
When re assembling attached the line to the lever , mounted the lever on the handle bars with the reservoir open and level , lever was highest point with straight hose ,
Worked lever , slowly released bubbles ,
Did this until slight movement in brake piston.
Then refill reservoir reattach reservoir lid , rotate lever whilst still working the lever , after 2 minutes regained full brake.
Thanks!
sam e thank you for commenting! And thank you again for providing another good way to work on these without tools! Great idea and glad this worked out for you! Happy trails and have fun!
Update. SRAM has extended the warrantee of levers to 3 years from date of purchase, if you want to go that route. Yes, you have to have proof of purchase. I was inside the window but no receipt, so I just got the lever rebuild kit from WorldWide and it went super smooth following your video. The official SRAM video says to rotate the snap ring to a specific orientation once you install it, that's basically the only difference. Also the kit comes with a new bladder and some other small bits. I recommend, once you have the bladder and everything out of the body, clean the whole thing, including inside the bore, with isopropyl. There was some grit in the lock ring area and some inside the bore too, maybe left from the worn old piston. That and some Q-Tips got it all shiny clean before putting it all back together.
Oh, and remember to have new ends for your hydraulic lines, not a good idea to reuse the old ones: www.amazon.com/SRAM-Stealthamajig-Hydraulic-Brake-Fittings/dp/B01F0FC8OU
Here's the SRAM video: ruclips.net/video/Ihb2cBiXp2U/видео.html
Here's the kit from Worldwide www.worldwidecyclery.com/products/sram-guide-rs-lever-internals-kit-2nd-generation
And here's a really good video on how to clean your calipers without disassembling them to hopefully get them almost back to new without a full disassemble: ruclips.net/video/ys9bUOJ0qg0/видео.html
Thank you for all this great information. I am sure it will help some people who still have this issue. Thanks again.
@@ragedracer Yea, crazy thing is one bike is basically exactly 3 years old. Ridden hard and in all kinds of conditions. Never had a problem. Then last week, while sitting in the sun, blam! Pistons would stick badly. Cool off in the shade, not sticking at all. Then I checked my other bike which is 4 years old with no problems, and in the sun they were sticking sort of badly. So might be a new batch of people having this problem after a few years of service.
@@Chuckolicious it’s amazing to me how this is still a problem. I do think it’s more of a “batch” problem. Being here in Arizona it’s quite common but I have had some guide lever brakes with no issues. Thanks again for taking the time to post this information. I do hope some people will take advantage of this information and use the warranty if valid.
Thank you so much. I was about to drop 100s of dollars on new brakes because nobody else knew how to fix my brakes. Makes so much sense now why my wheels were locking up.
Matt McDonald don’t throw them away! They can be fixed! It’s known problem and if you contact Sram you might be able to have them warranty the levers. It’s worth a shot! If not I am sure some elbow grease will get them back on the trails! Good luck either way you go! Thanks for watching and feedback!
I won't! I believe I found a replacement aluminum plunger online that isn't supposed to swell or rub so im going to give that a try. Its amazing the 2 bike shops that I visited didn't know anything about this. They just told me that they aren't being warranted any more.
Matt McDonald a bike shop didn’t know bout this!! It was the number one problem bike shops were seeing the past couple of years! Sucks to hear that they are not warrantied anymore. I have had a couple of guys comment on the aluminum plungers and say they did great and can’t tell the difference. Thanks again for your info! And again good luck on the rebuild with the new plungers!
@@ragedracerMy friend, thank you, I bought sram db 5 brakes on my bike and they were responsible, I solved the problem thanks to you, greetings from Turkey
@@talhaurkmez259 awesome! Glad to hear this helped you! Greetings from Phoenix, Arizona!
I haven't had a chance to try this out yet, but, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to make this video! I also can't believe people have the gall to complain about the 240p resolution on a FREE video that you created simply to help others out. Good grief! Thanks for your time in creating the video!
Andrew Bretz thank you! I always appreciate comments and feedback regardless of it positive or negative. It’s constructive criticism and helps out! I don’t mind the 240p resolution comment, as far as I knew I was uploading in hi def but this is the way it uploaded.. I am new to the whole RUclips upload how to but I will fix it one of these days. It’s a reasonably good gist of what you have to do to get your brakes back on the road and fellow commentators have put in their 2 cents of making it even more cost effective with not even using special tools. It’s no problem on helping others out I enjoy it since this is a rather troublesome problem that can make and break a good weekend! Thanks again for commenting and hope this helps you out when you get to it! Any problems or adding your 2 cents to this always welcomed!
Thanks. You point out all the stuff the other people making videos like this either skip or miss.
Thank you for watching and commenting. I hope it helps you. If you have any questions or issues feel free to message me. Thanks again
@@ragedracer I'm in process now and as you alluded to in video, that snap ring is a booger. my tool was not long enough to reach it.
@@lidarman2 if you can’t reach it, you can try a hook and pick set or maybe an ice pick and try to hook one of the eyelets on the snap ring and squeeze it in. A real pain yes and it’s metal so if you distort it removing it, you can bend it back. I keep buying different pliers to help others with that choice yet I still haven’t found “the one”!
Didn't know this was so common a problem! Already bought a rebuild kit for front and rear levers, but this helps a lot even for just installing those - plus it's good to know as I'm sure my levers are going to seize again within a couple of years. Great info, thanks!
Shannon Jennings thanks for commenting and yes quite the problem. I think most issues have been resolved within the 2018 models but anything prior we’re likely victim to it. I did have issues with some rebuild kits as to the plunger still “swelled up” and thus the problem reoccurred. So this would resolve all those issues. Hope your back on the trails soon! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Helpful video thanks, I ordered a new alloy piston from eBay seller complete with seals already mounted. The new piston fitted perfectly and works beautifully with nice modulation again after refilling and bleeding. The biggest problem as others have said was removing the snap ring even though I have a selection of internal snap ring pliers, however all is possible with patience!
nick hammond awesome to here that those alloy pistons work great! I completely agree on that snap ring! I have three sets of pliers and all of them have a tough time removing those rings! Glad I could be of help and thanks for the feedback and commenting!
Can you send me a link to that ebay?
This video has been SO helpful!! The rear lever from my new RS brakes was seized, and my local bike shop told me a new one would cost me $115 and a months wait. So this video saved me quite some trouble. I found the process was pretty simple, the only hard part for me was removing the snap ring. But a little patience and some decent tools solved that problem. Thanks!
Landon F thanks for your comment and feedback! It’s a shame to hear that replacing the lever is so costly, wasn’t too long ago you can get an rsc lever for 80 bucks. 115 and a month wait! No wonder people are throwing these away! Happy trails Landon and have fun!
Oh man, thank you so much Adrian! You saved my Guide RS' butt! Hardest part for me was to get the snap ring under control - which caused one failed attempt I guess. But I'm superglad I got the job done right at second try! Big ups for this straight-on and effective walk-through!
Moritzlikesit thank you and very happy this helped! That snap ring is a pain but with the right tools it’s makes it easy! Thanks again for commenting and have fun on the trails again!
Brilliant worked absolutely perfect. Struggled a bit without snap clip pliers but made it work with some welding tungstens and a flat head 👍 thanks
Ryan Dawkins thank for watching and commenting, I always enjoy hearing the feedback! That snap ring is the one of the biggest pains on the rebuild, it’s a one and done thing! Happy trails and have fun!
Thanks! Just saved £14 on new piston pushers 🤙🏻🤙🏻 done in 30min 👌🏻
Nice!! Glad this video helped you out and I appreciate you watching and feedback!
@@ragedracer no worries , i was about to buy new piston pusher , your video helped a lot! thanks again!
Really helpful ! Appreciate your effort and the time you have spent making this video. Thanx to you i have managed to complete this task on my own . All the best
Mihail Angelov thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment! Happy riding!
Thanks for the video. Suddenly had this problem this year and now my lever works again. The only annoying part is the snapring without the pliers, but got it after a while.
Just need to bleed it now :)
Still, I'm a bit disappointed with SRAM. Don't think I'll buy those again.
Grimmjow J. The snap ring tends to be the biggest pain in the a&@ our if this whole thing. I am glad to hear your lever works again and hopefully this video helps. yes SRAM definitely dropped the ball on these models and I get what they were trying to accomplish but I am sure they never anticipated the plunger swelling so much to cause brake lockup. As much as these were a problem, when fixed they do work quite well. I do think either sram or hope as you yourself can work on the brakes. I have yet to find a solution for fixing the shimano lineup ( xtr, xt, lx etc) nothing is out there on the market to fix on your own. Thanks for watching and commenting I always appreciate the feedback!
How did you get the snap ring out without pliers?
@@quaaludes7898 A lot of trying with 2 thin prickers. In hindsight I would just buy the pliers now cause it should be way easier
@@little1biker thanks for the advice.. I gave up earlier and bought the pliers lol
I have the problem on my 4 years old Canyon (warranty over) and yet they sent me brand new levers! Sram have a policy on replacing faulty levers. I noticed the hole in which you put the Allen key is now way bigger in the new version.
Thats great! I am glad to hear that even after the warranty they still fixed your levers!
Good to hear they took care of you cause I foresee this happening to my Guide Rs on my new Stumpjumper. Already had issues while riding in hot weather.
Thanks! Was about to throw in the towel and your video saved me! Back up n running! 🍻
Steve Capone thanks for the feedback! Glad the video helped you, if you don’t mind sharing how you managed with the snap ring in there. Had other people share what they used and for other watchers I like to tell them what else is readily available to try. Thanks again for watching!
Just did this fix this weekend! Hope it works and lasts a long time! Thanks for the awesome video!! I was about to buy a new set (different brand too) of brakes and it's not even a year old
villajuan81 thanks for commenting and also the feedback! I hope they last a long time too! If your already planning on buying a new set why not try and see if you can fix it right? Thanks again and glad to hear your on the trails again!
How does Sram manage to continue to put out such garbage brakes. My new Stumpjumper has these pieces of shit on it. 2 weeks old and already trouble. Really pisses me off !
Encountered this problem today. After over a year of good service (from my brakes - guides R) in any wheater. It surprised me a lot. Supposedly, there is some replacement kit from SRAM to solve the problem. I dont trust my hands that much to deliver just minor shave around whole circumference. :) It is nice video anyways, but (as many) i would also appreciate higher resolution.:)
madworkzer I agree I had no idea on the resolution problem until someone noted it bout 2 months ago. When I loaded it I assumed it was high resolution because that is what I chose, I will have to reload it one of these days! As to the replacement yes it a little cumbersome but well within a weekend warrior with some patience! I don’t blame you not wanting to do it and in fact if you have a reputable bike shop they maybe able to send your levers in for warranty. It’s a very well known problem and they can advise how to work it out with sram. Don’t toss them though! Even if you decide to sell as is you can get some money for it!
Think yourself as a good person, man. You're building your path to heaven. Than you so very much, you helped me, really, a lot!
I appreciate the kind words! I am glad this video helped you, it’s exactly what it’s meant to do. Hope your back on your bike soon!
Thanks for posting this. I managed to fix my brakes. Now it's good as new!
Balee Tong thank you for watching and commenting! I am glad to hear you fixed it too!
For anyone doing this. I got a replacement piston. Old piston that was seized had a diameter of 9.45mm when measured on the callipers. The new piston that was smooth and freely moving was 9.30mm so sanding it down to 9.3mm is maybe a good figure to aim for.
Thanks for that bit of info! Some of these “watchers” are always interested in what that spec is. I myself never measured it. Thanks again
Thanks for uploading this @ 240P.
Curtis it sucks that all I could get is 240P, all I can say is centurylink modem 4 years ago. The best that I could do. Hopefully it did help you some.
Thanks man, took mine out the shed where it must be 40 degrees and both brake are locked on can't even move the wheels!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, hope the video helps you and getting your brakes back to working!
you made it so easily! great video Thanks
Thank you! I appreciate it. Hopefully it helps you out!
Done it!!!
Very helpful mate!!!!
Just realised I need a bleeding edge gadget now though lol😂
Amazon time....
I burped the lever with a syringe, and it all pressurised OK.
Cool.
Simon Tandy awesome very happy it went good and hopefully you get the bleeding edge tool soon!
What is the symptom of needing this fix? Would it be that the wheel is locked up from the brake or that the brake doesn't work reliably? I have a set of SRAM Guide R brakes and the back one seems to work for a couple moments and then essentially stop working. They have been bled multiple times and I've even tried reducing the gap between the pad and the rotor which only resulted in rubbing. Trying to decide if this is actually what's wrong and worth the effort (would also need to procure the tools to perform).
Hello Cory! Thanks for messaging! So when do you need this fix… the lever issue is primarily when you apply the brakes and the lever does not return. The issue I think your having is probably the caliper which is common and I should do another DIY video. So fine dust accumulates in the pistons within the caliper. It can sometimes cause hesitation or non responsiveness. One easy way to see if this is an issue is to see your brakes pads and if the wear pattern is uneven. So typically you have two pistons in each side of caliper if one is being hung up then you have uneven wear on one pad.. you can look without removing the caliper off the bike. If you want a rebuild and your in the states then message me and I will be happy to service them! Thanks again!
Very helpful video. Is the grease necessary or will the brake fluid alone be enough to lubricate the seals?
Gavin McDonnell thanks for commenting and watching! Just as long as you keep the deals wet for installation, you should be fine. I have done multiple rebuilds at first without the grease and they still work out just fine. Good luck with rebuilding yours!
I couldn’t find snap ring pliers that would fit, so I made some by filing down the tips of some long tipped mini pliers.
Hey Jim, yes I still to this day can’t seem to find a strong enough snap ring pliers and to add you need ones that have a long enough reach. Glad to hear you were able to make do and improvise! Thanks for your feedback! Hope the video helps you out.
This fix worked great on my SRAM DB5 system!! The hardest part was removing the snap ring. I used a small pair of needle nose pliers and grinded/ grounded the tips, would be best to get the correct tool though. I also wet-sanded the "plunger" in small increments and then would clean it and test fit it back into the housing. Once I was able to "blow" it out as in Adrian's video, I stopped sanding at that point. I didn't have the avid grease, so I just used some of the 5.1 dot fluid on the seals of the plunger for reassembly. After reassembly, I proceeded to bleed the brakes as per the sram tech video, but came out feeling "spongy" and wouldn't stop "hard". So, I research for a alternate bleeding method and it worked great. Here's the link that brake bleed video: ruclips.net/video/mYlm0lFJEsU/видео.html Thanks Adrian!! I owe you a beer! And BTW my local bike shop tried to sell my new brakes instead of trying to fix these. You would think most techs would know about this issue with SRAM brakes. Just a 2 minute search online shows a bunch.
SuperDave awesome! Glad to hear that this worked and yes the 5.1 DOT fluid will work as a lubricant and that’s how I started doing them initially but found out bout the grease so have been using that since I do quite a few of these! I also did the “grind the tip of needle nose pliers” it’s cumbersome and with perseverance you will succeed! I think most shops just don’t want the hassle and would rather make the money on a marked up brake item than rebuild what you have. Shops don’t take into account your not replacing anything it’s just all elbow grease! Thanks for your comment on letting others know it’s not that difficult and thanks for the feedback! Beer offers are always welcome but for now... “cheers” will do! Thanks again
Hello! thanks for tips. Is it possible just take hose out of lever, and just push piston back? as an emergency repair?
Paavo Pohjonen yes you can but you might as well keep it off. Chances are it will happen again while your riding and then you really would be in an emergency. If the plunger has swelled and locked up as it did now it’s still going to happen again if you push that piston/ plunger back. Thanks for commenting!
Thanks! I used this vid just to replace the lever on my RS. If my brakes ever stick I'll know what to do.
great video thanks a lot!
Thank you for watching and the feedback!
Hello Adrian, Thanks to your video I was able to restore my lever to like new feel. Took me a few minutes more than you but ....
Where do you get the long and small snap ring pliers? Could you provide a link? I used to scratch awls. Worked but primitive and I was concerned ring might fly off into space !!! Thanks again for the great tutorial video .
Alan Cook thanks for watching! And of course taking the time to comment. As for the pliers... it sucks, the one I have I bought from harbor freight the problem is the tips on them was still too big for the snap rings so I had to dremel the tips even smaller for it to work. I have heard from other viewers that Home Depot has a pair of snap ring pliers that will work but I can’t say for sure since I have not seen them. The parks snap ring pliers are not long enough to reach in there to pull out the ring. I have also seen some long nose snap pliers that might work at hobby lobby but yet have tried them to see if that will work. I may do that this weekend and if it works I may provide a pic or link to them. Thanks again for watching and the awls is what I first used too! I will be in touch.
@@ragedracer Just saw these on Ebay. What do you think? www.ebay.com/itm/Cycling-disc-Brake-Lever-Internal-Snap-Ring-Pliers-tool-fit-SRAM-db5-guide-Level/302384445016?_trkparms=aid%3D333200%26algo%3DCOMP.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225073%26meid%3D9987c3482bf34e50ad437dc1f5f7d18c%26pid%3D100707%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D3%26sd%3D164196826348%26itm%3D302384445016%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2485358%26algv%3DItemStripV4&_trksid=p2485358.c100707.m1851
Alan Cook those look very promising to try! If your not in a rush I think it should work. Coming from China I think it will be a couple of weeks. If you do order them please let me know I will be happy to give you a thanks for anyone who asks. Thanks for looking and sending me that link.
@@ragedracer I am not going to order pliers for now as I got both levers done and second went smoother than first using the awls. I do recommend a small white room in case the ring decides to launch :-),
Alan Cook yes I agree those clips can fly! I might give it a try and order some. I will let you know if I do and see what happens.
good job,it works very well now,thanks.
olivier couteau good to hear it worked for you! Happy trails! Thanks for commenting too!
Thanks for the vid! I am about to buy used Guides. Did this method fix the problem in the long term? I live in Australia so anytime I want to ride it is usually 30-40 degrees Celsius. Just want to make sure I am not wasting my money on brakes that get sketchy every time I ride.
Caleb Torrisi first off thanks for commenting! Second is yes, this does fix it for the long term. I still have my guides both RS and RSC working and I live in Arizona, so we had a lot of problems here when these first came out. I tried making this the most cost effective for riders and I am sure if you read comments some
People are very creative with tools and can make the best of it with not having the proper ones. If at all you get stuck on something feel free to message again and be happy to help where I can! Good luck and happy trails!
Caleb Torrisi by the way I am 3 years with my “fixed” levers.
@@ragedracer Awesome! Thank you for the fast reply! If I need any help I will definetly ask you 👍
Use channel lock 927!!! Extend the largest black tip as far as it will go and you can get them out! Then return them!
Bennett Swerve thanks again for commenting and that helpful input! Definitely a price-return anyone can do!
How did this repair stack up? Still going strong after 6 months to 1 year? Contemplating on buying the rebuild kit or just make this one to save some.
marc clasara thanks for commenting and asking. After over a year my levers are still doing great! Never had to fix this problem again. I don’t know if you read other comments but some people have chosen to buy the metal plungers and keep the original seals and that work great too. You already have to tear down the lever this is an easier option to try, if it doesn’t work at least you know how to reassemble for when you order the parts. I have had pros to amateurs all do this fix and it’s worked great. Hope this helps you either way! Good luck
This happened to me in summer, fixed it but lever has gone sticky again. Shall I re-try this method?
Gary Arnold did you go bout it this way to fix it? The plunger should have very little resistance when you reinstall it without seals. I am going on 2.5 years on my levers so far and still have yet to have this issue reoccur. I would definitely try it again.
Gonna try is again, pretty sure I run out of DOT grease last time, maybe it gone sticky?
Gary Arnold, if you don’t have grease you still should be fine with dipping the plunger with seals installed ( after removing some material off the plunger of course) into DOT fluid and reinstalling it. I have done it this way before with no failures.
Strange maybe I didnt file enough with emery paper?
Gary Arnold that would be my only guess. Remove a little at a time and try it. From my video very little resistance is needed, just blow on the end and the plunger should come out ( no seals installed of course) with no problem. Any problems feel free to ask away! Thanks for asking and commenting!
Hi
Great video, what size spanner do you need for undoing the break line ??
Danny bowlzer thanks for watching! And of course thanks for commenting! You will need an 8mm wrench/ spanner. Hope this helps you and good luck on the rebuild!
@@ragedracer Thanks, your video has finally given me the confidence to tackle this very annoying issue. One more thing do I need to drain the oil out of the system before I remove the hydraulic pipe ??
Danny bowlzer good job on tackling this! I have a lot of people who do this and didn’t think they could so I think you have no problem! No need to drain fluid from line or caliper. Just undo bar clamp, use your wrench/ spanner and undo the brake line from the lever. Make sure you keep that line upright or tie a plastic bag to the end of that line to avoid the fluid to drain onto your bike paint... it will strip the paint if it sits on it too long. Good luck!
Great video really helpful, shame I suck at getting this snap ring out doesn’t seem to lift 😂😂
Hey, nice video. I hope that fits my problem. I can´t bleed the my brake. But one more request: can you write the equipment that you have used in your description, like 800 abrasive paper, the grease or what ever you have used? THX ;-)
Ek Af thanks for commenting and watching! I did make another video of all the tools I used and where I got them from to help out. You should be able to see my other videos I posted. If you need anything else feel free to comment and message me!
Thanks
Hey
Thanks for the support first of all.
Do you have a video after this method the brakes are works properly? I mean during the action, after ride.
Because this problem coming out by the heat. My brakes was totally useless when i kept under sun for a couple of minutes. Levers dont even moves back and forwards. Stucks in one position. :(
I just want to be sure this operation are effective.
And also, i found on ebay those plastic plunger but made from alloy/metal. Is it worthy?
LEW K. So you bring up a very good topic here! I do need to do a follow up and yes years after doing this the plunger works great. SRAM was great in developing this brake with very minimal variance in the plunger which was also its downfall. I am sure they didn’t anticipate the swelling of the plastic plunger to that degree ( no pun intended), once heated up that plunger swells and thus making the brakes useless. The metal one on eBay has a greater threshold and more “give” since it’s metal. So I think if you wanted to go that aspect it would be valid and probably work great... cheaper alternative is the video I did. Hope this helps you some and I will be glad to do a follow up on the brakes I did! Thanks for commenting and subscribing and hopefully this helps you either way!
Has this part been upgraded by Sram at all or anything like that? I found a pair for 50bucks and want to give it a go
o_O thanks for commenting! Well Sram will warranty the levers so I am going to assume the plunger will be replaced as well as the seals involved. If your buying them second hand you can try to contact a local bike shop and see if they can run them under a warranty but I can’t help you in that aspect. As for buying new plungers, yes they make aftermarket metal ones I have seen on eBay and it’s a direct replacement. Just swap out the seals and your good. Hopefully that helps you out some. Thanks again
Hello,
What is your rate to repair guide r's?
Thanks
Momma Mia thanks for commenting! You can see the other comments. If you have some mechanical knowledge and tools with help hopefully from the video you can do this. The snap ring is probably the biggest pain to remove but with effort it will come out! I have had people buy the tools and return them to help save on costs but that’s your call. Hope this video helps you, if I were to rate this on level of difficulty I would say 6 with 10 being very difficult.
Momma Mia I might have read your comment wrong! If you asking bout rate as far as doing the repair just email me ragedracer@gmail.com and I can go over different costs to what works best for you.
Great video! almost lost my sh** trying to get this stup** snap ring out. gotta hate SRAM for such silly design! not to mention finding the right pliers with tips thin enough 0.8 or 0.9mm is hard to find and very expensive like 40 USD+ just for the pliers!!! just Omg !
OMG is right! I can understand the simplicity what SRAM tried to do but why did it have to be so hard to remove! Yes the pliers are a different ordeal! I have ordered multiple kinds and nothing is working like as in one I would recommend. - Parks, snap on, blue point, harbor freight, husky, Amazon kinds… all suck. I just ended up grinding down a pair and hoping it works. Thanks for watching and especially commenting I appreciate it. Hope you had luck and was a success for you.
@@ragedracer I ended up buying a basic pair of snap ring pliers with 2mm tip diameter and kept filing it until reaching the right diameter (very small probably 0.8mm). Even the more expensive ones i tried thinking would so the job didn't work. The parktools RP-1 are supposed to be specifically made for this, and 0.9 or 0.8mm tips. But were hard to find, and expensive.
@@romatou18 yeah the parks didn’t work for me. The tip broke and I ended up filing the end down some more but it still didn’t work. Very frustrating but I still got the work done.
Nice one. Thanks for this!!!
Simon Tandy thank you for watching and commenting! Good luck on your rebuild!
I thought it was a problem with seals :) I will check. Thanks
The seals I rarely find the problem with, it's typically the plastic plunger. Let me know what you find! Thanks for messaging.
I first thought it was the seals too, if you use the wrong brake fluid then yes the seals will go bad but I figured out it was the plunger. Hope you checked it out and this video helps. Thanks for messaging.
The lever works much better after filing the piston. I was thinking about buying a repair kit. Thanks for this video.
Glad to hear it worked out for you! Thank you for the feedback!
Bummer about the resolution. I cant tell what you removed with the pic
BuckeyeMCS yes sorry the resolution as much as I can try still could not get resolved. I have tried to talk to know what to expect and what to do to help with this. Most people who work with this have the biggest problem with the snap ring.. it’s a huge pain but yes it does and can come out. Most of everything is simple and you get a gist from the video. Thanks for attempting to watch and of course appreciate the comment! Good luck
@@ragedracer It's a great video and exactly what I think I need for my Guide R's on my 2017 Stumpy with sticky levers.
BuckeyeMCS it’s the season man... just did 2 rs models and working on some TLM’s right now and those snap rings I have to admit have been the worst at of all the models. Just a quick note, did you try to contact LBS or SRAM to warranty your levers? I heard they still are doing it, and not as backed up as they once were.
perfect. thank you
wagongotya your welcome and thank you for watching and commenting!
So if I bent the brake lever blade could I remove it and replace it without having to bleed the system after?
Drew Willardson yes you are correct, there is a very pain in the butt snap ring that keeps the system closed. Bent lever will be easy to swap! Thanks for asking and the comment!
There’s no video I can find online on how to do just the lever rebuild sigh
What do you exactly mean by your comment? This video is a tear down on how to rebuild the lever.
Where did you find the long noise snap ring pliers ?
Eddie Hewitt I had to get some snap ring pliers off of amazon and retrofit them to make it work. Another commenter said he got the Park Tool RP1 .9mm straight internal. Hope this helps you!
Adrian Castro how did you modify them to get them to work?
Bennett Swerve the ones I got from Amazon I had to take a dremel to the tip and remove quite a bit of material in order for them to fit inside the holes of the snap ring. So basically I had to remove stuff and try it and remove a little more and try it... little by little. In the end it would have been better to just buy the parks tool pliers but if you have some snap ring pliers you don’t mind modifying then give it a try. Thanks for commenting and hopefully that helps you some.
Adrian Castro awesome thanks for getting back to me, just got a pair of 40 channel lock snap ring pliers that come with a set of different heads, I didn’t have to cut or modify the tool in any way! I just had to pull the tips out all the way and then lock them down with the set screw and with a little bit of cleaning the snap rings came out. Now back to Home Depot to return them!
If you google channel lock 927, you should be able to find them buy them use them then return them!
So no bleed necessary for this fix, correct?
Dan Bott anytime you do this lever correction or plunger replacement you do have to do a thorough bleed. You are emptying the plunger area of any DOT fluid so you have air once the plunger is serviced or replaced. So yes a bleed is necessary after this fix. Thanks for commenting! Anything else feel free to ask.
@@ragedracer Awesome - but not need to clear the entire system of fluid before you start?
Dan Bott no that is not necessary. You disconnect the line and caliper from the lever so everything else is just like a normal bleed and eliminate that air in the lever. On a side note if you did remove the caliper you might have to spread the pads apart because sometimes residual pressure from the stuck lever will still squeeze the pads together. Good luck and thanks for watching!
What kind of snap ring pliers are those? I am having a har time locating some good pliers. Thanks
canyon mercer - I had a previous you tuber write in and Park Tool RP 1 Snap Ring Pliers 0.9 Mm Straight Internal for Bike Repair will work for this. You can find them on eBay or amazon. I will probably order one myself to have an easier reference
Thanks for your answer because I have also a lot of trouble removing this snap ring !!
Adrien Monsimer glad it helps you, hope you fix your brakes soon!
Where did you get your snap ring plyers
mxgregg3544 it’s the park tool rp1 snap ring pliers .9mm straight internal for bike repair. Another youtuber has posted a link but I don’t see it right now of one on amazon that has worked too. Hope this helps you!
Thanks. This is will save me from buying new brakes. Do I need to put on new compression crush washer thing when reinstalling hose. Thanks!
No problem and glad to help! And Not necessarily, if you are careful and don't split that o ring you should be fine.
I have Guide R and the most difficult and frustrating thing to do is re-attaching the blade back to the lever body. Also getting the rubber ring off and on the piston. SRAM suck, big time!
John Cruz well I am sure SRAM engineering dept were taking a nap on variances cause I have seen this plunger problem in earlier juicy models but nothing of this magnitude on their guide models. I do understand that seal is a pain, I found that picks like dental tools ( found some at harbor freight) made removing the seals easier... but not easy! And yes aligning that spring and the same time the pivot bolt on the lever is tricky! Hope you succeeded in the rebuild though!!
thanks bro!
Angelo Silva thank you for commenting! As always I appreciate any feedback good or bad!
Great, but, 240p?! 😑
Yeah this is what I heard too but I know I uploaded it in hi def... I really got to fix that! Thanks for the feedback
Thanks fella.
i wish you would have shot this with lower resolution
Ty Sutherland yes I know the resolution sucks it’s been said many times. Unfortunately this being one the first times to post a video of “how to” which I assumed in my mind came out great... only to realize after posting that was not the case. I will update again with better resolution and hopefully less amount of complaints. Thanks for
Watching and always enjoy helpful criticism.
@@ragedracer I deeply regret my a-hole comment. I was very angry at a certain brake lever at the time. I sincerely appreciate your effort and please keep up the good work. Alternate solution: try jabbing a screw driver around blindly to pry the jammed piece apart. Works everytime!
Ty Sutherland constructive criticism is never a bad thing. I know what you meant and I know how you feel as well as hundreds of other riders.. I have been there and wanted to do something bout it. Sram really f’d it up with this first generation brakes. The brakes ARE awesome when they do work, and at least “we” as riders are able to fix it on our own without sending them in/ out of warranty. Thanks again for commenting and no need to apologize, I know if people are watching this they are already frustrated in so many ways. If you have issues or need second hand parts feel free to message me.
Thanks!
Thanks a lot
No problem! Happy I could help!
Adrian Castro My brake went from not working at all (lever completely stuck) to slow returning lever :D Hate these brakes... Actually I got a new Sram Guide RS 2 days before and it feels amazing. Even better than Shimano
You try taking them to the local bike shop to see if SRAM will fix them? I hated the brakes and THEN when they worked, they were awesome. They really have a great response.... When they are working that is! Nothing against Shimano, but I do like overall how guides work.
Adrian Castro I took them to a bike shop (I did not know that it is possible to fix them inside) and they told me they are broken. The breaks are too old to send them to Sram... :( I love my new ones too
Well this is where you can take them apart and fix them, if it works then sell them to offset the cost of new brakes!...(just an idea) but don't toss them throw them on eBay, something is better nothing right? Hope your new set lasts a while.
Why wouldnt sram make an aluminum replacement
Comsidering what they fucking charge for a set of guides cool vid tho seen aluminum ones on ebay outta chinatown
Well I personally don’t know, my guess is cost? Your right though the cost on guides you would expect them to be made of a quality part. I have installed the aluminum plungers and honestly they work great. It’s a toss up, work with what you got or pay some extra and get aluminum ones. I have heard Sram did warranty the levers but no idea if that’s still valid. Thanks for commenting and watching!
Remove SRAM brakes from bike, replace with Shimano.
Howard Petrie ha ha you have a point, until your Shimano lever or caliper leaks! If you know how to fix those on your own then you have a game changer!
I have SRAM on my full suspension MTB and it does seem sticky pistons are an issue with the front brake causing brake drag. This and your problem are common issues with SRAM - they need to do better. The pistons in my SRAM Guide R are aluminum. Shimano uses ceramic pistons. Shimano brakes have worked flawlessly on my road bikes and hard tail. Anyway, your video should be useful to those with the same issue.
Howard Petrie I agree with your statement completely! On both SRAM because yes they can do better since this has been a known problem even with their Juicy / code/ elixir lineups it was just not as prominent as it has been with there newest stuff ( guide/ level). Now I have and have had xtr and xt on my hardtail. My biggest problem was my lever on my m975 and it was leaking, second was an xt caliper leaking around ceramic piston..the only remedy was going through LBS and send it to Shimano to have them fix it. Prior to problems I can agree with you that they work flawlessly! But hence the video I am a DIY’er so I felt defeated in the sense that I couldn’t fix them on my own. Anyways like I stated in my other tutorial both companies have pros and cons just choose what suits you and your ride best! I do appreciate you commenting!
I'm disappointed with Sram. I upgraded from Shimano to Sram Code R and they were incredible good modulation and stopping power but the build quality is poor and can be dengarous. I can't understand the logic behind the design, brakes are the most important thing on the bike and looks like safety is not a priority for Sram. The piston in the lever is made of plastic (in Shimano is metal) and will deteriorate quite fast and it will get stuck, the rubber seals are not godd quality either. The pistons in the calipers get stuck as well and resulting in unbalanced braking(3/2 working out of 4).All of this happened with me a little over 1 year wit only a few rides, noting extreme. It's insane making this compromises just to shave off a few grams. This brakes are unsafe and they should not be allowed on the market.
Albert Szabo thank you for commenting. First I have to say I don’t work or promote SRAM. Yes I do agree that quality of parts should be higher and their R&D department should have known but I do know that they corrected this mistake and working on the past with complete replacements. Now as for shimano and Sram this is and always will be an ongoing “who’s better” battle. There are many versus between the two here on RUclips. They both have pros and cons- I have and currently own and have owned most of the top brands of brakes. The reason for this tutorial is because PARTS are available! Plus the DIY’er at home can do this. Last I checked shimano does not offer anything of this. You can’t replace seals on your own, and the caliper with ceramic pistons are fragile they can crack and thus your only replacement is a complete new caliper... makes sense? If you happen to know how to replace seals on a caliper or on an xtr975 levers let me know. I have plenty that have this issue and shimano can fix this for a fee but more times than not it’s at least 3/4 of the cost of a new brake. Again I don’t work for any mountain bike biz, was just a frustrated rider like yourself and wanted to help others in this situation. I appreciate your comment / opinion and hopefully your next set of brakes will satisfy your riding style.
olllie
2017! 240p!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, I can't seem to change it! I recorded it in hd too
Hey Dmitry Z, Google has said that my videos are in HD but it's your connection speed that makes it play in 240. They said in the upper right hand corner you can select how you see the video. 240 plays with poor connection speed. Hope this helps you.