Front axle halfshafts question

[missionstreet]

Can anyone tell me why there are two slots in the front outboard spline area, but only one snap ring in the assembly diagram?

[Hawairish]

Use depended on what was attached to the end, i.e. drive slug vs. manual hub vs. automatic hub. Obviously all R50s only had drive slugs, but the D22 Frontier and WD22 Xterra use the exact same outer shaft and inner cup on their CVs (they vary by connecting shaft length, spline, and bearing cages), and those models had the manual/auto options. The drive slugs used the outer ring land, but since the manual and automatic hubs are closed units, you wouldn't have access to the outer ring land, so the inner one is used. Aftermarket hubs with removable caps/knobs use the outer lands so that the splined assembly can be retained on the shaft.

[missionstreet]

Thank you. So for my stock 4X4 the outer ring landing would be correct to use?

[Hawairish]

Correct. Though, fun fact: the drive slug is short enough that you could put a snap ring on both ring lands. But, the FSM specifically only show a snap ring on the outside face of the slug.

[missionstreet]

Thank you!