2012 polaris sportsman 500s have me about to meltdown

So here’s what I have going on. I just installed lift kit and bushings on my father’s 2012 sportsman…while doing so rear axle pulled out at inner cv joint…took boot off and the clip that holds the shaft in was not where it was supposed to be. Ended up just replacing whole inner joint after using slide hammer to get old cup out. So I got that all together and my brother in law who has same model and year said he needed new bushings. Went over there today to check it out and both rear side clips must have fallen out before I started or while I was working on it. Is this a common issue with the sportsman? I put the joints back together and replaces the clip and now I’m trying to get boot clamps back on while axle is in machine…not fun. Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue or if I’m doing something wrong. Sorry for the long post.