Dropped my lens

I dropped my camera with my Tamron 24 - 135 attached. When I checked it I found that the, for want of a better word, small black circlip surrounding the rear element had come off. The lens appeared to work correctly without it although I have managed to get it back in place. It only appears to be there to hide the retaining screws though I suspect it must have a purpose.Should it become detached again, is it OK to leave it off, rather than risk it falling inside the camera and damaging the shutter?

,

Personally i'd err on the side of safety, so I'd pack it off to Tamron for a check & service.....
You may be covered by your household insurance if repairs are needed.....I was.....

A few years back I dropped my Tamron 24-135mm and after shooting with it I noticed the lens was misaligned at the long end. Tamron couldn't fix it as it was too old.

It maybe due to the angle but that rear element doesn't look central to me, it's off to one side.

Thanks to you both.
As I said, the lens seems to be as good as ever it was but to be on the safe side I've taken the "clip" off again. Next step is to try Tamron but, as Mike says, the lens is a bit long in the tooth, like me, so it may be that spares are no longer available.

Circlips get distorted when put in place and then removed but if this circlip is loose you might be able to find one of the right size on eBay (etc.).

If not, try stretching the looped ends apart to make the best "circle" you can (a small vice would be handy to do that) and then fixing it back in place with some Loctite (or similar) high strength / permanent (as opposed to removable) thread locking compound (you can certainly find that on eBay - search for "thread locking compound") - in which case it probably won't be removable at all, so make sure you get the shape and positioning correct and protect the rear element when you do it.!

John

As I said in my first post, if your lens is covered by your household insurance, most (perhaps not all) insurance companies would be happy to cover the cost of lens repairs, as opposed to straight replacement.
It is then down to the manufacturers agents to confirm whether the lens is dead or not, usually if the lens is "BER" the insurers will stump up for a replacement....(At least AVIVA do!) but at least you attempted to get the lens repaired, it goes a long way to show that you are not scamming the insurers

Thanks, Andy, certainly covered by household insurance but I've got a £95.00 excess so not worth making a claim and losing any discount in the future.
John (jeallen) maybe didn't use the correct termination in my first post. It is, in fact, a complete plastic ring with projections to clip into another plastic cover which only appears to be there as a dust cover. I'll be in Glasgow next week so I feel a trip to Johnstons is on the cards. In the meantime, as I said, the lens seems to be working correctly.

Sorry if I did not completely understand about your circlip, but maybe my idea of a new one and how to secure it might be possible anyway - and the bill would then only be a very few quid.
John