Welcome to our newcomers. You folks are needed and appreciated! Those clips you reference are just the mild steel tabs that Mr. A.C. Gilbert used to hold the knuckle couplers into their homes. A properly sized needle nose pliers will grab them so you can bend them away from the coupler. You might have to start to lift them with a sharp pick, screwdriver, etc. Be careful. Bend them no more than necessary, no need to tempt fate with formed steel... Then remove old coupler, insert replacement, and twist tabs back down to retain. Voila' ! It is good to have various sized needle-nose pliers when working with these toys.