Missing inner cv shaft retaining ring (not circlip)

[sevensandeights]

I need to replace both front lower control arms on my 2009 Rogue to pass Pennsylvania inspection. While I was at it I decided to pull the CV shafts to reboot them since 3 of the 4 boots were torn. I know conventional wisdom says to just replace the entire cv shaft rather than re-boot but the passenger side is notoriously difficult to remove. In addition, I have already replaced the driver's side cv shaft and the boots are already starting to dry rot after only 30k miles.

When removing the passenger side shaft, I noticed there was no retaining ring keeping the tripod bearing in. Once I removed the inner boot, I was able to just pull the shaft out. The ring wasn't in the boot or in the "cup" that was still attached to the vehicle. Not sure if this was an OEM shaft or not since I bought the car used.

Has anyone else had this experience? The ring (PN 39735-J00A) is available from the dealer but is $40, would have to be ordered and would take a week to get here. Ridiculous that a piece of wire costs this much!

This car has run at least 40k miles without it. Certainly makes putting the boot on easier by keeping the bearing in the cup. But, once the shaft is re-installed and the axle nut is put on I can't see how the cv shaft could ever fall out with or without that retaining ring in place. Thoughts?

[sevensandeights]

Well - the replacement driver's side cv shaft didn't have the retaining ring either!

And, as an FYI, be careful ordering new cv boots if you are using non-OEM axle shafts. The inner OEM bearing cup has "lobes" that correspond to the tri-lobe bearing. The OEM boot has 3 thickend areas to fill the void around the lobes and make a complete circle. The inner bearing cup on my aftermarket shaft is perfectly round and slightly smaller in diameter so an OEM style boot will not work.

I'd add pictures but I think they need to be hosted somewhere in order to be linked/attached to his post.

[VStar650CL]

You can insert pics by hitting the Full Editor & Preview button at the bottom of the text box, then using the Attachments tab below the Preview and Submit buttons. Hit Add Files, select the pic you want to upload, then hit Place Inline when it's done uploading. You may need to downsize pics with a photoshopper, there is a size limit.