Rusty springs in new mechs!

[ishaw]

I was swapping a cage over on a 12sp xt mech and an all today and was really surprised at how rusty they were. I had new springs to fit so not a problem, but in all my years of spannering, I've not seen so much rust and dirt within a rear mech. The spring in question is the one within the mech where it bolts to the frame drop out.

Is this down to inferior metal? Poor sealing?

Quite surprised and a bit shocked tbh. Older mechs I've serviced after years of use have never looked so ugly on the inside.

 

[wesmamyke]

Did Shimano stop squirting the giant blob of neon green grease on the spring when they got to 12spd stuff? There is usually so much of that stuff all over everything, almost like cosmoline or something.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Could it be a fake?
Shimano quality control is usually perfect.

Having said that, surface rust on springs might just be seen as a cosmetic issue, although seems unlikely.

 

[ishaw]

Not a fake, not sure why that's a suggestion.

They do come with a lot of grease.

I think the sealing is pretty poor, the plastic seal also doubles as a 'stop' for the spring (no longer does it fit into a hole in the mech body, it now fits in a slot and the seal also covers this), allowing more pints of ingress.

 

[Laldi]

That neon green grease is a royal pita. Every time I buy a Shimano mech/brake I spend a good half hour scraping it out!