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If you're going off-road, protect that front differential from damage/leaking!

jayvis

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I have the Metalcloak rear ordered, and the Rancho front. once Metalcloak comes out with the front I will swap out the Ranco one for the Metalcloak one. I also have the full Undercloak skid system, and the Rock Hard LCA skids ordered.

after sliding under the JLUR, I was shocked at how exposed everything was. seems like FCA got everything wrong in regards to rock protection.

1. front and rear diff, easy to trash due to drain plug location and ridges.
2. no skid for oil pan or transmission.
3. exhaust loop vulnerable
4. FAD not the best protection
5. STEERING STABILIZER LOCATION SUCKS
6. muffler easy target
7. coolant lines on the 2.0 rear battery. (I have the 3.6, so the one does not impact me)

I'm sure I am missing more, and not counting how the rear bumper and Rubicon rock rails damage the body tub due to flex.

while the Jeep can do so much off-road, there is a good chance of damage that you would expect would be protected against (especially in a Rubicon)
Anything else? Jeebus, you guys should have researched all of these supposed deficiencies before you bought.
 

Cypher

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Anything else? Jeebus, you guys should have researched all of these supposed deficiencies before you bought.
I did research actually, and had planned to order a lot of this stuff. that has no impact on poor design, and why the aftermarket is so important forma vehicle like this. FCA is going to build as cheap as they can to meet the minimum requirements to sell the vehicle.

while you may never need these additional protections based your use, a lot do. in fact quite a few people are already having issues with the drain plug on the diff etc. also, the front stabilizer has been fubar by quite a few as well.

these items are easy fixes, aftermarket takes care of it. however, it is not expecting too much for a manufacturer that only does a redesign every 10 years or so to think of these things, at least on the Model that is designed to be used for harder off-road trails like the Rubicon.
 

jayvis

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I did research actually, and had planned to order a lot of this stuff. that has no impact on poor design, and why the aftermarket is so important forma vehicle like this. FCA is going to build as cheap as they can to meet the minimum requirements to sell the vehicle.

while you may never need these additional protections based your use, a lot do. in fact quite a few people are already having issues with the drain plug on the diff etc. also, the front stabilizer has been fubar by quite a few as well.

these items are easy fixes, aftermarket takes care of it. however, it is not expecting too much for a manufacturer that only does a redesign every 10 years or so to think of these things, at least on the Model that is designed to be used for harder off-road trails like the Rubicon.
The vast majority of Wrangler buyers never intend to do serious rock crawling. Even the Rubicon was not designed to crawl over huge boulders and climb rock walls in stock configuration. The JL was designed to meet a balance between on and off road use while leaving the serious/extreme segment to the aftermarket suppliers. If you want to use your Wrangler for extreme off-roading, there are a ton of options available to equip it to do so. Why over design and produce a vehicle that would be priced outside the reach of your core market?
 

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i had no idea there was a drain plug on the front diff. thanks for posting. im going to order one of these for sure.

does the rear diff have a drain plug on the bottom as well? i know i can go crawl under my jeep but i figured someone already knows and can save my fatass the trip lol
 

wolfdog

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Cheapest solution, don't rock crawl!!!

Go Jeep!!!
 

Yellow109r

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ATXMTB

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I have the Rancho one, it's pretty sturdy and easy install. It's also a lot better than nothing.

20190113_121431.jpg
Did you have any trouble getting the glide plate to line up to the diff correctly during install? Mine doesn’t line up right. I have double checked and it’s the right model for my Jeep.

7AFE2AB5-FBC9-4D39-AF3C-02E59CDC26FD.jpeg


D05F5FA0-F63F-4E75-8F82-7ABAF422FA9A.jpeg
 

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brianP

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Matson from Metalcloak said that their front diff skid would be in production in another month or so.
Thats good to know thanks for passing along! Anxiously awaiting
 

Tritonman

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Did you have any trouble getting the glide plate to line up to the diff correctly during install? Mine doesn’t line up right. I have double checked and it’s the right model for my Jeep.

7AFE2AB5-FBC9-4D39-AF3C-02E59CDC26FD.jpeg


D05F5FA0-F63F-4E75-8F82-7ABAF422FA9A.jpeg
Mine went in good, but i have heard issues where one of the holes has some weld left in it and you have to dremel some of it out to fit it correctly.
 

Tritonman

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