[Ant]

Hi Lou,

I gather you have a conventional differential not an IRS?
The relief in the side gears on the IRS is for the clip on the short CV axle to hold it into the IRS Head, and the inner CV can be removed to service or replace by simply levering out of diff unit.

On a conventional straight diff you remove the rear cover and tap or push the axle in so you can remove the C Clip, before you can pull the axle from the housing, the clip is a chunky metal plate clip compared to the small wire clip on CV axles, so they are two different parts that do the same job. They make C Clip eliminators for the 8.8 that are bolted inside the brake drum and have a interference fit sleeve that holds axle in place.

Hope that helps, Summit will advise you and if you order an 8.8 TrueTrac for your non IRS application you shouldn't have any problems as that is what the part is designed for a straight differential.