What is the purpose of the u joint clips on the outside, I just put my driveshaft back on and wasn't able to get these back on, is anything bad gonna happen?

 

they are there to keep the u joint intact at speed. you should be able to compress them with a pair of needle noses and then stick them in there. sometimes you can only get it half way and you might need to tap it with a hammer to get it to seat. i wouldn't advise driving without something holding the u joint caps in there

 

oh yeah they are there for a reason..... you wouldn't want your drive shaft to fall out on the highway and cause a fatal collision.......
Sorry at first I thought you meant the C-Clips that hold the drive shaft to the rear diff. hahahaha... that would be crazy if you asked that!! or maybe you are asking that?????? or are you asking about the snap rings that hold the cap over the needle bearings?

 

if you leave em out u could end up with this...

 

I meant the snap rings

 

here's a video that may help you.... check it out.....

 

Well dang, I guess I got some work ahead of me, I just put my front driveshaft back in and I have 6 snap rings to put in, will I need to take it off again to do it?

 

I've never done U-Joints myself, but I did 86 my front drive shaft cuz my T-Case is shot. As I remember the drive shaft is pretty easy to remove, so yeah I would take it out and do it the right way. In the end it's way safer and reliable, plus you'll feel better knowing that you did quality work. Sometimes you gotta repair something several times before you get right, I know from experience!!

 

if you can get in there with a mig welder, you can just tack the caps to the shaft.

 

x2 i wanted to suggest that earlier but i wasn't sure if i would get flamed, thats how mine are held together because the c clip just doesn't do the job

 

yeah but isnt that more of an axle shaft trick welding the caps on ?? the clips will go in it just takes a little work and then if you need to change em again you dont have to deal with cuttin the tack welds just tap the u joint a little to one side put that clip in then tap it back against the one you already have in and put the other clip in you might need a punch or screwdriver to help seat the clip once its almost in pretty much like the above posted video

 

Experience talking: If they don't go in EASY, you dropped a roller into the bottom of the cup. Beat all day with a hammer and you still won't get them to seat.

Take the u-joint apart and use a roller from your old u-joint to replace the one you squashed at the bottom of the cap. carefully reassemble and make absolutely, positivly SURE you get those c-clips in. Without them, you are begging for disaster...one that might kill you in a spectacular wreck with flames and whatnot - the kind that you see on the evening news.

Imagine...the front end of the rear DS dropping into a pot hole and pole vaulting you over the guard rail and in front of a double-bottom gravel hauler. How cool is that!

 

thats how I've always done it. Then when done, I play with it to see if it bind/sticks a bit more than normal. And give a few more taps either way that it needs to loosen it up.