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I was selling my wife's car today and I was under the gun to put on new pads so it could pass inspection per the agreement with the new buyer.

One of the things the inspection place hit me on was brake pads--apparently they were too worn. Ok no problem, I figured I just put on some new ones and get it re-inspected.

In the past, I always used the best pads I could buy (in this case Wearever Platinum) but since I'm selling it I didn't want to spend $50 on pads...so I sprung for Wherever Gold for $32. Decent, but not too pricey.

Anyways, when I went to change the pads, I noticed there were no retaining clips with the new pads. I tried keeping the old clips, but the new pads WOULD NOT go into place using the old retaining clips. I seriously tried for almost two hours to get these freaking things in place. In my frustration, I ripped out one retaining clip on each caliper and they went in.

My original assumption was that maybe I wasn't supposed to use the retaining clips at all since the Gold pads didn't come with them. Maybe it's just a premium thing. Then this evening I googled it and it seems like I may have been wrong.

I saved the clips just in case. Should I try putting them back in? Seriously though, I don't see how this is possible since there's no way in hell these pads are going in with 2 retaining clips on each caliper.

I'm selling this car to a little old lady who doesn't seem to have much money. I don't wanna screw her over with a brake job that's gonna wear her pads and warp her rotors in the next 5k miles. Don't know what I should do. Thoughts?

PS: I still have the car. She put a down payment on it and will be paying me in full this week, so I have time to correct a possible mistake.

 
Rep Power: 517

Standard answer: Depends.
You're talking about the clips that fit into the ends of the bracket, right? They serve a purpose.....




Were the old pads seriously stuck in the bracket? Had to hammer them out?
If the old pads slipped in and out easily, then you must have some pretty crappy new pads that weren't cut quite right.
Sometimes modifications are needed to make cheezy parts work. File-to-fit, or grind it? Make sure to grease the exposed steel if you do that --I'd use some Moly as it comes with new Honda pad sets and we always have it laying around.





Got rust buildup in the bracket? That can sure cause the pads to bind----but then your old pads should have been all kinds of stuck if this were the case. I pull the clips out and grind all the rust out of the bracket and backs of the clips, then smear silicone grease on the bare metal of the bracket where I just ground the rust off.
I also re-grease the slide pins at this time too, again with Silicone grease.

Rusted rear caliper bracket and clips, probably from a van or an Accord, before grinding the rust out:

 
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Yes, the old pads were stuck in there pretty good. I had to hammer them out. In order to get the new pads to fit I would have had to grind them. I didn't have a file handy or I may have tried it.

And yeah, I think we're talking about the same clips. I'm referring to part #14 in this diagram:

http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/a...62217_2_61.jpg

So are they necessary? You say "depends" but it seems like you're implying "yes."

Man, I really really don't wanna do these brakes again. Say it ain't so...

 
Rep Power: 517

If the old pads were stuck then I'd expect to find rust buildup behind the clips as in my picture. If you grind that to clean metal and reinstall the (cleaned up) clips I bet the pads would fit a lot better.

I grease the newly exposed steel to forestall rusting.


To answer the question.....I've seen them come in without the clips, no known complaints....but I have to wonder "Who hacks this stuff and still gets paid for it?"

The clips are mostly to keep the pads from freely rattling and popping, and because they are stainless they give the pads a smoother surface to slide against.

 
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Thanks for your response(s). I think I'll correct my mistake since I have the time. Lesson learned.