Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

Broken C-Clip axle Removal

G80, GU6, GT4, GT5, WTF? This section is for gearing and driveline stuff.

by TexTrail » Fri Feb 01, 2013 12:15 am

I am an offroad enthusiast and like most of us have broken an axle or two in my day. I think only 4 in the last 12 years. I recently broke me first C-Clip axle and was confronted with a situation unique to them. When a shaft breaks its typical that the splines twist before the break and that creates a certain predicament I hadn't thought about previous to it happening to me. To remove a c-clip you have to remove the pinion shaft from the diff and push the axle shaft inwards to take the c clip out of the recess it normally rides in. Now when a shaft brakes and the splines are no longer straight that's not possible the broken piece is no stuck between the twisted splines and the c clip.

Now that this situation has happened to me it lead to some good brainstorming which turned out a solution that actually worked. I limped my vehicle out and was able to do this not on the trail. Knowing what I know now I could do it in the trail if I had the right tools.

Anyhow to the fix. You need a 13/16" Milwaukee hole hawg bit with the spring loaded center punch or similar tool, a drill motor of some sort and the tools required to remove and disassemble a differential.

Start by removing the wheels, brake calipers, and diff cover. Next remove the long part of the broken shaft. Remove the pinion shaft from the differential and push the good axle shaft in towards the diff to access the c clip and remove it allowing you to pull the good shaft out.

Now remove the main bearing caps from the diff and begin to pry out diff keeping the shims for each side together and accounted for. It takes quite a bit of force to pull a diff out I usually use the handle for a 1/2" drive ratchet if a pry bar isn't handy. Once out disassemble the diff. In my case it was a Detroit locker and removing the diff was necessary with a lock right or something you MAY not have to.

When disassembling a Detroit be careful there are 2 large springs that can send the case flying at you face. Take it apart piece by piece until you get to the side gear with the broken piece in it. In my case it was the driver side which requires the most disassembly. With the side gear out clamp it to something solid or in a vice. Use the hole in the center of the shaft to center the bit and start to drill. Drill down until you hit the c clip and the end of the shaft that retains the c clip should come off allowing the shaft to come out.

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by TexTrail » Fri Feb 01, 2013 12:17 am

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by TexTrail » Fri Feb 01, 2013 12:18 am

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by The Roadie » Fri Feb 01, 2013 12:50 am

Great thread. Thanks!

Confronted with that, I'd probably just take out the locker and swap in another new axle. When I grenaded my original 8.0" G80, BOTH sides lost their c-clips and only the brake calipers kept the wheels from departing the vehicle on the long drive back to pavement.
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by TexTrail » Fri Feb 01, 2013 9:47 am

In my case I have a custom fabbed suspension so changing out the whole axle isn't going to happen easy. It's the axle in my jeep that I broke. That's a stock 31 spline ford 8.8 shaft. The disc brake held it in the rest of the day but it definitely needs a caliper on that side now. Also beware the broken shaft bounced around in there and completely destroyed the shims they managed to stay in but I can't reuse them.
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