Sankey keg problems

[misterdalliard]

So I've got two Schaeffer Sankey D 5 gallon kegs and I've been having difficulty with the retaining rings that hold the spear assembly in. They came with stainless steel spiral rings that I could not put back in place (and I tried everything imaginable). I tried to replace the spiral rings with snap rings, or lock rings, and had equally poor luck because the snap rings require the assembly to be forced downward while you're snapping them in place. I even tried using a gear puller to push down the spear, with no success. As a last ditch effort, I cut the SS spiral ring in half so that I had two single loop rings. I tried one and it fit easily into place. I put the coupler in, charged it to about 15 psi, and tried it out. It passed the soapy water test and seemed to be working fine. I then tried to remove the coupler to see if it could maintain pressure over time. When I tried to remove the coupler, the coupler and the spear assembly moved together so that the assembly lugs were no longer lined up with the keg. The ring kept it in, but it was all that was between me and a spear assembly missile to the face. Is this because the fit of the new ring isn't snug enough? Should I even be worried about this?

[B.A.]

I have a few spare rings at work, PM me and we can arrange a time to get them back together.