Heating and cooling cycles can weaken springs and anti-rattle and abutment clips, this is why they should not be reused. Also, metal fatigue from movement and being under tension can cause the clip to lose it’s ability to hold the pad in place.

Back in the late 1970s there was a man named Uri Geller who would bend and break spoons with just two fingers on stage. He claimed it was the power of his mind melting the metal. The trick was that he was bending the spoon to the point where the spoon was about to fall apart. When he was on stage, the slightest amount of force would bend the spoon.

The same is true for brake hardware. Every time the brakes are applied, the springs and clips are cycled. Every cycle takes it toll on the hardware. Every cycle it becomes weaker just like the Geller’s spoon

Some springs and clips can be difficult to install. Some anti-rattle clips may resemble Chinese finger traps when you are trying to reinstall them back on the car. But leaving them out is not an option.