Differential Covers

[David P.]

ate we talking about the original Dana cover that comes on our J**ps, or the Dana Nodular upgrade cover?

Dana Nodular

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[jbcrane]

@Bocephus @Roky
I have a brand new MC golden diaper I was planning on running but I can’t die to the bracket, but I do have the Dana diff covers.

@Bocephus @Roky
Gentlemen: I have the Golden Diaper coming from Metalcloak and am running the DANA Spicer Advantek Nodular Iron rear skid. Am I going to have a problem with the lower edge of the rear fins interfering with the lip on the MC skid? Just called MC and he didn't seem too concerned. Thnx-JBC

 

[Roky]

@Bocephus @Roky
Gentlemen: I have the Golden Diaper coming from Metalcloak and am running the DANA Spicer Advantek Nodular Iron rear skid. Am I going to have a problem with the lower edge of the rear fins interfering with the lip on the MC skid? Just called MC and he didn't seem too concerned. Thnx-JBC

I’m not sure, I’m using the rancho diaper, and I had to grind down the weld on the inside so it would clear the fin. But that was only on the front, rear was ok….. sorry I’m a little less than useless on this one …..?

 

[Bocephus]

@Bocephus @Roky
Gentlemen: I have the Golden Diaper coming from Metalcloak and am running the DANA Spicer Advantek Nodular Iron rear skid. Am I going to have a problem with the lower edge of the rear fins interfering with the lip on the MC skid? Just called MC and he didn't seem too concerned. Thnx-JBC

Wish I could help you, I have never looked at clearances between the Dana cover and the MC skid.

 

[jbcrane]

I’m not sure, I’m using the rancho diaper, and I had to grind down the weld on the inside so it would clear the fin. But that was only on the front, rear was ok….. sorry I’m a little less than useless on this one …..?

Wish I could help you, I have never looked at clearances between the Dana cover and the MC skid.

Thanks guys. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks. Worst case will have me notching the skid's lip for the fins, but hoping to avoid it. The guys at MC said a little gold Rustoleum could cover any minor grinding. Hoping it's as easy a mount as it looks. I'll report back when I have it on.

 

[Retired Jeeper]

I recently installed the Dana Adventek covers (F&R) and installed the MC rear diff skid. Went on with no grinding or other modification.

 

[swampflyer]

Steel runs cooler than iron and aluminum the coolest . Nodular iron provides more protection but holds heat like an iron skillet. I noticed the aftermarket steel and aluminum ones usually don't have a drain plug and none of them I've seen give fluid level capacity. A nice engineered steel/aluminum one with more fluid capacity and drain plugs would be nice. Oh! and Gale Banks does not make diff covers for jeep.

 

[Philly_]

Steel runs cooler than iron and aluminum the coolest . Nodular iron provides more protection but holds heat like an iron skillet. I noticed the aftermarket steel and aluminum ones usually don't have a drain plug and none of them I've seen give fluid level capacity. A nice engineered steel/aluminum one with more fluid capacity and drain plugs would be nice. Oh! and Gale Banks does not make diff covers for jeep.

Motobilt actually does have fill specs for their covers and explicitly says not to fill up to the fill plug.

That said, what happens if you overfill your diffs? Bad mileage? Blown seals?

Mine are probably overfilled, but I’ve put about 3k miles on since the change and no issues so far. Maybe my mileage has dropped about .5mpg, but it fluctuates more than that depending on how windy it is so who knows. Presently, I’m not too worried about it, but should I be?

 

[RockJeep98]

Motobilt actually does have fill specs for their covers and explicitly says not to fill up to the fill plug.

That said, what happens if you overfill your diffs? Bad mileage? Blown seals?

Mine are probably overfilled, but I’ve put about 3k miles on since the change and no issues so far. Maybe my mileage has dropped about .5mpg, but it fluctuates more than that depending on how windy it is so who knows. Presently, I’m not too worried about it, but should I be?

If you have too much fluid it can cause seals to blow out.

 

[Stuckinthesand]

Steel runs cooler than iron and aluminum the coolest . Nodular iron provides more protection but holds heat like an iron skillet. I noticed the aftermarket steel and aluminum ones usually don't have a drain plug and none of them I've seen give fluid level capacity. A nice engineered steel/aluminum one with more fluid capacity and drain plugs would be nice. Oh! and Gale Banks does not make diff covers for jeep.

I have been running ARB covers for 50k miles. They do come with a magnetic drain bolt as well as the dipstick being magnetic. In the directions it tells you how far to fill the fluid and instructs you to actually mark the dipstick.

 

[UncleJimmy]

Just a bit about the metals used in various covers.

The stock stamped steel cover is pretty durable. It will take a pretty good hit to damage it. A front diff cover hit could deform it, but likely not puncture it. It's malleable. The other damage is catching the lower edge and peeling it. Still a good chance it won't cause loss of fluid. If it does leak fluid or rub on the ring gear, you can remove it on the trail and beat it out and flat with a hammer.

Cast covers like the Dana and ARB are made from much thicker material and might take a harder hit to damage. But when they do get damaged, it will be a brittle break/fracture. Not much to do on the trail to repair it, except duct tape. The plus side is that it won't likely peel the edge.

The more custom fabricated steel plate types, give the most protection.

The other threads on the D44 got me rethinking this. I am thinking of using the AFE alu finned with extra capacity for the rear and either leaving the front stock or upgrading later with nodular iron. I tow a light off road trailer but with the electronics in there I would feel a lot more comfortable with having the extra cooling capacity over strength for the rear cover, especially since I do most of my towing in AZ summer mountains. What are your thoughts on this approach?

 

[WillysMeow]

Just a bit about the metals used in various covers.

The stock stamped steel cover is pretty durable. It will take a pretty good hit to damage it. A front diff cover hit could deform it, but likely not puncture it. It's malleable. The other damage is catching the lower edge and peeling it. Still a good chance it won't cause loss of fluid. If it does leak fluid or rub on the ring gear, you can remove it on the trail and beat it out and flat with a hammer.

Cast covers like the Dana and ARB are made from much thicker material and might take a harder hit to damage. But when they do get damaged, it will be a brittle break/fracture. Not much to do on the trail to repair it, except duct tape. The plus side is that it won't likely peel the edge.

The more custom fabricated steel plate types, give the most protection.

Yes, however Dana, ARB and Currie are cast from nodular iron which is much stronger than regular old cast iron.

This is based on the assumption that everything comes from below and based on that I agree, but that is not the only way that something can hit the cover.

If that's never a possibility for you or others then, yes, using only the skid makes sense.

Agreed and I've hit rear diff above what any skid would have covered, when I slid back down off a very large rock...another pointy rock said gotcha! Fortunately it didn't penetrate or scrape the gears but it can happen.

 

[scorpionsix]

Now I'm in the market for a replacement front diff cover. The drain plug was installed with a lot more torque than the spec calls for. I have not tried heat but no tool I have tried has gotten that plug to budge. The hole is probably slightly rounded so a new cover is in order. I'm leaning towards ARB or DANA.

 

[ArmyRN]

The other threads on the D44 got me rethinking this. I am thinking of using the AFE alu finned with extra capacity for the rear and either leaving the front stock or upgrading later with nodular iron. I tow a light off road trailer but with the electronics in there I would feel a lot more comfortable with having the extra cooling capacity over strength for the rear cover, especially since I do most of my towing in AZ summer mountains. What are your thoughts on this approach?

That's the rear diff cover I'm using, and for the same reasons. I too tow a small trailer.

 

[BDinTX]

That's the rear diff cover I'm using, and for the same reasons. I too tow a small trailer.

I love the idea of a sight glass to visually see how much oil is in there. I'm not in love with the drain plug location. My ARB diff covers have a hard life.

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