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

iznthesky

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Why would Jeep add all of that stuff, which is easily handled by the aftermarket, when 95% of JL purchasers will never, ever use it for serious rock crawling? Sure Mopar could offer a rockcrawling kit and it would probably cost double what aftermarket can provide.

Why did they put the drain plug there? So it is easy to access when you want to drain it.

These aren't poor design decisions and they aren't simply to keep the Jeep as cheap as possible (although that is certainly a factor).

It's simply a matter of what the majority of the customers actually want. You claim "a lot do" but all you are really talking about is the very small proportion of buyers that take their rigs of the road.

Don't get upset that the JLU is increasingly a mall-crawler. Without the huge increase in sales that the Unlimited brought to the Jeep brand the future production of Wrangler's could very much have been in doubt.
Jeep did not put the drain plug there. Remember that Jeep uses different axels that are purchased from suppliers. Dana in most cases supplies these. They are great axels, but they are built for the vast majority of use. It comes down to a matter of cost and Jeep has done a pretty good job outfitting the current jeeps....at the price point that we can afford.
If my needs require more armor or skid plates.....I accept responsibility for purchasing those.....or not.
Dont be so narrow minded thinking that Just because I don't put armor under my jeep that it is a mall crawler. All my Jeeps have a long history of off road adventure...this JL Rubicon included.
I choose where & when I wheel and I choose that my risk does not warrant any additional armor.
Grow up.... putting armor on your jeep doesn’t make your rig a rock crawler......
Anymore than lack of armor makes it a mall crawler.
 

Stretcher

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It's likely jeep can specify Dana put the drain plug in a certain spot for various reasons, ease of accessibility being one of them. Manufacturers are able to have design constraints for parts they buy.
 

rommel102

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Jeep did not put the drain plug there. Remember that Jeep uses different axels that are purchased from suppliers. Dana in most cases supplies these. They are great axels, but they are built for the vast majority of use. It comes down to a matter of cost and Jeep has done a pretty good job outfitting the current jeeps....at the price point that we can afford.
If my needs require more armor or skid plates.....I accept responsibility for purchasing those.....or not.
Dont be so narrow minded thinking that Just because I don't put armor under my jeep that it is a mall crawler. All my Jeeps have a long history of off road adventure...this JL Rubicon included.
I choose where & when I wheel and I choose that my risk does not warrant any additional armor.
Grow up.... putting armor on your jeep doesn’t make your rig a rock crawler......
Anymore than lack of armor makes it a mall crawler.
Agree 100% mate. I don't view the mall crawler derisively in this context. My JLU is 1000 times nicer than my TJ ever was and I'm extremely happy that they found such a successful model to "modernize" the Jeep Wrangler while greatly increasing sales.
 

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Will

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Someone already provided the solution: if you don't want the drain plug, you can weld it to prevent it from turning. Simple and cheap.
 

Will

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A "no-hole housing"? You are picking nits my friend. There are bigger problems besides a drain plug. Any hit that is going to crack that housing would crack a JK housing as well. Obviously, there are people that don't like a drain plug on the bottom of the housing. "..zero benefit for the user."? There is a drain plug where there once wasn't. Most folks don't take a drain pan on trail rides so the I appreciate the ability to catch used oil in a Gatorade bottle if needed.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Obviously, there are some people that don't appreciate the drain plug and there are some that do. Perhaps Jeep got caught thinking of their service techs before their customers on this one (I don't disagree with that), but I don't think your extreme view is warranted. You can weld the plug and throw a heavy-gauge diff cover on there and wheel the heck out of it. Prove me wrong and post some pics of cracked JL diff housings that can be attributed to a drain plug... it's just not gonna happen
 

Jeepin_Donnie

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Most of what Rancho makes is garbage.
My front Rancho diff slider is stout and has done great! I have the MetalCloak rear diff slider. I prefer the MC one because it is more rounded around the lower diff where the Rancho one is flat across the bottom. I have a lot of MC stuff including my lift so once the MC front diff slider is available I will most likely buy it to replace my Rancho one.
 

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TCogs1

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I believe it was Eddie from [Banned Site] that damaged the plug almost beyond repair. It was leaking and he couldn't tighten or loosen the bolt due to the rock rash. That in their opinion and mine is the reason the slider is worth it. If it is too damaged to remove the plug, that extra plug you suggest isn't going to do you any good. I have the Rancho diff slider on my rig, I go wheeling often and the lost clearance hasn't been an issue for me. The slider does it's job well. Again, this is my opinion. The slider is a little pricey at a cost of approximately $150 but it's worth my piece of mind.

Somebody else suggested a tack weld... that seems pretty simple... a lot cheaper than $150 bucks... Simple arch welder and nickel stick... done... this has my vote...
 
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TxJeepers

TxJeepers

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I'm curious...why would you need a beefed up offroad diff cover and a diff slider?
Two levels of protection. Slider to protect bottom of diff, drain plug, lowest part of cover and help slide over a rock. Diff cover for when you bump into a rock and it hits much higher up. There is overlap. I only ran diff covers on the JK.
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