Did the inner CV boot on the drivers side last week and realized later that I didn't install the circlip on the end. The joint was a pretty tight fit, having to hammer it on with a socket, and seems captured in the cup of the axle stub. I'm wondering if it's worth taking it all back out, or if I should just leave it.

 

 

Funny you should ask this question. I just recently had a shop put in two brand new axles and not more than a couple months later, while pulling away from a toll, my car mysteriously became completely immobile. Could shift into gears and rev just fine -- just couldn't go anywhere. Had it towed to a shop and they couldn't figure it out.

Called Chad from Detroit Tuned (who knows his stuff) and he said that, most likely, the shop bent or misaligned the clip on the driver side axle and during install and it resulted in the axle popping out just enough to immobilize the car. Sure enough, that was it. Put in a new axle on the driver side (it was faster to buy a whole new unit than track down the specific clip alone) and everything has been fine since.

So, I guess what I am saying is... put those clips in and put them in tight!