Broken c clip in front diff?

I'm working on the ECGs bushing upgrade. My CV axle was stubborn as hell to get out, and now that I finally got it, it looks like the c clip may have broken, and I'm worried that a small part of it may have fallen down into the clamshell. I pulled the magnetic drain plug (I had already drained all the gear oil) but there was nothing stuck to it. Now I'm worried that I'll destroy my gears if I can't fish it out.

Has anybody had this happen?

Does anybody have a close-up photo of an axle with an intact c clip? I'd like to compare it to mine. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

 

Throw a pic on here for us to look at. Mine only went around the axle about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way...it doesn’t go the whole way.

 

Good idea

 

Doesn't appear to be broken

 

That's a relief. The ends of the clip look rough like they might have been sheared, but now that I look closer it looks like the ends are crimped a bit, so I'm less concerned about it now. Thanks!

 

Yup, that's what mine looked like too.

 

I dunno, i remember mine having a much smaller gap in the C

can someone confirm that the gap in the C is that large?

 

I can't confirm for sure but other clips like this that I've used it seems about right. If the clip was closed in more (if that makes sense) you wouldn't be able to get it around the shaft. At the same time I'm not sure how this is installed so don't listen to me but when you say "c clip" looks normal especially with the 'crimped' section near the end

 

just looked at one I rebuilt a few months back -- yours is good ... my pic sucks but the gap looks about the same. pretty wide. the rough part at the bottom isn't the clip ...

 

Looks fine. If the clip stays in the groove it's most likely fine.

 

The CV axle itself is actually in surprisingly rough shape (70,000km in salty eastern canada) so I've decided to replace it while I'm in there. I'm picking up a new one from napa today so I'll post a side-by-side for comparison.