Patent ID: 8262489

Claim:
A joint assembly comprising: a shaft member rotationally coupled to a housing, the shaft member including a plurality of shaft splines and a shaft preloading portion; a collar member adjustably coupled to the shaft member and having a collar member groove and a preloading portion formed therein; an inner race of a constant velocity joint having an first member groove and a plurality of first member splines formed therein, wherein the constant velocity joint includes an outer race and a plurality of spherical rotational members interposed between and in contact with the outer race and the inner race; and a retaining member selectively at least partially interposed within both the collar member groove and the first member groove for restraining axial movement between the shaft member and the collar member, wherein at least a portion of the first member groove and at least a portion of the collar member groove are selectively aligned when the shaft member is at least partially interposed within the inner race to permit the retaining member to be at least partially positioned within both the first member groove and the collar member groove and wherein at least a portion of the plurality of shaft splines are selectively positioned within an array of the spherical rotational members.