Front Axle Shafts : C-Clips vs. Full Circle Clips

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I know it's all the rage to beef up a factory axle housing when planning to run bigger tires but, I can assure you that well before you'll ever come close to breaking a housing, you're almost certainly break a factory front axle shaft. Of course, being that the break will almost always happen at the u-joint, the assumption that many tend to make is that all u-joints suck and should be replaced with something more exotic and indestructable like a CV joint. But, before you drop some serious coin on a set of RCV's, I think it would be helpful to understand what is what, what exactly is going on and, why factory specific shafts tend to fail.

It is important to know that factory front axle shafts come with C-clips which are used to hold the u-joint bearing caps in place. Unfortuantely, time and a lot of wheeling will cause your u-joint bearing caps to rotate within the yokes. Over time, this rotation can cause the c-clips to pry off and once they're gone, it's just a matter of time before the bearing cap works itself free and falls out. Needless to say, without the bearing cap in place, the strength of your u-joint will be totally compromised and failure will occur. This is the most common cause of a factory front axle shaft break.

By comparison, most aftermarket chromoly front axle shafts are designed with yokes ears that will allow you to use full circle clips. As it's name implies, full circle clips wrap all the way around the bearing caps and by virtue of it, prevents them from ever coming off. In the photo below, will see a typical u-joint along with a standard C-clip on the left (what you find standard on a factory axle shaft) and a full circle clip on the right (what you typically find on an aftermarket chromoly shaft).
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In this photo, you will see how a standard C-clip is installed and what can happen if it gets pried off. Once it's gone, there's little to hold the bearing cap in place.
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This is a photo of what a typical factory front axle break looks like. As you can see, it occured at the u-joint and most likely because of a bearing cap had been lost.
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And, here is a photo of what a chromoly shaft with full circle clips installed looks like. As you will see, the full circle clips go all the way around the bearing caps and cannot be pried off. This feature alone will help prevent an axle shaft break and for a lot less than a set of RCV shafts with CV joint.
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Now, don't get me wrong, RCV's are really nice shafts and ones that I've run before. I just don't know if they're really something you need. At least, it has been my experience that standard aftermarket chromoly shafts will do the job just as well and at a considerably lower price. Certainly, with the money you save, there are a lot of other pricy mods you can buy or be well on the way to getting. Of course, this is all just my opinion based on my experiences. The purposes of this article is not to convince you to buy one thing or another but rather, explain the differences between a c-clip and a full circle clip and to show why factory specific front axle shafts tend to fail. I hope this has been helpful. :yup:
 
It was very helpful when you explained this to me earlier and I'm sure there are others who will be helped to understand from this thread. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience once again.
 
excellent write up eddie! makes it much easier for everyone to understand the nature of the beast, so to speak.
is there any way to modify a stock shaft to use a full clip?
 
is there any way to modify a stock shaft to use a full clip?

Yes and people have been doing it for years. You can just grind away at the yoke ears until you have enough clearance for the clips. Or, if you have a welder, you can tack weld the caps in place. That will help prevent them from rotating which is ultimately what causes the clips to come off. The benefit of getting chromoly shafts is that you get added strength as well.
 
Excellent! Good to know. :thumb:

Question: Can the rotation be detected/prevented/reversed? Or is that just not practical?
 
Great thread Eddie! I have been wondering about this since I have heard you mention full circle clips many times. I appreciate the time and knowledge you share with us! :thumb:
 
Eddie, what brand of chromoly shafts do u recommend/run? I seen the other members horror story about the tens
 
Question: Can the rotation be detected/prevented/reversed? Or is that just not practical?

Yes, you can definitely see the rotation of your caps. Just mark them with a paint pen and check on them later. If the lines are offset, they are rotating. There is no reversing or preventing this as it just happens with time and use. I have known guys to grind the ears of their yokes so that they could install full circle clips but, tack welding your caps will help to prevent failure as well. I would almost bet that doing that alone would make a factory shaft last a lot longer.
 
Eddie, what brand of chromoly shafts do u recommend/run? I seen the other members horror story about the tens

I've run Superior and Alloy USA in the past and have been happy with both. I blew out a factory driver side shaft (most common side to break) on Rubicat over the summer and just replaced it with a Superior shaft.
 
Awesome thread! I had learned from you that going chromoly with full circle clips was the way to go, but I had no idea what the clips were or how to visually inspect products to see if they have them. Thanks Eddie for this informative write up!
 
I'm like a sponge when you write something Eddie. I'm welding gussets on my "C"s in the morning, and while I'm getting new axles very soon, it wouldn't hurt to tack the caps on the stockers while I'm at it for the time being would it? Glad I read this :thumb:
 
I'm like a sponge when you write something Eddie. I'm welding gussets on my "C"s in the morning, and while I'm getting new axles very soon, it wouldn't hurt to tack the caps on the stockers while I'm at it for the time being would it? Glad I read this :thumb:

Tacking on your caps isn't a bad idea at all.
 
Quick question on the U-joints. I was checking out the Alloy front D44 replacement kit which I can get with either Spicer or CTM's. The latter was a $350 upgrade over Spicer. What's the difference between these and are they worth the difference in price?
 
Quick question on the U-joints. I was checking out the Alloy front D44 replacement kit which I can get with either Spicer or CTM's. The latter was a $350 upgrade over Spicer. What's the difference between these and are they worth the difference in price?

CTM's are really strong u-joints that uses bronze bushings instead of bearings. They are what are used in competition ProRock 60 shafts.
 
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