Checking Ultegra 6800 Dérailleur Alignment (Not Hanger) and Adjusting Tension?

[bpsmith]

Two questions in one here. The reason for which is that I have some light niggly rattles in certain gears and it's annoying. The rattles aren't a major deal, but the bike is running so smoothly now, that it would be a shame not to track them down.

Anyway, I had the bike on the stand, before I went away for a week, and it appears that the the noises ease up an awful lot when a push the rear dérailleur forward slightly while pedalling. Noises come back when I release. Indexing is all perfect, but B Tension screw does absolutely nothing. Doesn't even get to the point where it would pull the dérailleur away from the hanger.

Some reading online suggests that the tension may need adjusting, but I am not 100% on how to do this?

When in the gears that are noisy, the rear cage appears to be out of alignment slightly, but the cage has an angled shape to it, so not 100%. I know that the hanger is perfectly aligned, so no need to go down that road.

What is the best way to check and adjust dérailleur cage alignment?

Incidentally, the noisy gears are those which form the cogs which are individual, with individual spacers between them on the cassette. Doesn't happen on those lower gears which are joined together. Is this something I should expect?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

You have to identify the type of noise first. Is it from the jockey wheel, chain and engaged sprocket that are too close together or is it from the lateral alignment of the jockey?

Then, do you have an OEM guide pulley on there or one of the aftermarket ones? Some aftermarket ones don't float like they are supposed to. Also, if you swap the guide pulley and tension pulley around, there will be problems because a tension pulley also doesn't float.

 

[bpsmith]

Just got back this morning, so will get it on the stand again and investigate further in regards to the location of the noise.

I have the stock Ultegra jockey wheels on there. I have had them off for cleaning and they are definitely in there the right way.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

OK, let us know. It is super highly unlikely that the jockey itself is bent or out of alignment unless you have had some traumatic experience which you will remember. If you want, you can remove the cage plate and see if that is still flat. If the removable one is flat, the fixed on is flat too.