porschepet

I Installed some new front brake pads on my 2007 Cayman today and BIG KUDOS to steve and Suncoast motorsports .package arrived in 3 days and I saved lots of money by purchasing my pads and sensors from Suncoast .I think it was only about $140.00 or so for the Pads and sensors and they were all OEM . This is an easy Installation for most anyone in my opinion ,Heck If you can make an Ommelette you can do this repair !! .However when I went to Pull the cotter Pin out it was simply NOT THERE !! and not just one side but BOTH sides!! NO COTTER PIN anywhere WTF? I have 27K miles on my car and never had any brake service so I have to believe I have been driving all this time without them .Did the factory simply miss putting them on my car? all I can say Is Wow . dam things are $35.00 a piece ..any sugestions?

Jim Michaels

Who would dare try to sell those clips for $35 each? Pick several up at your local hardware store for less than a buck. They are not cotter pins actually, but spring clips; about 7/8" in length.

Chris from Cali

I was going to post earlier - I don't remember any cotter pins, just the cross pin and the spring clip retainer. The calipers are just like the Brembos on my old Evo and I changed those brakes myself several times.

p-cardriver

Our '06 Cayman S definitely has the spring clips on all four brake pins. I would have to be convinced that they are not necessary to keep that pin from working its way out before I'd ever reassemble without it.

KS-CS

I believe they are actually called hitch pins, and you can pick them up at any hardware store, Home Depot, etc. (probably less than $1 each). I always keep a couple of extras on hand, in case I lose one.

porschepet

Do you happen to know what size they are? I will go to home depot and get some .I did have a shop remove and paint my calipers when I first got my car 25K and 2 years ago ,I bet the Knuckelheads forgot to put the pins on and I have been driving for 2 years without them on .That kinda makes me ill feeling . What if something had happened.I was told in a Brake Installation thread that the dealers charge $35.00 for each one .now I know why I DIY more these days this job was a no brainer .I also Painted my calpiers Yellow with some duplicolor Ceramic Caliper paint and it looks PERFECT ,Like OEM .Jim Posted: spring clips; or hitch pins about 7/8" in length. But what is the Diameter? they are pretty small it appears .Thanks so much guys ,appreciated

p-cardriver

Here are a couple of options for you:
1. go to your dealer's parts counter and ask to see one or even buy one. I'll bet they are expensive compared to the hardware store, but probably not more than $5 each. Take that one to the hardware store and buy at least 3 more.
2. Pull the pin from one caliper and take it to the hardware store (obviously using another vehicle!). Find a pin/clip that fits and buy four or more.
3. Wait for someone here to get around to pulling a pin and measuring it, hope that's accurate and go buy based on those measurements.

p-cardriver

They look like these, but I don't know the correct size.
http://www.lynchpinexporter.com/hair_pin_cotter.html

porschepet

I am painting My Rear calipers today so I did get a chance to see the Rear ones are on the car .Thats a good Idea ( p-cardriver)I will pull a rear one and go to Home Depot Its snowing outside so Its taking a long time to paint the calipers using my heat lamp and thin coats is time consuming . Hey thanks for the Pictures and the post I really appreciate it .

Jim Michaels

Thanks to p-cardriver, I guess we now know that they're called hair pin cotters. The length of the OEM pins in my CS were 7/8", so that's what I bought at the hardware store.

FallonBlood

as far as I know, the reason they're so much from the dealer is they only come with the complete brake hardware kit including the pins and springs.

Bill Lehman

FAllonBlood is correct. After losing one changing from street to track pads, I tried to get some spares from the dealer and I believe I was quoted $70 for the pin, spring clip and hitch pin. I did find a close match at Lowes. Also found the original lost one after removing the rear inner fender.

Jim Michaels

An update on the name game. While I was in the hardware store where I bought my extra retainer pins today I checked on what they're labeled on the box. They were labeled "hitch pins", just as KS-CS said earlier. That's a little shorter than "hair pin cotters." The 7/8" hitch pins were 17-cents each.

KS-CS

I'm not sure of the exact thickness or diameter, but since it is proportional to the over-all size, if you get the 7/8" ones, they will probably fit - if I had to guess, I'd say they have about the same thickness as a small paperclip.

savowood

Don't be worried about the pin not being there. It's not really necessary. It's an extra precaution, but if you look at the cup cars, they don't bother putting them in. Seriously, I spent a day at the track with them out as I changed my pads after part of a session. Also realize, you drove 27,000 miles without them and didn't notice. The cross-bar and spring clip were seated well, right?

-Michael