What oil do I need and where from?

Mineral oil from anywhere that sells it.

i use citroen LHM type stuff from halfords.

mineral oil from anywhere.

let me just hijack your thread a touch

has anyone bled a set of the deore hydraulics, dont know the year or exact model, where the reservoir cap is to the front of the lever as opposed to on the top (if that makes any sense)
Im struggling to work out how to get the reservoir fixed and horizontal.

any help or tips welcome

i have realised that if i remove the lever/reservoir from the bars, that balancing the lever tip and the open bar clamp on a bench results in the reservoir cap being horizontal, but the hose then exits upwards at about 45 degrees – which i cant see helping the whole process…… that and the whole setup is a bit precarious.

Sound like you have something like the BL-M575 which needs a specific bit of kit. Part number is 8UP 9803 and available from good Shimano stockists.

These are the bleeding instructions for it.

that looks like the puppy – cant believe i didnt notice the upper bleed screw

many thanks Mister P.

Not a problem.

i use citroen LHM type stuff from halfords.

Can we just state (for the record, once and for all, cos I’m fed up of EVERY TIME someone posts this) that LHM is NOT the same as the mineral oil for use in Shimano brakes. LHM is much thicker, and causes a very slow action to the brakes, sticky pistons and problems with the brakes pumping up in use.

How do I know this? Keen to find out, I did some back to back testing of both fluids… The Shimano Fluid, though bloody expensive, is what you need and does the job it is supposed to do… Besides, it’s not like they need bleeding often anyway once its done!

not that expensive if you but the litre tub for ~£15 rather than the tiny 50ml (?) syringes for a tenner. Unlike DOT fluid it doesnt absorb water and go off. It seems a strange place to try save a few pounds given the money most people spend on bikes/kit/fuel getting to rides etc etc.

I’ve got Stendec Crystal Mineral Oil in my Shimano brakes and that seems to work really well.

mboy,

I’d argue that with you. I’ve used LHM since I first got hydro brakes 8 years ago and it DOES NOT cause problems that you say it does. This is on M555s, M595s, M765, M771 and M965 brakes.
Why would most people recommend it (including my local LBS) it didn’t do the job just fine.
Perhaps one needs to look again at ones testing methods?

bigyinn, I’ve tried LHM in M755’s, M765’s, M965’s and my current M775’s. In each case it was totally useless!

LHM is much thicker, it’s like syrup compared to water. I too wanted to save the pennies as LHM is about £5 a litre, not £15, but can only conclude you’re wasting your money… Buy some proper Shimano oil if you want your brakes to work properly!

Anyone who wants it, I have about 900ml left of a bottle of Comma LHM that you are more than welcome to try out and see for yourself… But I guarantee it’s way too thick!

It certainly is thicker. I’ve had problems with LHM but I’ve always thought that it was because the thickness makes bleeding more difficult. Once bled properly I’ve not noticed any difference in use.

I used Castrol LHM, so perhaps the Comma stuff is too thick? The Castrol stuff is pretty runny, certainly closer to water than syrup.

I’d like the Stendec stuff but where do I buy it from as I’m in the God-forsaken Ireland 🙁

i’ve never had any problems with citroen LHM, i really don’t understand the fuss.