[Hendo741]

Has anyone had the pad retaining pins fall out? I recently switched to EBC blues from the OEM pad, and after some time (a few weeks) I noticed a noise coming from the front passenger side after braking. During the inspection I noticed both pad retaining pins had vibrated loose and fallen out.

Has anyone else had this happen?

Yes, I have considered the possibility that I didn't put them back in after installing new pads, but honestly don't think that's the case. I wouldn't have just thrown the pins away and they're not in the garage. I already looked to see if maybe I was a dumb@ss!

Also, these pins are 70 bucks per pin to replace!

[SwankPeRFection]

No such thing unless you didn’t hit them with a hammer to reseat them properly when reinstalled. If you don’t bang them back in all the way, yeah, it could happen. If it was your first time changing pads on a caliper with pin retention system, then maybe that’s it, I dunno.

[MMnut]

All pads purchase should come with their own pins so you should have many laying around if you didn't throw them away. And the pins are not really wearing out / different from manufacturers for the same model so you can safely re-use I would say.

You could also go to a nearby mechanic shop and have those pins installed for a cheap. Dont even need a brand new one.

[SwankPeRFection]

Aftermarket pads don’t usually come with new pins.

[Hendo741]

Originally Posted by SwankPeRFection

No such thing unless you didn’t hit them with a hammer to reseat them properly when reinstalled. If you don’t bang them back in all the way, yeah, it could happen. If it was your first time changing pads on a caliper with pin retention system, then maybe that’s it, I dunno.

Well, it is a thing, so...

Been working on my own cars for coming up on 3 decades, so its not a lack of experience I can assure you.

As i said in my post, I did consider the possibility that they weren't reinstalled correctly, but don't truly don't think that's the case. I was having a lot of vibration when bedding in the new pads, so that could have been a factor. Maybe i really did just screw up the install

I've never seen this happen before either, which i why I'm on here asking the questions.

Guess I'll just throw new ones in it and keep an eye on them.

[SwankPeRFection]

Originally Posted by Hendo741

Been working on my own cars for coming up on 3 decades, so it’s not a lack of experience I can assure you.

I was having a lot of vibration when bedding in the new pads, so that could have been a factor. Maybe i really did just screw up the install

There’s a bit of irony in these two things you said because not having the pins in would cause you to have vibration issues like that among other issues. I bet you forgot to put them in. The pins are required for the pressure spring clips to do their job against the pad.

Also, despite you saying you know what you’re doing, just be aware those pins aren’t seated all the way unless you have about a mm or so protrusion of the pin on the outside side of the caliper. There is a condition where the pin will feel like it’s in and you can see the tip of it in the hole on the outside part of the caliper and it’ll feel like it’s seated and beating it more doesn’t make it move, but you will have to wack it harder to get the protrusion to happen and for a full seat to happen. Just FYI, if you’ve not run into that condition.

[Hendo741]

Originally Posted by SwankPeRFection

There’s a bit of irony in these two things you said because not having the pins in would cause you to have vibration issues like that among other issues. I bet you forgot to put them in. The pins are required for the pressure spring clips to do their job against the pad.

Also, despite you saying you know what you’re doing, just be aware those pins aren’t seated all the way unless you have about a mm or so protrusion of the pin on the outside side of the caliper. There is a condition where the pin will feel like it’s in and you can see the tip of it in the hole on the outside part of the caliper and it’ll feel like it’s seated and beating it more doesn’t make it move, but you will have to wack it harder to get the protrusion to happen and for a full seat to happen. Just FYI, if you’ve not run into that condition.

Not irony, just the simple fact that no one is infallible, but like I've mentioned multiple times now, I very highly doubt I made that error. If I had forgot to install the pins they would still be in my garage, which they aren't. No way I throw them away and not notice exactly what they are. So they aren't in the garage, and aren't on the car, so the most likely answer is that they fell out at some point after install.

The drivers side are also still very much there and seated correctly, so again, not a lack of knowledge on the install procedures.

Regardless, the point in the post is to ask if anyone else with this platform has experienced anything similar, not to speculate with 0 chance of actually finding out the answer what the cause was. I had considered those possibilities well before I made the post and anyone commented.