C-clip falling out?

[BigClay]

Driving home one day on the road, every time I turned right there was a large pop/clunk and noticeable lurch. Axle is a Ford 8.8 stock except 4.10 gears and a Aussie locker.

My first thought was the R&P was bad, but going straight there was no problem, only when turning right. Next thought was bad springs and pins in the Aussie. Well I finally found out what was wrong, the c-clip fell out... I have never heard of this happening before.

Springs and pins in the Aussie are good, ring and pinion teeth are good, but the c-clip was sitting in the bottom of the housing. Only thing holding the rear axle in was the brakes. Anyone ever heard of this happening before?

 

[Fabrik8]

Happens all the time in racing (not talking about off road racing, which I know very little about), which is one of the big reasons most serious race setups migrate to a full floater setup.

You're really lucky the brakes stopped things from getting ugly, because I've heard some crazy stories about axles liberating themselves right out of the housing.

The fact that the clip isn't broken is interesting, and may mean that the clip or the clip groove on the axle is worn and no longer properly retaining the clip. Inspect everything very well before reusing the axle, and definitely get a new clip.

 

[BIGWOODY]

Did the locker have shims on the side gears? If it didn't it sounds like it needs them. Or you could have a wheel bearing problem.

 

[jeepinmatt]

Is the cross-shaft broken or severely worn? The distance from the cross shaft to the c-clip seating surface on the side gears is what keeps the C-clips contained in the side gears. Like ^ said, if its missing shims, it could possibly cause that, but c-clips are a lot thicker than the shims. Other potential cause would be wear on the carrier, but if it were enough to allow the c-clip to drop out, then the locker wouldn't function correctly.