Kodiak Disc Brake Pads - how do you bend the outer pad tab down

Transporting your rig safely down the highway and reducing your risk of destroying any trip requires regular trailer maintenance. This video is the result of 3 years of experience after a second install of Kodiac Disc Brakes on my dual axle Magic Tilt trailer. Over that time I found an easier way to bend the tabs on the outer brake pad downward onto the caliper thereby saving you tons of aggravation and minimizing damage during install. At the time I filmed the only videos were pros filming perfectly edited how-tos which is never how this works in real life when you try something for the first time. Rather than reproduce an entire install video, this is my hack.
I appreciate UA-cam contributions that predated my experience but Channel Locks alone - any size even the biggest they make - is not enough to consistently get the bend you want and need to reduce road chatter. A clamp or a vice, kinda work. A hammer alone may separate the pad from the backing plate or damage the caliper or bend the caliper mounting bracket. You can't prebend either. There is no single special tool for what is the single hardest part of installing these Kodiak Brake rotors, pads, and calipers.
Cost of two tools was less than $30.
Disclaimer: We are not mechanics and we've never pretended to be. You need to verify if using this method voids the manufacturer's warranty. If you are unsure you may need to have a licensed mechanic review your work or perform this type of maintenance.

[@pokermongoes1447]

I just finished one wheel and after beating the living hell out of them I decided to see how others were doing it. Even with hitting it very hard I couldn't get a 90 degree bend.

[@skiffman10]

Great question. You have to use the heat like the cheap $10 torch. Put the pads in the caliper, heat the tabs, and use a 3lb hammer. Kodiak has a video where they bend the non-stainless with plyers. That 100% will not work with the stainless. I've done 8 pads total now. Same situation.

[@skiffman10]

Read my previous but be careful not using heat. I destroyed a pad doing what you did. You can mangle the tab but you won't accomplish 90 degrees.
Hope that helps.

[@guckertott]

Interesting. Bought these exact brakes. The instructions do not say that any such adjustment is necessary. Is this simply a modification too reduce jiggle noise?

[@salmonkiller2545]

I just bent all the tabs of my SS pads with large vice grips…. ????