Bought the $60 brake pad spreader kit from the parts store and it bent on the second caliper
The tool was supposed to push the piston back in but the ratchet mechanism just chewed itself up on my 2015 Civic. Ended up using a $6 C-clamp and an old pad, worked in 30 seconds. Anyone else got a cheap tool that failed mid job? What did you switch to?
That ratchet mechanism chewed itself up sounds about right for those cheap kits. But honestly, bending on the second caliper is pretty normal for the $60 stuff, they're made for light duty. A C-clamp and old pad has been the go-to for decades, so its not really a failed tool story, more like you found out the cheap kit was cheap. If it had snapped the bleeder off or stripped the piston bore I'd say yeah thats a real problem, but bending a spreader just means you get to do it the old way.