Tricky anchor bolt

[playinwdykes]

Hi

I have a shimano deore front derailleur. Am trying to tighten the gear cable, however, the anchor bolt will not tighten up, nor will it loosen off.

It just goes round and round. This means I can't get the tension on the cable to change gear. There are no signs externally that I have threaded the head of the cable.

Any thoughts? Do I need to buy a new derailleur?

Tim

[xerxes]

Do you have a picture and which version is it? Deore has been around for years and there are many versions of components.

It sounds as though you may have either stripped the thread, or rounded out the hexagonal recess that holds the nut.

[playinwdykes]

hi thanks for the quick reply - its a deore fd m530 derailleur

[xerxes]

Here's the tech document:

http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content/cycle/EV/bikecomponents/FD/EV-FD-M530-2449B_v1_m56577569830646657.pdf

The cable clamp bolt has a nut that is usually held in a hexagonal recess in the swing arm. It sounds as though the recess has rounded so that the nut can now turn in it. You could try jamming in a small flat blade screwdriver to prevent the nut turning and so remove the bolt.

You could try using a similar method to tighten the clamp again. Alternatively you could use a longer bolt, M5x15mm cap head allen bolt should be about right, together with a nut and a washer large enough to hold the not out of the recess, or a stack of washers in the recess, or a spacer tube, basically anything to hold the nut proud of the recess so that you can use a spanner on it.

If you haven't got a local hardware shop with a good selection of nuts, washers and bolts, try Ebay, stainless would be best:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/M5-X-16-STAINLESS-STEEL-ALLEN-CAP-HEAD-BOLTS-20-PACK-/300367084340?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_DIY_Material_Nails_Fixing_MJ&hash=item45ef45fb34

[playinwdykes]

thank you - much appreciated and very helpful - will have a try!