#$%^&* Anti-Rattle Spring
 

So, I had been feeling a slight vibe in the back when getting on the binders hard. Pulled things apart to inspect and re-lube the slider pins. One of my little anti-rattle "W" springs popped off and, apparently, vaporized in mid-air.

Can't find one locally. PO'd. Hate doing things half-ass. Anyone run without the anti-rattle springs?

Arrggh!!

Edit: I'm dumb

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh is it just me or is he talking brakes lol

No. Talking about brake hardware. Still fuming. Can't find the darn thing anywhere. I'm working in a garage with a concrete floor. How can it just disappear like that???

:vash:

Did it fall down in that area behind the hub? By the shock? Or did you stick it in your pocket? Or did you set it down somewhere in/on the car? Things don't just vanish....

I betcha its on the other end of the garage under the door lip...

I'm sure it's right next to the one ball bearing which rolled off the bench and onto the floor while I was rebuilding my front hubs.

I'm not using any springs or shims in the rear - the Hawk pads didn't fit with the hardware. I don't have any problems.

Thanks for the info. Surprised about the Hawks not working with the hardware. I think the hardware is more for NVH anyway.

Anyway, found a new set of caliper hardware locally today, and I'm all buttoned up. Usually, the trick to finding the part you lost is to buy a new one. Alas, that didn't work in this case. My "W" spring, Joe's ball, and countless socks remain in another dimension.

Thanks for letting me vent guys!

We didn't *let* you. You just went and did it completely without permission. I suppose it IS better to ask forgiveness than permission. We forgive you.

Brake pad hardware... :blah: That shit is for the luxury car guys. Who needs all of those anti-______ springs and clips. Caliper, pad, rotor, it stops. So you might have a little extra noise from time to time, or a strange pop in the pedal, or incorrect wear..... maybe it would be nice to have that little missing spring after all, but I doubt you will miss it.

PS, one day I'm going to find the other end of that black hole that steals our shit, and I'm going to retrieve the hundreds of things I have lost over the years working on cars. I like to picture an alien world with piles and piles of random auto related items. Screws, nuts, bolts, clips, sockets, ect. Some aliens are living the life off of my pocket change that has vanished under my seat, somehow to never return again.

I haven't used those springs in the last 10 years.

I like the cobalt pads, and they are designed with notches sized to not even use the little stainless wear clips either and I haven’t noticed any ill effects.

Bob

This made me laugh. Thanks for making my night better, I think it's time for a beer!

Our Australian delivered cars don't even come with them. You can't order them from Mazda Australia either. I only know what you are talking about because a set of them came on my JDM Roadster race car.

Well, I think it's settled then. Caliper hardware is for pussies. And, most of us have been visited by part-stealing aliens.

As far as letting me vent vs. me just venting . . . it's a fine distinction . . . but it makes a difference . . . and I'm even more content now.

My friends call me Rick, but you can call me Dick.

:fawk:

As I was skimming down, I was going to make a comment that when you find the clip, you can return all my single socks that have gone missing...lol

The best way to find things is to roll the car out of the garage, close the door, turn the lights off and put a flashlight on the floor and scan....or have your woman come out and look for it, she'll find it in .37 seconds. FTR I've always run them.

I ------- HATE these M or W clips.

Just fitted Carbotech XP8's on the rear (xp10s on the front) and those clips drive me crazy.

Is the consensus here that it is okay to not fit them still?

I just replaced my rear calipers. I installed the springs, but I find it hard to believe they really do anything, being so flimsy. They only take a thumb and finger to install, so how much force are they actually exerting? Not a whole hell of a lot.

They keep the pads from rattling.

I've ran without them, the pads do indeed rattle. And the springs did indeed stop the rattling. Go figure.

I wonder if drilling little holes in the pads to poke the wire ends in to would make them less prone to fling off, fly out etc....?

From memory another car I had did have holes for the anti rattle springs....I can't recall which one now....too many years and cars down the road to remember that little detail now...

I wouldn't go drilling into a set of brake pads; you're asking to crack/split them.

I like to use the hardware as its intended.

Back when I played mechanic, I had the rear drums pulled on both sides of a customers van. I didn't have anyone around at the time to do my light check and when I saw one of the other guys I grabbed him and said "hey check my lights", jumped in and hit the brakes. WOW, did that ---- fly all the ---- over the shop. Right in front of the customer to further the blow! lol

I never used those springs.

It just occurred to me that maybe my long time nemesis, the rattle in the front end that I cannot find could maybe be brake pads rattling, since I don't have the hardware on the pads. I can never find slack in the suspension or steering when I check, so it's been elusive. I hear a metallic clack/clunk when going over things like railroad crossings or hitting a rough patch of road. This has me wondering... though I'm not sure how pronounced a brake pad rattle would be. Would it be enough to hear pretty loudly in the car with the top up?

Could be.

Hmm, oh well. I will eventually be getting some new rotors and pads, so I will worry about it then and hopefully that will fix it.

Rosenthal Finishline sells the clips and W springs. If you want them, they are available. If you are OK with pad knock-back and stuff then you don't need them.

Never did find that darn spring!

I lost my one spring... heard it ding somewhere.. checked everywhere within 10 feet of the damn car... didnt find it anywhere.

meh, i dont think there is enough room for the pad to get all kallywonkered in there.

when I worked at rover, i saw one that the pad was worn way down and had managed to invert itself. but there is a ton of friction material and the rotor wears ALOT. obviously the spring clip was long gone.

Since we're ranting about brake hardware, I'll go ahead and add some more.

I just upgraded to 1.8 brakes. EBC Yellows with new rotors. The pads come with some adhesive backed rubber stuff that you can cut out to fit on the backing plates to keep them from squealing. The problem is, the rubber stuff makes them too thick for the caliper to fit over the assembly. It looks like I'll just be using the awesome stop-squeal spray can stuff.

Why not get the grease in a packet thingy from autozone?

The can was a few bucks and I've done more than a dozen brake jobs with it. It's some type of glue I think, not like those little grease packets.