Installed ARB Rear Diff Cover

[Levin_tom]

I have typically tried to change them every 36k miles since I tow a small boat. But with a good synthetic like Amsoil, you could probably go much longer than that, but don't exceed the recommendations of the owners' manual. But the JL makes it easy, so I've done mine twice since new and I'm at 40k. I did it once just because of the ARB install, or else I would have waited longer.

I'll probably do the rear ever 25k and the front every 36k or so. There's much less stress and wear on the front, IMO.

Thanks Dan, you think I am good with the measurements mentioned above?

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[DanW]

Thanks Dan, you think I am good with the measurements mentioned above?

I have to go back and look at the capacity. I don't think the ARB changes the factory capacity by much, so if you are at what the book says, I'm confident you are good to go. That's what I did on mine and it wound up very slightly above the fill mark I made on the dip stick. That puts the level just above the bottom of the axle tubes, by my estimation, which is where it should be. I'd also say better to slightly overfill than underfill. But since this uses splash lubrication, I think there is a margin of safety either way.

I'm no expert, though, on diffs. Probably the most knowledgeable person I know about these things is @CarbonSteel

 

[Levin_tom]

I have to go back and look at the capacity. I don't think the ARB changes the factory capacity by much, so if you are at what the book says, I'm confident you are good to go. That's what I did on mine and it wound up very slightly above the fill mark I made on the dip stick. That puts the level just above the bottom of the axle tubes, by my estimation, which is where it should be. I'd also say better to slightly overfill than underfill. But since this uses splash lubrication, I think there is a margin of safety either way.

I'm no expert, though, on diffs. Probably the most knowledgeable person I know about these things is @CarbonSteel

Thanks Dan. Appreciate the help. Let's see what the expert says! @CarbonSteel

 

[DanW]

Looks like the owner's manual recommends every 60k for the diffs. I'm looking at the 2020 owner's manual, btw.

For capacity on the rear, I'm finding 3.06 pints, which sounds pretty darned close to what you put in there. That equates to 1.53 quarts. 1.7 is barely more than that and won't make a significant difference, so I think you are good.

1.1 quarts is what I see for front capacity, so you might be slightly overfilled, but I doubt it will be an issue. Just keep an eye on the vent tube to see if any comes out. If it does, drain a little off. But I would guess you are fine.

Those capacities are not from the manual. I found them at Motobilt's web site, but they sound right from what I recall. These new M210 and M220 axles don't hold as much as the older D44's did.

 

[Rodeoflyer]

Both dipstick measurements were around 1 inch from the bottom magnet.

That's where my mark is.. about 1'' on the stick above the magnet (not including the magnet). Amsoil severe gear 75w110 front and 140 rear.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Thanks Dan. Appreciate the help. Let's see what the expert says! @CarbonSteel

Well, I do not consider myself an expert, but have graduated from the school of hard knocks (no pun intended) . The oil quantities that you posted are in line with mine and what others have posted (1.4-1.5 QTs in the front and 1.5-1.6QTs in the rear) for the Dana 44 Advantek axles so I think you are good at this point.

The capacity of these axles is less than other axles of the same size and (for me) this is not conducive to long oil change intervals (i.e. you should not go 100K without an OCI). For whatever reason, these axles also produce higher amounts of iron than other axles of comparable size and duty and that is also not a good thing since the oil system is splash and not pressurized or filtered. Now that I think my axles are fully broken in, I will likely land on a 30K OCI going forward if things remain the same.

To give you an idea of the differences between this axle and another, below are the UOAs for my 2010 Ford F-150 FX4 versus those of my Rubicon thus far. The FX4 towed 8-9K pounds for about 45% of the miles that were put on it. Conversely, the Jeep has not seen anything close to the loads the Ford had, yet look at the iron generation between the two--even for the factory fill on both. The Ford produced 429PPM over 13,300 miles (with about 3K miles of towing in there) versus the Jeep producing 1279PPM over 15,000 miles. In fact, the Jeep has nearly produced 3x as much iron in 25,000 miles as the Ford did in 150,000 miles.

The axle in the Jeep also runs hotter which is likely due to the lower oil capacity. I added a Mag-Hytec cover to the Ford which nearly doubled its capacity and through the life of the axle the average temperatures (loaded and unloaded averaged) are less than the Jeep not towing.

Add it all up and I am not sure what it means, but (for me) it absolutely means that I will be changing the axle oil more frequently than any other vehicle I have ever owned.

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