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Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question

Sparty

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Has anyone installed an RC Front Diff skid on a newer Rubicon?

It's not rocket science - but I do want to make sure I'm not screwing anything up.

First part of the install is the attach the skid with the front (4) bolts from the diff cover, and tighten.

Then you're supposed to attach the clamp (that goes over the top of the rear part of the differential housing) to the skid plate.

When lining everything up (and the front bolts already tight), there is around 0.75"-1" gap between the skid plate and the clamp that goes on top.

I'm able to tighten it down (within reason) and get the clamp and plate close.

This is 1/4" thick steel and I imagine the stress from making these two parts meet is pretty high. I want to make sure I'm not damaging something or causing stress on something that I shouldn't.

Below is the picture of what I'm referencing of the attached directions:


Jeep Wrangler JL Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question 1627256704005
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JeepinJason33

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Something is either wrong with it or you are mounting it too far back. I just went down to the garage and both sides are flush like the picture from the manual. I don't remember having to torque it down to get it right.
 
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Sparty

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Something is either wrong with it or you are mounting it too far back. I just went down to the garage and both sides are flush like the picture from the manual. I don't remember having to torque it down to get it right.
That's what I was afraid of. You installed by doing the diff cover bolts first - right?

Did the clamp and skid plate come close to touching before wrenching?

Even before adding the top clamp, the plate to diff housing was about 1/4" apart in this area:

Jeep Wrangler JL Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question 1627260271221
 
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JeepinJason33

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That's what I was afraid of. You installed by doing the diff cover bolts first - right?

Did the clamp and skid plate come close to touching before wrenching?

Even before adding the top clamp, the plate to diff housing was about 1/4" apart in this area:

Jeep Wrangler JL Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question 1627260271221
Yes, I installed the bolts on the diff cover first. Should not make much difference though as the back portion should be flush with the output shaft area of the differential like the picture. Mine was completely flush. I may have torqued the metal together a bit when I tightened it. Can't remember so it must not have been a big deal. I guess you could always put some washers in between the brackets. Even if you look at the picture, the brackets are about a 1/4" apart.
 

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Sparty

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Thanks guys - I just went out and undid it until I get a better understanding. The gaps are a little closer as it's already been tightened once - here are the pics:
(yes - painted the skid red because I thought it might look a little better)

Jeep Wrangler JL Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question 1627262315936



Jeep Wrangler JL Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question 1627262346358


Jeep Wrangler JL Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question 1627262379494
 

JeepinJason33

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What brand paint and color did you use? Looks good. I see the welds on yours are crap as well. I grinded some of mine down a bit because I could not stand looking at them. The welds on the front actually had some sharp points to them...

The skid does its job though! I have dragged it over a couple of rocks and all it did was scrape off some of the powder coating.
 
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Sparty

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What brand paint and color did you use? Looks good. I see the welds on yours are crap as well. I grinded some of mine down a bit because I could not stand looking at them. The welds on the front actually had some sharp points to them...

The skid does its job though! I have dragged it over a couple of rocks and all it did was scrape off some of the powder coating.
Thanks! Honestly - I don't know the brand. I'll have to look at the can in the barn later. That can is about 10years old - so who knows...

Yeah - welds aren't great -but this is a beefy plate. Just wish everything lined up like I assume it should.
 

hockeynut258

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My front and rear has a gap on the bracket. I installed front and rear on my JLUR in June. Ordered directly from RC.
 
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Sparty

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What brand paint and color did you use? Looks good. I see the welds on yours are crap as well. I grinded some of mine down a bit because I could not stand looking at them. The welds on the front actually had some sharp points to them...

The skid does its job though! I have dragged it over a couple of rocks and all it did was scrape off some of the powder coating.
Jeep Wrangler JL Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question IMG-0105
 

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JJsJL

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I installed the Rough Country M210 front diff cover today. Thanks to this thread went ahead and put some washers in on the rear mount.
Jeep Wrangler JL Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question 3AB789CF-EE0B-4864-9929-9EF90C264F09
Jeep Wrangler JL Rough Country Front Diff Skid (M210 - '21 Rubicon) Question B8B295BF-7A61-4842-ABEA-F2802F01A16A
 

rkwfxd

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I have the same skid. Will be installing this week. If I have a gap I might use washers or my angle grinder to clearance that top bracket a bit.
 

rkwfxd

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OK UPDATE:

I purchased diff skids because the front D44 has a drain plug right at the bottom and there are reports of guys tearing up the plug on rocks.

Turns out this is no longer true. My 21 Rubi that is one week old has the metal or bung there for a drain plug but no hole and no plug. Guess if I wanted to I could have it drilled and threaded for a plug. I'll prob just go old school and remove the cover when I want to drain/change the front diff oil.

Onto the skid, installed no problem. I had the same gap seen in the other photos between the skid and the top brace but as I tightened the bolts the gap closed right up. No washers needed and I made sure the top brace was on the housing not the drive shaft.

Guess I got lucky.

YMMV
 

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You can get adapters for "real" tips from Art Primo....."real" tips being the OLD, red tips Rustoleum used to use before they released their craptastic, leak-everywhere white tips.

HIGHLY recommend if you paint much at all
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