Axle File Fit
The clips need to be placed onto the U-joint cross shaft before it’s inserted into the axle. The clip does take up a bit of space during this process so you need to move the clips and joint around to make it all come together.Al Vandervelde
Stock front axle shafts use a small ¾ circular clip to retain the U-joints inside the axle ears. The small clips are pushed into the groove of the U-joint cap and stay in place with sprung pressure. Add the load we tend to put on our wheeling rigs and these small clips can pop out with relative ease. While most aftermarket axles come with enough space machined into the shaft ears to install full circular clips, stock axles can be filed out with a standard steel file, a good vice and a little bit of care.
Take your time and file just what’s needed, checking often to make sure you have enough room for the new circular clips, which you can find at any full-line nut and bolt place or Rona.
The clips need to be placed onto the U-joint cross shaft before it’s inserted into the axle. The clip does take up a bit of space during this process so you need to move the clips and joint around to make it all come together. If you have trouble, another trick is to grind a small angle on the tip of two of the cross shaft ends, one to make room to go into the axle and one to go into the stub shaft. The U-joints can then be pressed into the ears normally and with a pair of spring clip pliers, the clips snap into the grooves.
This adds a huge amount of security to keeping your U-joints in place, costs pennies and the clips have nowhere to go until YOU take them back out.
For the full story and photos see Volume 14 Issue 5.