Campagnolo 9 rear mech mounting bolt spring

Okay I was gently cleaning my trusty 9 speed record derailleur before building onto my new project frame. Unintentionally I dislodged the little circlip which holds the assembly of spring and positioning tab on to the mounting bolt, and it all came to pieces. This happened in a kind of trance and I noticed nothing about how it was put together.

Now, having cleaned and greased it, it should be simple enough to rebuild. The little positioning plate goes back over the bolt, with the spring secured in the little pin hole (on reverse of plate, not visible). Before the circlip can be replaced though, the plate must be rotated anticlockwise against spring tension until the tab goes behind the "tab stop" on the mech body. But I found this very hard to do and wanted to check I'm not making a fundamental balls up before I force anything. Any tips or tricks?

Thanks in advance - Olly

It's tricky but from memory, I think you're doing the right thing. It happened to me once and it was a ball ache to get back but it is possible. If in doubt, consult a friendly mechanic. :-)

Cheers Andy! Its a ballache alright! Might have another go if I get time tonight.

I did this too. I can still remember the terrible ache in my thumbs and palms from spending hours trying to get the fucker back in place without popping out at the last second. I wish I had words of wisdom for you that will make it easy but I think its just down to a combination of strong fingers and perseverance and finding something nice and grippy to wrap the mech in that'll let you get a hold of it without hurting too much. One thing I remember doing was shoving a metal rod through the cage to keep it extended and let me get enough leverage to push the bolt round and also push down on the spring to stop it popping out.

Good luck!

Nice use of Comic Sans BTW... ;]

Mwa ha ha I thought nobody had noticed...
Couldn't face the mech tonight, watched The Departed on DVD. Not bad.

T'were a bastard but I did it.

Rejoice! :-)

Well done.