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2020 stock Rubicon 2 door - need diff skids?

dchemphill1

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So I will be headed to Colorado this summer to do 10 days of exploring easy to moderate Jeep trails and camping. The roughest from research would be like the Alpine Loop. My question is should I be putting diff skids on to at least protect the drain caps or am I okay running without. I am new to this so learning to pick lines will be important. Anything else I should protect?
Thanks
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Friday2322

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So I will be headed to Colorado this summer to do 10 days of exploring easy to moderate Jeep trails and camping. The roughest from research would be like the Alpine Loop. My question is should I be putting diff skids on to at least protect the drain caps or am I okay running without. I am new to this so learning to pick lines will be important. Anything else I should protect?
Thanks
I've been going out to Ouray for 10 years in both a lifted JKUR and most recently my JLUR without a lift and have not had any issues on Imogene, Engineer, Black Bear, Yankee Boy, etc.
 

gwl

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I have been on all of the SW Colorado trails except Poughkeepsie gulch in a stock Xterra, a stock 4Runner, and a stock 2dr JK and never had a problem on any of them. I have seen people drive the Alpine Loop in a Subaru (although probably not without scraping).
 

chevymitchell

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So I will be headed to Colorado this summer to do 10 days of exploring easy to moderate Jeep trails and camping. The roughest from research would be like the Alpine Loop. My question is should I be putting diff skids on to at least protect the drain caps or am I okay running without. I am new to this so learning to pick lines will be important. Anything else I should protect?
Thanks
You won't need skids at all for anything around Ouray, even Poughkeepsie. I ran everything there stock this past August with no issues. You'll be ok. You can always use this trip as a scouting trip to see what you think you'll need for next time.
 

MrMischief

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I installed a front diff skid shortly after buying my 2 door JL Rubicon. I never ran a diff skid on my previous TJs or any other vehicle I've owned. But the JL had me concerned.

Sounds like you won't be seeing any sizable rocks on the trails you plan on running, but when you get here you might find yourself on a different trail. To me, that downward facing drain hole seems to be quite exposed and it wouldn't take much of a rock, even a loose one just laying on the trail, to tweak it so that it could cause a leak. May not be enough to cause catastrophic failure on the trail, but it sure would suck to have a minor drip that you don't notice before getting on the highway back to NE. I have the rancho diff skid, I think I paid $160ish for it. I find it to be pretty cheap peace of mind for me. The rear drain plug is better protected by design, so I did not bother with a skid for that diff.
 

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dchemphill1

dchemphill1

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Did you ever do anything about a diff skid or any other skid on your JLR.
I did add that small skid to the front diff. Just a small piece of mind.
 

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blnewt

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@dchemphill1 if you make it out to the Silverton/Ouray area I'd try to do the following since you're just trying to get some seat time on the trails.
Start out with Ophir Pass, it's an easier trail that gets you a good intro to shelf roads and the kind of terrain you'll be dealing with. You can then spend a bit of time in Telluride then hit Imogene pass, it's a bit more varied terrain and the shelf road is narrower in quite a few spots but a great overall trail that you'll be glad you did.

Both those trails are Badge of Honor trails so you can log in on the app and get those. Engineer pass is a good trail run from Ouray (and also a Badge of Honor trail), there are a couple spots in the mineral creek area on your way up to Engineer that you want to go slower and be more careful w/ your lines. These are popular trails so if you happen to get to a spot that you don't feel good about, you can always pull back to the side and wait for another Jeep or group to go through and help you out. Always best to have another Jeep with you out on these trails, but there are many who fly solo, we did on our Engineer run, but did have a guy that was broken down give one bit of spotting help in that Mineral Creek area.

Poughkeepsie is a great trail too (and a Badge trail), there is a bypass so the toughest wall obstacle doesn't have to be conquered. I have open diffs so we took the bypass, it's a great trail.

Since you have a 2dr your chances of getting hung up are minimal, might have a knock or two on your diffs or that dreaded low hanging exhaust loop (if you have a V6). Poughkeepsie has a river wash w/ some larger rocks but taking it slow you should end up clean.

Would be a shame to go all the way out there and miss these gems, they really are a blast and beautiful. Even the simple Ophir Pass has an amazing forest of Aspens at the end of the trail before the town of Ophir that makes that run worthwhile.

Here's my thread on that trip FWIW
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...0-would-be-nice-to-meet-w-a-few-others.75076/
 

Gmanjeeper

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The Maximus that I had linked above.
Interestingly, Jeep has apparently changed the design of the front diff cover on the JLR. Mine is a 2022 and the drain bolt is no longer on the bottom of the diff. As A result, the Maximus skid you have will not fit mine. In fact, Rancho had to re design their skid for the new JLR front cover. Also as a result, I need to reconsider whether or not I should add a diff skid or aftermarket cover.
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