Aftermarket Diff Covers? Hype or Help?

[Gray Matter Jeep]

Do you Rock Crawl? Do you hit "big rock & rutted" trails with Wrangler Peeps?

I will be doing the Rubicon Trail later this year & am concerned about my stock Diff Covers...

Seems like the diff covers get tougher with every generation or Wrangler, thus less of a need to "upgrade".
What are your opinions on the Dana Rubicon diff covers we actually have?

Is replacing with an aftermarket cover really necessary?

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[Minty JL]

My buddy added the AEV diff covers when he regeared......I'll probably do the same. They're beefy

 

[hjdca]

I ran The Rubicon trail last year. Your rear diff will drag on rocks, and If you have to back up, or slip off a rock, you will hit the bottom of the front diff, and possibly your rear diff cover.. I had both Diff skids and nodular iron Diff covers (all Metalcloak).. My rear diff skid took lots of scratches.. In my opinion, if you have to economize, diff skids are more important than diff covers, but, you will not regret getting both diff skids and diff covers for the Rubicon trial.

Note: Your rear sway bar end links will also take a beating. I bent mine up at the Rubicon Trail again.... I switched to a rear RockJock anti-rock when I got back.

 

[HappyGladiator]

Sometimes i wonder if those heavy diff covers don't actually hold the heat in the oil.

 

[Gray Matter Jeep]

My buddy added the AEV diff covers when he regeared......I'll probably do the same. They're beefy

I like those but not sure worth the extra price.

 

[Gray Matter Jeep]

I ran The Rubicon trail last year. Your rear diff will drag on rocks, and If you have to back up, or slip off a rock, you will hit the bottom of the front diff, and possibly your rear diff cover.. I had both Diff skids and modular iron Diff covers (all Metalcloak).. My rear diff skid took lots of scratches.. In my opinion, if you have to economize, diff skids are more important than diff covers, but, you will not regret getting both diff skids and diff covers for the Rubicon trial.

Note: Your rear sway bar end links will also take a beating. I bent mine up at the Rubicon Trail again.... I switched to a rear RockJock anti-rock when I got back.

I had diff skids on my 2018 JKU on 35's, with oem diff covers.

I was thinking I would do the opposite so I don't lose any clearance. Not one fraction of an inch clearance loss.

 

[jac04]

Sometimes i wonder if those heavy diff covers don't actually hold the heat in the oil.

... And I wonder if that is why the Dana nodular iron diff covers have ribs - not only for strength, but maybe for a little extra heat dissipation. It's plausible I suppose.

 

[Tackett1980]

Back in the day I used to run purple cranium diff spiders. Do they still sell those?

edit:
Yep, front and rear halfsies.

https://purplecranium.com/ag-432.903656.903662-jeep-gladiator-2021.html

 

[Rusty PW]

I have the Dana diff covers. I've beat the hell out of them at Rausch Creek.

 

[jac04]

I had diff skids on my 2018 JKU on 35's, with oem diff covers.

I was thinking I would do the opposite so I don't lose any clearance. Not one fraction of an inch clearance loss.

Some people are willing to give up a little ground clearance so they won't get hung up. The tough part is that on the JL/JT you are giving up 1/4"+ of clearance because the slider goes completely under the diff housing. That doesn't sound like much, but every bit of clearance matters. Giving up 1/4" under the diff is like running tires that are 1/2" smaller on diameter.

The JL / JT diff housing design is absolutely horrible in terms of catching on rocks. The 'webs' on the bottom are like anchors when dragging them over rocks:

It's too bad that AEV doesn't make a diff slider that is similar to their JK version. On their JK version, the slider tucks up in front of the bottom rib, and you don't lose any clearance. I run that slider on my JKR:

 

[Gray Matter Jeep]

Some people are willing to give up a little ground clearance so they won't get hung up. The tough part is that on the JL/JT you are giving up 1/4"+ of clearance because the slider goes completely under the diff housing. That doesn't sound like much, but every bit of clearance matters. Giving up 1/4" under the diff is like running tires that are 1/2" smaller on diameter.

The JL / JT diff housing design is absolutely horrible in terms of catching on rocks. The 'webs' on the bottom are like anchors when dragging them over rocks:

It's too bad that AEV doesn't make a diff slider that is similar to their JK version. On their JK version, the slider tucks up in front of the bottom rib, and you don't lose any clearance. I run that slider on my JKR:

Excellent points. Literally. ?

The main reason I am considering a slider is because of those two seams/edges on the rear you point out with red arrows.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Do you Rock Crawl? Do you hit "big rock & rutted" trails with Wrangler Peeps?

I will be doing the Rubicon Trail later this year & am concerned about my stock Diff Covers...

Seems like the diff covers get tougher with every generation or Wrangler, thus less of a need to "upgrade".
What are your opinions on the Dana Rubicon diff covers we actually have?

Is replacing with an aftermarket cover really necessary?

Get diff skids instead. I have diff skids and factory covers. I’ve done the rubicon and other equally difficult trails. There isn’t a scratch on my covers or diff housing for that matter.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Thanks for posting this. I added a skid to the rear and was looking for a simple solution for the front.

That’s a design I haven’t seen. Looks cool. Roll bars for the diff.

 

[Tackett1980]

I had a set of fulls on an h2 years ago when they offered them and they did a great job got beat up pretty good. Might get a set for the gladiator now that I know they have them. I forgot all about them until I saw this thread actually.

 

[RanchoShocks]

If you are an older JL Rubicon get a front glide plate 100%
As mentioned that drain plug on earlier diff's not good.
https://www.gorancho.com/products/r...ential-glide-plate-dana-44-front-rs62116.html

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