Inner CV shaft retaining circlip

[this is a follow up to my previous posts about wheel bearing/knuckle/
cv shaft replacement on an '01 Chrysler Concorde]

The new CV shaft I got came with a very flimsy circlip -- it was much
softer and thinner than the OEM one that was on the stub shaft.

The original one on the shaft looked pretty good -- no grooves, etc
and the diameters of the "new" and the original circlips were
identical.

I did not trust the look of the "new" circlip as it did not look right
(too soft and MUCH flimsier) and given that it was late at night and I
desperately needed the car the next day, I decided to reuse the OLD
circlip (I know that FSM says that I need to get a new one). The shaft
locked firmly in place -- it tired pulling on it by hand with pretty
good force and it stayed put.

I was just wondering whether I need to get a new circlip from the
dealer and replace the OLD one ASAP or it is likely to be OK.

I definitely do not want the CV shaft to come off as it will damage
the splines on the differential stub shaft (i.e. new transmission).

Opinions would be appreciated...

Thanks,

Alex

 

Technically yes. It is a self-protecting precaution on the
manufacturer's part to say that. The chances of the old circlip being
weak enoguh to allow the axle to come out is very low *BUT* the severity
of major damage if it does is great.

Damage to the splines is the least concern. Imagine the damage that can
occur from a double-jointed axle coming free and flopping around going
down the road at 60 mph. The immediate damage could be great as well as
the possibility of loss of control of the vehicle (accidents, death,
etc.). So like I said above, the chances of it happening are slim, but
it's due to the severity of the results if it does that the new circlip
is prescribed. Truth is, almost no one puts a new one in. *Also*, the
rebuilders get by using inferior parts as you noticed. Lucky for them
that the retention properties of the design with even a poor quality
clip is enough to retain the axle. This is one area that a huge safety
factor is used in the design due to the severity of results in case of
failure.

The axle stub bolt (at the hub) is also supposed to be replace with new
on each removal, but, again, almost no one does it.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Thank you for the info Bill -- I got the new nut with the bearing (and
used it). I was assuming that I was in OK shape before embarking on
the project since the circlip was provided with the axle -- but it was
SO MUCH weaker than the existing one (I had nothing to compare it to
before I got the axle off), that I figured the by replacing the clip I
was doing more harm than good because it was a) weaker and b) thinner,
thus making it EASIER for the axle to come off. I went to a dealer
(one of a few that had their parts departments open on a late Sat
afternoon) and they checked the system and told me that the circlip &
the O-ring kits were not in stock neither at their dealership nor in
any other one in the area. The parts guy mentioned that he NEVER heard
of their techs asking for the circlip (may be because it comes in the
kit with CV boot/new axle, may be because they just re-use the old
one).

I just wanted to check...

The circlips (and O-rings for that matter) that the local parts stores
carry look pretty flimsy (much flimsier than the OEM ones) and I am
not sure whether they are even rated for the temps.

I guess what I will do is order a couple of O-rings and clips from the
dealer (they are a few $$$) and just keep them on hand -- next time I
need to mess with the axle I will have them ready. I also want to
order a few more bolt/nut pairs for the knuckle to ball joint
attachment (I first went to a parts store and asked them for a control
arm to see whether it comes with the bolt -- it did NOT then I went to
the dealer and the guy again told me that nobody ordered this before
-- wonder why).

Thank you Bill once again,

Alex