I wouldn't worry, besides the clip wouldn't make much of a click surrounded with grease. And, I'm sure you were kidding about the wheel falling off!

 

This is old thread I found with "search".
My problem is that after CV boot replacemnt at the mechanic, I came home about 10 miles and just in front of the garage, the CV joint fell off the axle as I climbed with one wheel on the kerb, with the steering turned out (right).
What is the explanation?
Mechanic used old weared off circlip? Or what?
Please suggest!

 

if it was Athens, Georgia, find a mechanic who was not a U. Ga. grad.

 

Sounds to me like he just didn't install the clip when he put the CV joint back together. Either that or he didn't seat the joint fully to engage it. You can probably get away with using the old clip again with no problems.

 

If the old circlip was used upon reassembly there is a good chance it failed. I've seen the results of a CV circlip failing and the pitting from the metal bits roaming around inside the CV joint. Upon seating the shaft into the CV joint, grooves are essentially "cut" into the circlip from the splines coming in contact and the compression force exerted when the two are mated properly.

More than likely though it just wasn't assembled correctly as kits supply a new circlip. I would have the mechanic fix the problem.

Hirnbeiss, wrong Athens.

 

I've seen 2 clips fail, one came off while installing the axle, the other made it 1 block away. Both were with replacement axles.