Are anti-rattle springs necessary on the rear brakes?

[etajohn]

Hi, stupid question. I just replaced the pads and rotors on the rear of my '87 eta and I can't figure out how to get the anti-rattle springs on. There were not any on before I did the brakes and I can't see how to get them on. Are they necessary for optimum braking performance or just a noise thing? Thanks.

[xLibelle]

someone needs to edumakate me on this one too
buuut i'm gonna go out on a limb and just call you crazy :)

you mean the three spring clips that retain the pads location?

[Mike325]

The anti rattle spring goes on the front and side of the caliper. They are not ressasary, but they will cause a rattle when you drive and are not on the brakes. I would use one though.

[etajohn]

Thanks. Yeah, I'm going to get them on there. I just wanted to make sure I could drive the car in the meantime without wrecking my new brake parts.

[Mike325]

Ya, you won't hurt anything, but it could rattle over bumps.

[Mike@PureMS]

I wouldn't recommend doing it. My buddy ran without them for a while, and the pads didn't wear evenly at all. The caliper didn't apply pressure evenly, so the pads starting "leaning" toward the outer edge of the rotors. The pads were completely worn at the edge of the rotors long before the pads were worn on the inner edges (closer to the hub).