I'm replacing all the upper, lower, and P/S ball joints and am finding that the supplied retaining rings can't be installed snug enough to hold the rubber gaiters to the metal surface. There's no reverse edge on the metal that the rubber can "overlap", so it can "pop" off the metal when the ball joint is rotated. I have taken some heavy gauge copper wire (see pic) and created a "ring" that holds the rubber to the metal, tight enough to keep the rubber from popping off the metal.
The question is "are there any issues (exposure to the environment, etc.), about using heavy gauge copper wire as a ring agent around the rubber, long term?"
Thanks all.