Do the calipers fit the pads whilst off the car?

 

The pads fit in the brackets just fine with the old hardware…..i wasn’t replacing rotors so the brackets stayed on the car.

 

Hardware? do you mean the spring clip that backs up the pads? Those are always an adventure

 

I put Powerstop pads on my '17 Outback but I don't remember which model #. I do remember on either the front or the back I couldn't get the new hardware to fit and ended up cleaning up and using the old ones.

I also remember that more than one Youtube video out there shows the hardware being installed incorrectly, which could also be a reason for parts not seeming to fit if you followed those.

 

The Powerstops I bought came w/ 4 clips for the front. Two fit and two didn't. I reused the old ones. The Powerstops didn't fit as wll as the OEM. The spring is smaller and as a result they are more difficult to install.

 

Aftermarket pad hardware never fits. When the hardware needs replacement, get it from Subaru.

 

you have to usually remove the hardware (whether replacing it or not) and with a wire brush, file and similar and clean up all the brackets they sit in. you ll see how much stuff gets under there and then yes, everything new is too tight. It s steel so you won t hurt it.

PS/. I have the pads fight me terribly when I didn t clean up everything first.

 

I spent years doing this the wrong way - using the parts store/aftermarket pads, just jamming them in until they fit, only taking the rotors off when they were completely shot... long story short, I ended up re-doing all my brake jobs at least once a year because one side wouldn't be gripping the rotor at all, the other side would be ground down unevenly, etc. Here's what I've learned:

• If the rotor can be re-used, remove it and have a parts store machine it to give your new pads a fresh surface to bed in to. If it's too worn down, replace it. Either way, put a thin coat of anti-seize on the wheel bearing surface when you put the rotor back on.
• Take your caliper slide pins out, clean them and their channels with brake cleaner, and lubricate them with a silicone-based grease like SYL-GLYDE. Petroleum-based grease will cause rubber to swell, and that can cause the rubber bushings in the slide pins to stick.
• As cerbomark said, take a wire brush, a file, whatever will fit into the caliper bracket, and clean the caliper bracket where the pads/clips sit.
• When reassembling, make sure the clips sit snug in the caliper bracket. If you can't get them to seat all the way, keep sanding the caliper bracket down until they seat properly. Use an appropriate brake parts lubricant on the channels where the "ears" of the brake pad will slide in and out.
• OEM pads typically don't have fitment issues at this point, but many cheap parts store pads do. Once you get the pad into the caliper bracket, it should slide evenly in its channel. If only one end of the pad wants to slide, and the other end wants to stick, it may be necessary to sand the "ears" of the pad down a little until it fits into the caliper bracket and can slide evenly in the channel.

I live in salty New England, so I typically re-grease the pad channels and caliper slide-pins at least once a year.

 

Much better explanation than my quick response. He even included the slid pins. The last time I pulled them out one was jammed because the inner rubber ring on the pin had become deformed.

 

I bought Akebono they make the OE pads . When I got my new pads and the hardware the stainless steel clips would not stay on the top of the caliper so I had to clean up the old ones and use them too.

 

Getting the front pads back in with new hardware literally look me 60-90 mins. It was the worst part of doing the front and rears.

 

Even the Akebono pad’s caused me grief on the front the rears were easy peezy lemon squeezy

 

I bought Akebono they make the OE pads . When I got my new pads and the hardware the stainless steel clips would not stay on the top of the caliper so I had to clean up the old ones and use them too.

That's odd. I just did my fronts with Akebono pads and replaced all four clips with the included new ones. They all snapped right into the calipers, neat as a pin, and the pads went in with only a modest amount of "argument." Maybe I was lucky, or I just live right?

I will say that for anyone considering brake pads, you might as well go with the best for not very much more than the cheap aftermarket stuff.

 

Yeah the rears were a piece of cake. Bought one of the tools to wind in/press in the piston and it was $30 well spent.

 

There are a couple responses but no photo of the correct way to install the hardware, its often installed incorrectly.

 

Awesome

 

The clips were too loose and wouldn’t stay in on the top

 

OMG lol I was not installing that way and was like this is utter ****..

 

I found, that clamping the bracket into my vise, and sliding the pad in at an angle from the outer edge, lining the tabs up in the square slide area, then pressing the lower springs down and till the pad beck to straight worked well.

In the past, I have ground down the tabs on Brambo pads.

This may help,

Clint's tips and tricks on brakes

www.legacygt.com

 

Thanks to everyone for helping to restore my sanity. Doing the front pads and rotors on my 2019 and I f'd around with the Powerstop shims/clips for almost an hour and figured it must be me because they couldn't be that bad. They were. The Powerstop shims are garbage.

I saved my original clips and cleaned them up in the parts washer and with a brass brush. They snapped back into the stock caliper bracket securely and the Powerstop pads literally slid right in, in under a minute. 60 minutes messing with Powerstop clips; 60 seconds after cleaning and reusing the originals. What a joke.

As always, this community is a great help.

 

I have nothing new to add other than to beat the dead Power-Stop-Clips-Don't-Fit horse. Even more fun was the first set had a duplicate of one pad and missing another so I got replacements from PS and Amazon and none of the clips fit (specifically these). I reported it to PS and if I'm highly ambitious I will take everything apart again and send pics to them.

IIUC Akebono is the OE supplier but I can't find just the clips from them. The clips from Subaru are $8.25 each (!). Part number 26232AJ000 (link).

Does anyone know another source for OE clips, or others which may fit?