drive shaft question

[Buss Peter]

First of all thanks to all that replied with help on getting the hub out of
the wheel bearings on my 87 4kcsq. Didn't work! I'll let the shop press them
out when they do the wheel bearings. Now my next question. After I pulled
the strut housing out of the passenger rear side it appeared that the half
axle had a ton of in out movement in it. So pulled on it a bit and it kept
coming out, until the boot over the inner CV joint was completely stretched
out. Is this normal? Should there be something there to hold the drive shaft
in or does the strut housing do that when it gets reinstalled. According to
EKTA there is a small lock ring on the drive shaft between the CV joint and
the rear diff. Can this have fallen off/ broken? Any BTDT or anything else I
should check for before reassembly?

Thanks again,
Peter Buss
87 4kcsq "Wilma" 143K