Reuse Crank Circlips?
 

Can the circlip that holds the distributor drive gear on a 3.0L crank be reused?

I am about to send my crank out to a machine shop to be checked, reconditioned, and have the gears replaced. Not knowing if the new distributor drive gear will be the same thickness as the current one I have ordered a set of new circlips, one of each size (2.1mm-2.4mm) so the machine shop can install the appropriate one.

That said Im having trouble locating a 2.1mm circlip and I may have to reuse the existing one if the current one on the crank is a 2.1.

Thanks in advance.

These are quite thick as far as circlips go. So they hold their "spring" effect pretty good. That said, i've seen some that come off with a bit of difficulty and they don't spring back to their original shape. I'd have the new circlips handy just to use as a gauge for shape and then you can decide if the old one can be reused.

I have new clips to compare to the old one so I will go that route. Thanks for the feedback!