Forum menu
Hi, newbie to the forum… so go easy!
Got a pair of XT775 brakes with leaking callipers (common problem it seems), I know Shimano don't do replacement seals but are there any alternative callipers I could have look at matching to these levers, new XT 785's or SLX 665's? cheers
You probably want to keep it within the similar age range, so older calipers (M595 Deore, M660 SLX) calipers will be suitable.
If you get the newer calipers (M596 / M670) you'll need the narrower bore hoses.
how old are they? Mine had the seals that went hard in the cold last year (at about 2yrs old) and madison kindly replaced them under warranty. Worth asking at least? I had to send them in via my local bike shop.
You'll be lucky, M775's are "old" now, well out of any warranty period.
Actually you may only need narrow bore hoses if you're replacing the levers. Not 100% sure now, sorry!
Hope Mini seals fit in the M775 caliper.
I done this a few years ago when my seals were leaking, figured I had nothing left to lose as they were getting binned anyway. They worked great for over a year and a half before I sold the bike on (still working)
It does change the feel of the brake slightly, a bit softer but then I was comparing them against the saints on my DH bike.
Hope Mini seals fit in the M775 caliper.
don't hope/shimano use different fluids though?
as above you can fit any of the older calipers, XTR m960, Deore m535, deore m525, LX m585, Hone etc (i think the older XT ones had a banjo fitting so won't fit so easily)
I stuck an older XTR one on one of mine... It had a different hose fitting but was otherwise compatible, Shimano used standard bores for all that generation of brakes and for at least some if not all of the previous ones.
Thanks for that, yeah, a couple of years old, ancient by Shimano standards and out of warranty!
Checked with Madison and for the record they say new XT, SLX and Deore are connectable and play nice with those levers but they also say NOT to use the new narrow bore hose's with older levers like the 775, not sure why?
Would like to use the old hoses if I can, may need a visit to the Goodridge site to check fittings.
Be handy if there was a compatibility chart somewhere, surprised nobodies done one actually... too busy riding I guess!
I have same issue with slx caliper just ordered a deore caliper as its identical but on lasts years model 596 I think
I may join you on that one Robfury, for the money it's worth a try although those SLX 665 callipers do look tasty.
don't hope/shimano use different fluids though?
They do But I read something about the mineral oil wont damage seals for DOT but DOT will eat through seals for mineral oil.
And at the time I didn't have the spare money, you couldn't get cheap calipers, it wasn't much more expensive to buy a whole new system Vs £8 for seals to do both brakes.
It worked out well
If you fit new callipers (985, 785, 675, 666) you will need a hose with a banjo and the long calliper banjo bolt. If you want to keep your hose then fit a 596 Deore calliper. It even takes the same pads as your XT calliper.
Cheers for that Mister P, think the Deores will be the way to go for me at the moment, as the tech's filtered down over the past few years they'll probably be as good as my old XT's once i've swapped out the pads and bled properly. Thanks for the tip with the seals Racingsnail, will have to try that sometime, on a bit of a budget myself as you can probably tell!