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Have a set of Ultegra 6600 SL shifters that I'd love to put to use, but encountered an oddity with the right hand (rear) outer shift lever. It appears the lever return goes too far and so as a result, it's out of alignment with the smaller inner lever. It doesn't impact the quality of the shift, but because of the over-rotation on the return, I can only shift 2 clicks with one "sweep" instead of the normal 3 clicks.

Nothing is gummed up and nothing appears obviously broken.

Here is example of issue:

enter image description here

Here is example of the shifter next to a normal one:

enter image description here

Nothing is offset when looking at it from the front.

if I further disassemble, it looks like the problem is the alignment of one of the metal rings that is attached to the lever. The top blue circle is the problem shifter (two "Tabs" not aligned"), the bottom blue circle is the properly functioning one (two tabs aligned):

enter image description here

Close up of the correct one:

enter image description here

I am not sure what to disassemble to fix the alignment, as everything that I could see be easily disassemlbed has been done so. Anyone encounter this before or have suggestions?

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    Shoot some WD40 in there, operate the shifter a few times, and hope it works. Shimano doesn't sell parts to fix shifters, and even if they did taking one apart, identifying the actual problem, fixing/replacing anything wrong, and putting it all back together is probably impossible anyway. The alignment problem you've noticed might not be caused by the part you've highlighted - that may just be a symptom of a deeper issue.
    – Andrew Henle
    Jan 15, 2021 at 13:57
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    Do not start taking it apart, the problems will only get bigger. Rebuilding is a nightmare. WD40, degreaser, hot water and blowing dry with compressed air, if available. Otherwise start hunting for the brother of a crash-damaged pair.
    – Carel
    Jan 15, 2021 at 18:45
  • Thanks, I've used wd40 and it shifts great. clicks fine, nothing stuck or even feeling remotely gummed up. Just the alignment of the lever is off, so it only shifts 2 clicks max and looks terrible.
    – sjcby
    Jan 15, 2021 at 20:12

1 Answer 1

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The misalignment may be caused by damage to inside of one of the shifter mechanism components you circled on the photo. They all stack up on a center post, and some have interlocking components to align everything just right.

If one of these components is damaged (i.e. stripped out, chipped, etc.) it would not stop at the correct position, and keep rotating past the intended "stop" position. This is the most likely scenario, since the area you circled is not part of the 10spd detents; those are the smaller teeth closer to the front of the shifter body. If it is a little floppy when you first push it (no cable attached), this may be the case.

There may also be a damaged bit of plastic that stops the lever in the correct position. I'm not 100% on the 6600 levers, but the mechanism is very different from what is in 6700+ levers that are currently out on the market. This was the last generation of this design before Shimano redesigned it completely.

Echoing the advice above, I would not recommend trying disassembly/repair, unless you already have a backup shifter ready to use. Most shops, as a rule, will not attempt to repair this either. If something is broken, it will probably fail completely at some point in the future.

WD-40 is definitely not great for the shifter. The grease Shimano uses in them hardens up if they sit for too long; you basically have to disassemble these shifters and scrape off the old grease with a pick or flathead screwdriver. WD-40 won't dissolve the grease; it's a hydroscopic solvent that will absorb water and anything dissolved in it, and eventually gum up again. Plus, it gets everywhere!

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    WD-40 won't dissolve the grease Yes it will it's a hydroscopic solvent Maybe, since the exact formulation is a trade secret. But hydrocarbon-based lubricants in general are not hygroscopic, they merely displace water. Given the original design use of WD40 (on ballistic missiles), absorbing and then retaining moisture as hygroscopic materials do would hardly be desired.
    – Andrew Henle
    Jan 21, 2021 at 13:29

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