I have a 3/4 ton 85 Suburban with Warn hubs on a 10-bolt, and while re-assembling the hubs I noticed there was no outer c-clip to position the stub shaft. The person I bought this sub from was an *idiot* and many things on the vehicle were assembled incorrectly. Is this another one of them?

I read on the Warn site that "Some early model vehicles with Mono Beam Axles may not accept the axle retaining ring." But this doesn't sound right... what would keep the stub axle from floating in and out of the spindle?

The stub shaft has two grooves machined into the splines, one very near the "inside" end of the splines, and another 3/4 of an inch from the outer end. If the "outer" groove was more like 1/4" inch the from the end a c-clip would go on nicely.

I've looked and looked all over the web for a write-up that shows an assembly like mine - with no luck.

Could someone shed some light? It's keeping me back from having everything together. I even went to a wrecking yard to grab a handful of c-clips, only to be unable to put them on the shaft -- how frustrating :confused:

Thanks for any help you can give.

I read on the Warn site that "Some early model vehicles with Mono Beam Axles may not accept the axle retaining ring." But this doesn't sound right... what would keep the stub axle from floating in and out of the spindle?
this had nothing to do with your prob, the stub does float to some extent

this sounds easy but try it,
make sure the shaft is as far to the "outside" as possible. take a prybar or screwdriver and stick it in between the shaft and the end of the axle tube and pry out( towards the wheel). when you started to put the hub together you just pushed the shaft further in the carrier so the groove for the ring is still in the hub.

if this isn't what you're talkin about, tell me to fawk off, I'm a newb :D

the inner one IS for a c clip. used mostly on ten bolts[not nessecary as d44 usally didnt have them]

the outter one is for a SNAP RING, it keeps the hub center in place.


you can use both, it wont hurt, at the least use the outter.

this had nothing to do with your prob, the stub does float to some extent

this sounds easy but try it,
make sure the shaft is as far to the "outside" as possible. take a prybar or screwdriver and stick it in between the shaft and the end of the axle tube and pry out( towards the wheel). when you started to put the hub together you just pushed the shaft further in the carrier so the groove for the ring is still in the hub.

if this isn't what you're talkin about, tell me to fawk off, I'm a newb :D

Thanks for the suggestion -- but I already tried that. The outermost groove is still too far inwards to access. All the pictures of other people's axle stubs show a groove further outward than mine, and I'm left to wonder why...

Again, thanks for your advice.

the inner one IS for a c clip. used mostly on ten bolts[not nessecary as d44 usally didnt have them]

the outter one is for a SNAP RING, it keeps the hub center in place.


you can use both, it wont hurt, at the least use the outter.

That's the way I understood things from other people's pictures. However the outermost groove in my stub axle is too "inward" and gets completely covered by the Warn hub assembly. I'll take a picture and post tomorrow, along with what I find out from Warn who I'll call for some answers.

Thanks for the info.

I called Warn and they said 82-85 Chevy's (at least the 3/4 ton ones) do not have a groove in the axle stub that can be used with the Warn hub. They said it's OK *not* to install the axle retaining ring; "they've been doing it for 15 years with no problem".

It still makes me kind of nervous as the axle does float in and out about 3/8 of an inch. I would think that's enough space to allow dirt and whatever to enter through the spindle seal :eek:

The Warn guy said Superwinch hubs are designed a little differently and allow the use of the axle stub retaining ring. Warn also said an axle stub from an 86 or 87 chevy could be swapped in.

Soooo... I guess I'll run without the ring and see what happens.

I have seen this on a toyota, not a chevy, but there was a bolt that threaded into the end of the axle shaft with a large enough washer to retain the huby body, but small enough to still allow the hub to function properly. Maybe give this a try. When I converted my 77 over to 3/4 ton, the passenger hub wasnt allowing the snap ring to be installed, to cure the problem we carefully pried on the outer shaft to try and get it to move outward. It worked for us, but it doesnt mean it will work for everyone.

Dana 44 stubs use the groove close to the end. On 10 bolts they have the grooves further back..... If you are using a 10 bolt stub shaft in a 44 you can turn or grind a groove to receive the snap ring..............

The same thing happened to me on my D44 that I purchased from a scrap yard. Try taking the locking nut off the spindle (need special wrench) pull off the washer and finally the last nut, followed by the hub. spin the nuts onto the spindle thread to see if they'll spin on entirely.
Mine was only holding by about one thread and it was badly stripped (went to pick-your-part for another). This would cause the entire locking mechanism to stick out past the groove on the stub shaft thereby not allowing you to place the C-clip onto it.
Just my two cents,