Thought on having no CV snap ring?

[898kor]

Finally managed to break a CV yesterday at Frickley.....

Had a spare in the boot, changed on site, only problem being that the original snap ring was ruined and the new one just would not go in.

In the old range rover days I never bothered with them full stop and they never came to any harm.

Anybody have experience of not fitting them in a LC80 (good or bad)?

 

[Chris]

I ran for a while with no snap rings, but I mar-tacked the other end of the shaft with weld to stop then travelling in the opposite direction. I have to say for me the jury's out on the function of the snap ring.

 

[Scott]

Mine were mar-tac'd 35,000 miles ago and have not given a problem. If I ever suffer a failed CV in a remote area, I think I'll be thankful that I haven't got to worry about seperating the half shaft from the CV, sometimes those snap rings can hang on for dear life.

 

[898kor]

Thanks guys, I think I will go down the mar tac route also.

Im guessing you measured the depth of the spiders and tacked a weld that same distance back from the clip ring?

 

[Chris]

Pretty much yes. It really only needs a very small blob too.

Chris

 

[Cptsideways]

Explain Mar tacking please ?

 

[Chris]

Blob of weld that mars the spines so that the shaft can't travel any further into the diff.

 

[Cptsideways]

A fancy name for a mechanical bodge that works then


Right up my street

 

[Wandering Aengus]

Missing snap ring and no weld either!

Thought it better to reply to an old thread rather than start a new one.

Long story short but I just finished rebuilding my front axle to replace some seals here in Namibia with a dodgy bush mechanic. Just as we were cleaning up and putting the wheel back on did I find the old broken snap ring lying on the ground, the inner one from inside the CV joint, the &%*£^*% mechanic was hoping that I wouldn't notice he hadn't replaced it as he didn't have a spare to hand.


(I'm talking about 43411C here)

How important is the snap ring? Do I need to re-do the whole job just to put one in? That is if Toyota here has one in stock even...

I also noticed that the snap ring at the front of the hub was missing too but there was a threaded bolt and washer there instead?


(43510F here)

I'm heading off into some wild places soon and want my car to be as 100% as possible before leaving... have I just answered my own question?

 

[Chris]

The right answer (according to some) is that because it was there originally, it must be put back or you will burn in hell for all eternity. Frankly I think that's rubbish.

You will be fine. Now, to be fair, having no snap ring inside and no snap ring on the outer shaft as well does mean there will be a fair degree of float possible. Having a washer on the end doesn't set the stub in the right place meaning that the shaft can move quite a bit. But again, I would not see that as a major concern. It does mean that there could be extra wear and tear on the inner axle oil seal though. IN a straight-ish line, the shaft will be quite happy. It's tight cornering where the shaft walks in and out. I would try to get the outer clip on when I could. But it wouldn't be hard to fashion one of those out of just about anything. A fuel hose clip, thick piece of wire etc. Anything to just stop the CV going back down the flange.

I would certainly drive mine if it were in the same state as yours and not worry at all. But I would fix it once the chance arose.

 

[Wandering Aengus]

Chris,

Thank you very much for the informed quick reply!

I'll see head over to Toyota tomorrow to see if they have the parts, would be easier to do it now rather than later if possible but good to know I should be able to survive if they don't have the parts.

Aengus