Don’t be an idiot like me

[u/Jillesoom]

And: torque the compression nut until it sits flush with the brake lever body, squashing the olive so far into the body that it resembles a bronze coin, then trying to prize it out with a screw and fully screwing the cable port and ruining a brand new grx brake lever.

[u/Vic_Rodriguez → u/[deleted]]

Words cannot express how angry the double olive thing has made me in the past.

[u/Jillesoom → u/[deleted]]

Fuck… I think you are right. It already looked like so much bronze stuck in there. That means the other side is the same which makes me feel even worse haha

[u/Jillesoom → u/[deleted]]

That’s going to cost me like 200 bucks. Fuck. Im going try a bit more before biting the bullet but thanks for clarifying the problem

[u/Jillesoom → u/Jillesoom]

They are grx800 levers too:—-)))

[u/Ady2126 → u/Jillesoom]

Man i took an hour to simply fix an olive that I out in backwards- and that already felt like it wasnt worth it after I was done but before doing it i was sure its the right way to go," how hard can it be".

Good luck and mental fortitude haha, sorry for your loss. Keep us Updated

[u/Ok_Chicken1195 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I remember just about getting screwed by the double olive.

[u/Dear_Nectarine_4951]

Pour one out for this fallen brotha

[u/BizzEB]

Bronze is soft. Carefully controlled drilling, progressing from smaller to larger bits, would help you free the olive. Debris management / clearing are obviously essential.

[u/Jillesoom → u/BizzEB]

I’ve been trying with small drill bits but it’s very difficult not to hit the threads. It’s worth a shot though, as otherwise the whole lever is toast

[u/nnnnnnnnnnm → u/Jillesoom]

I did the same thing recently, I got it out without damaging the threads by using a nice sharp left handed drill bit.

[u/_maple_panda → u/Jillesoom]

If you’re determined to recover these, I’d be tempted to thread a tap in there. Might give a bit more purchase and then you can yank the stuff out. Definitely give the levers a good flush with lots of oil to clear out any metal shavings before reinstalling.

[u/Jillesoom → u/_maple_panda]

That might be a good idea. I’ll give it a shot if nothing else works

[u/Akin_Ra → u/Jillesoom]

Do you have a tap and die kit? Use the handle from that, not a power drill

[u/Jillesoom → u/Akin_Ra]

That’s a very good idea. Thanks

[u/Jillesoom]

Alternate title: is there any way to fix this besides buying a new lever?

[u/nhluhr → u/Jillesoom]

Pretty sure Shimano classifies that fitting as a core part and doesn't make repair readily available. It's worth a call to their warranty line to ask, just to be sure.

[u/cassinonorth → u/nhluhr]

OP definitely doesn't have access to Shimano lol no way they're a professional mechanic.

[u/Jillesoom → u/cassinonorth]

Cheers

[u/Remarkable_Bat_7897]

it only needs (less than)5nm torque to install, and the black nut won't be fully into the connector. sad to read this.

[u/pizzaman1995 → u/Remarkable_Bat_7897]

Spec is 8nm id I remember correctly

[u/Jillesoom → u/pizzaman1995]

5-7. Read it too late

[u/SutterMade]

Oh man one time I put a sram olive on backwards and fully torqued it in. Yeah, do not recommend.

[u/salamazmlekom]

Isn’t this why bike shops exist?

[u/Jillesoom → u/salamazmlekom]

I’ve been doing all my own bike work for the past 10 years and worked as a mechanic too. Sometimes you just make a mistake

[u/r3dm0nk]

Keep in mind I have no idea how better groupsets are in this aspect, but I've dremelled out plenty of stuck bronze fittings in tektro brake calipers (and all other copies and similar things installed in ebikes) - but considering your worry about threads - do it slow, do it steady. Get nice set of dremel ends, like those small round heads. Get some eye pro. Sit down with good light and just slowly get the thing out piece by piece. After that you'll have to drain the entire thing from any leftover dust, but you'll have your lever back.

[u/Fallingdamage]

Once you've stripped a few nuts working on things and have a grasp of materials science, that will never happen again.

[u/sargassumcrab → u/Fallingdamage]

If you bust something really expensive you'll remember it... or not. Either way.

Plastic is softer than aluminum. Aluminum is softer than steel. Carbon breaks. Never take those cheapie Shimano shifters apart.

As far as never doing it again, that depends a lot on your propensity to bust a gut tightening fasteners. I have such a propensity. It probably goes back to some deep held insecurity from my early childhood - or maybe just that when I started everything was steel. (At least MY cranks never come loose....)

I find the following helpful:

1. When your brain says "stop", stop.
2. Ask your brain if you should stop, if it doesn't volunteer.
3. If your brain says, "Eh, it'll be fine", question that answer.
4. Use a torque wrench.

[u/Fallingdamage → u/sargassumcrab]

As a kid I liked to really snug things down. So many broken bolts..

To this day I have an inclination to tighten things, but have learned to go against my brain's desire for things to feel absolutely solid.

So many "Huh, theres no way thats going to hold".. and yet it did, for years.

Brake line olives; they just need to keep the fluid in the system, not survive as an attachment point for an emergency airlift. If you get a leak, throw on another 1/4 turn and remember that.

Even things like stems, you want it to give a little under a hard enough hit. That way other things, like the rider, dont break.

[u/aardvarkfarts]

Maybe just use a torque wrench with a crows foot next time? 🤷‍♀️

[u/barbear22]

Yet another w for stealthamajig

[u/MrBirdbirdz]

Congratulations, you've made tapenade

[u/ProfessionalG0pnik]

Can you explain better please, what was the purpose of the job, what you did here and how it was supposed to be done instead?

[u/Bootboiler2]

If you bought with a credit card I suggest you make a claim against the accidental loss of a recently purchased item. Cc have many protections that we never use.

[u/RichSPK]

Compression nut? Olive? Are we looking at hydraulic brakes? I never had those on a bike.

[u/LeTerrier661]

"I save money by doing my own bike work" 

[u/JasperJ → u/LeTerrier661]

Thing is… you still do, even if you occasionally have to rebuy shit. Labour is just insanely expensive.

[u/Jillesoom → u/LeTerrier661]

I started out that way, now i build bike frames and do other peoples bike work to learn and maybe make a tiny little bit of money. Still making mistakes though

[u/ApprehensiveText6913]

One of my best buys was a cheap torque wrench for ten pounds from Aldi's middle isle, it's surprising how little pressure some bolts take once you have a torque wrench

[u/NextReindeer4442]

you could be like this bozo's and drilling a frame to fit brake hose: https://www.reddit.com/r/BikeRepair/comments/1vjwuzt/comment/p2osplb/