Damaged or intact grip (8)
I believe the answer is:
traction
'grip' is the definition.
(I know that grip can be written as traction)
'damaged or intact' is the wordplay.
'damaged' is an anagram indicator.
'or'+'intact'='orintact'
'orintact' is an anagram of 'TRACTION'.
(Other definitions for traction that I've seen before include "Stretching of a broken bone by weights and pulleys" , "Which leaves on the line will affect" , "Action of drawing or pulling something" , "The action of drawing or pulling over a road or track" , "Grip between something and the surface on which it moves" .)