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Looked at my work log and realized I've done 500 brake jobs
It hit me when I was cleaning out my old toolbox and found my first set of pad spreaders from 2010. That number feels huge, but I remember when doing one without a lift was a whole day's struggle. What's a job count that made you stop and think?
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wade7672mo agoTop Commenter
That "whole day's struggle" feeling is how you know you're getting better at anything.
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barnes.brian2mo ago
Pad spreaders are for caliper pistons, not the actual pad hardware.
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the_hugo1mo ago
Actually ran into this exact confusion on my 2013 Civic last month. @barnes.brian is right that the spreader tool is meant for pushing caliper pistons back. I had someone tell me to use it on the pad hardware clips and ended up bending one bad. If you're fighting with stuck caliper brackets, a wire brush and some brake grease on the slides will save you way more time than any spreader ever could. The trick is to clean the bracket channels where the pad tabs sit, not force the spreader in there. Also worth checking if your caliper slides are sticking, that gets mistaken for pad fitment issues all the time.
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