Hey Scott and sorry to hear about your d-pad. In the teardown I left that d-pad ring in place since the cleaning I needed to do was mostly underneath it.

Looking back at the picture, it does appear that there are 4 snap-like pieces, in diagonal directions, that hold the ring to the rest of the plastic. Are those what you meant that broke during your take apart?

Hey Jiri. I am not entirely sure what you mean regarding your feedback of what I posted. Could you clarify?