What Holds Brakes Pads?

When driving down the road, you expect the vehicle to stop when you hit the brake pedal. This process involves hydraulics and friction to actually stop the vehicle. Creating the friction are brake pads; these pads need to be held in one position to function properly.

Caliper Bracket

On nearly every brake system, there is a caliper bracket. This component's main function is to provide an area for the caliper to bolt onto. In most braking systems, this bracket also has a set of grooves that the brake pads sit in, keeping them from moving up or down as the rotor spins.

Pad Clips

On braking systems that do not use caliper bracket to hold the brake pads in place, there are clips on the rear of each brake pad. The clips on the outboard pad wrap over the caliper body and clip into small grooves in the body. The inboard pad has three to four metal, finger-like clips that are inserted into the caliper piston to hold it in place.

Caliper

The brake caliper itself has two functions. Its main purpose is to create the pressure needed to squeeze the pads against the rotor. The caliper also holds the brake pads and prevents them from separating from the rotor.