[MTB maintenance] Meroca M4 brake lever breakdown - oil leak fix PART 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- I have completely broken down the left brake lever to decide how to go about fixing the oil leak. This video shows how to disassemble the lever in deitail, but the actual fix is not included as I'm still waiting for the necessary parts to arrive. I will upload the follow-up asap.
![[MTB maintenance] Meroca M4 lever rebirth - oil leak fix PART 2](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7F9qJbj6c5U/mqdefault.jpg)
Excellent video!! I got these Meroca M4 through Aliexpress and just received them last weekend! I installed them right away and used one of your videos to understand how to swap the brake lines, as here we normally have the front on the left and rear on the right! It was extremely helpful, I really applaud your attention to detail!
I just started MTB a few months ago and bought an entry-level full suspension (DiamondBack Atroz 1). I have to say that the difference between the stock mechanical brakes compared to this Meroca is INCREDIBLE!
I am looking forward to seeing if you were able to "adjust" the free stroke using that thicker washer. I might try it myself after reviewing your results! LOL
Keep the good work!
Hi, I got my Meroca from Aliexpress too :) I am more than glad that you find my video interesting/useful. I don't know myself how my attempt to shorten the free stroke turn out, but I'll do my best to make it through. So stay tuned :)
Thanks for watching and subs!!!
I work at a bike shop and have some tektros in the trash can because the brake pressure is gone to practically nothing. After seeing your video I think I will take them apart to see whats happening inside. This has been an inspiration.
It is sometimes very hard to tell if your newly purchased parts are really "worth the money". The low price tags may lure people to buy those seemingly budget parts. But in the long run those parts will turn out to be much more costly than expected due to their poor durability, poor manufacturing precision, poor quality alloy used or every other aspects. It all comes down to, I think, balance between the price and the performance/durability.
Thank you for watching!
I look forward to your next video. I want to know how the repair goes. I will have 2 bikes both outfitted with these brakes and the more i know l, the better i can keep them in best condition. Thank you for your hard work to produce great content!
Hi, are you really curious to know how the fix turn out? Ok, then I'll do my best to get your curiosity satisfied, sir :)
Thanks for watching, as always!!
@@MindDesignFactory you are taking something i have a vested interest in and showing me how an item considered cheap/inferior/disposable can be given extended life. Hydraulic brakes are new to me so seeing a teardown if its components is very cool.
Are you aware that I always try to show every thing clearly and in detail even if some people may complain that my videos are tedious? I do that because I'm fully aware that some one find my videos useful nonetheless. No, wait a minute, you are actually trying to raise the bar for my videos? Sorry, just joking :)
Thanks!
@@MindDesignFactory you keep doing what you want to do. Don't let me influence you. I am happy as you are the only person on the planet that has fully documented the Meroca M4. There are a few reviews out there, but nothing in detail.
It's just that I'm always open to opinions, critiques and complaints to make my videos more comprehensible to anyone. So any comment is valuable :)
Thanks a lot!
This is an oring problem, I suggest you change the oring with the gap. That's not supposed to the like that. I used to work on aviation and one rule about dynamic orings, they're not supposed to move. That gap is preventing the proper seal because the oring is moving. I would suggest measure the piston where the oring sits. The inner width of the oring should hug tight with the piston. The inner diameter of the oring should be .2 to .4 smaller the diameter of the piston and the outer diameter of the oring should be bigger than the piston by the same. 2 to .4.
Good luck, I just decided to return mine since I'm still on the window for amazon return.
Hi, have you watched through my video to the last, NinJazz :) I measured the piston and the o-ring in question, and said I would replace that with a new one. I wanted a square cross section o-ring but that is a new ANSI standard and still hard to find here in Japan. I will try a NBR o-ring of 90D first. Have you returned yours? Oh, lucky you :)
Thanks for your info.
Great video mate!!! May I ask where have you been buying all the vintage spares? I have a 2012 fox 32mm fork and can't find original seals anywhere! Do the modern ones fit? I very much appreciate your videos, they allow budget oriented riders to continue on and new ones to join in, thank you!!!!
Hi, if you don't mind getting non-original seal kit, then try AliExpress. The link below take you to the page where you can find the kit "32mm with/without edge" that should fits onto your Fox fork:
www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001568076471.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dhNlQfe
Fox original kit that fits our old Fox forks (I have a Fox Float 32mm RLC 2011 or 2012 too) seems to be no longer available. You can find compatible seal kits at Amazon, eBay or many other online stores though.
Thanks for watching!
the adjusting screw on the lever what is it for ?
That screw is for adjusting the lever reach, namely the distance between the lever blade and the handlebar.
My left/front lever started acting up, it doesn't seem to be as powerful as my rear. It still has the same lever feel but It cant seem to bite as hard.
I cant see any leaks whatsoever too. I already bled the levers and cleaned both caliper and rotor btw. Is it faulty seals? or maybe a full bleed?
Well it is hard to tell what is causing the weak bite without actually seeing how the brake behaves. But if the lever touch remains unchanged, then the problem may not be oil-related. If it is oil-related (oil leak, air in the oil line or poor bleeding), you should get a noticeable feedback through the lever. Worn-out brake pads, a seized piston caused by a defective piston seal maybe?
Can’t you adjust the pads on these? Maybe they’re too far from the rotor.
Mix a tiny amount of soap into a spray bottle and spray it on the lever and squeeze to ensure there’s no leaks
I need to buy replacement hydraulic line for my Meroca M4. The line to the back caliper is not long enough. I am surprised as i thought manufacturers would be generous rather than cheap. Do you know the ID and insert type i should be using (BH59/BH90/?) ?
Hi, I actually put this info at the end of my another Meroca video:
th-cam.com/video/u94IupFA5K8/w-d-xo.html
Check this out! Have a nice weekend :)
Would you say the Meroca supplies brake lines are inferior to Shimano lines? I don't recall if you or someone else pointed that out. The meroca lines were more "crushable" and would result in loss of energy transfer.
I mentioned that, yes, in one of my Meroca videos. "Crushable" is the word I should have used but couldn't think of. Unlike big motorcycles, MTB might not suffer noticeable energy loss due to more expandable (and crushable) brake lines unless you brake very hard. One more thing to be noted is that "crushable" brake lines are prone to wear faster. But again this is not a big deal either, I think. It is ok if we have those things anywhere in mind. Just my 2 cents. Cheers :)
Another great video, subbed
Thank you so much for watching and subscribing to my channel!
I really appreciate that :)
it is good ? and worth to buy ?
I can only say it is quite good for its low price. Worth to buy? Well it depends on what you expect in it. If you are a very aggressive rider and/or a frequent downhill rider, then this brake set may not be worth to buy to be honest.
Thanks for watching.
The threads on that lever look kinda rough. I’m surprised you didn’t have to chase them out or tap them
The threads are rough and the material of the master cylinder is a low quality aulminium alloy which is rather soft. A hard hose fixing bolt might ruin the threads easily. For me the threads are still ok. Even if they are destroyed and need to be tapped, it wouldn't be worth the trouble. These brakes are cheap disposable single-use item of a Chinese brand after all. No need to take them seriously :)
@@MindDesignFactory yeah. I bought a set of these because they were cheap and I wanted to throw a 4 pot on my front since I have a tektro auriga that I stripped out.
I’m going to take that lever off and see what quality it is (probably also low). If it’s decent, I’ll tap it out and use it with the M4 caliper.
If not, I may see if I can find a cheap used level for the Clarks M4 that these are a clone of.
I may just change the cylinder o-ring on these and bleed them before I install them and hope for the best.
If it fails in 6 months I’ll just invest in a better front like the Magura M5, which is honestly probably what I should have done
Meroca M4 brakes works well for their price. It is just that they are not such solid kind of things as Shimano. I have received a lot of feedback about Meroca. Some say it works good, whereas some other find it to be a total crap.
I hope they works ok for you. Oh, about MAGURA M5, well Magura calipers are far better. I personally think that generally brake levers have much more impact on overall braking performance than calipers. Meroca levers are toys compared with my Shimano levers. But Meroca is still fun to play with somehow.
@@MindDesignFactory I definitely am not expecting Magura/shimano/sram level quality, I think they’ll work out because I’m willing to put a little elbow grease into them like you are.
I’m on a little bit of a budget since I’ll be moving soon so I wanted to try these out. If I’m beating against a wall with them in 3-4 months, I’ll swap them over to my project bike and just get the magura M5 front.
@@MindDesignFactory I also agree on the calipers vs levers. In my experience, if the hydraulics fail, it’s almost always at the lever.