Reassembling outer CV joint without removing cage and balls?

[takai]

Picked up a new diff for the MX5 and it seems that old mate has just reefed on the axle to remove it from the hub, and it has pulled the axle out of the cage, and deformed the spring.





All of my previous CV joint rebuilds have had flat circlip style retainers, meaning its impossible to reattach without removing the cage from the stub axle. Given that this is a spring clip it looks possible to reassemble without doing that. Is it possible to just replace the spring and gently tap it back in, or do i need to take the cage out and fully rebuild the sodding thing?

[93_Clubman]

If no one chips in, PM flycasta (Duane) on here - he's the diff guru: memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2315