Forgive me if this is naive, but whats wrong with putting the clip on and then hitting it with a spot weld? Its not load bearing and would still come off fairly easily with a BFH. Maybe a spot weld in the right spot would work to retain it, without actually joining the clip to the axle shaft.

I'm not intimately familiar with the setup like you guys are though, so may be that's not even possible.

1987 Raider, 346K miles and going strong -31" tires, otherwise stock.
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