Hi,

I removed the knuckle from my 1999 Honda Civic and passed it off to a buddy to press out the hub & wheel bearing. In doing so he did NOT remove the circlip/retainer clip and in turn chipped off 80% of the metal in front of the circlip/retainer clip.

The third (3rd) picture from this link shows the circlip/retainer clip I am talking about.

Front wheel bearings job with hub tool [PIC] - Honda-Tech

My question is "Can I reuse the knuckle WITHOUT a circlip/retainer clip?"

I am worried that without it the bearing may move, although I doubt it.

Should I just buy another knuckle?

Any thoughts?

You need to buy a new knuckle. Your buddy really screwed up. This is a good time to replace the upper and lower ball joints on your Civic.

I'm looking at buying a new 20-ton floor press. I'll be tackling the same job on my Civic over the next year.

I guess it's a safety issue then?

Yep.