Front Differential Service

[BuyHold]

If Jeep is listening… put the drain plugs back in. Thanks

Enough of the cost reduction crap. Enough of making it difficult for people to service their vehicle. Now we have to take the diff cover off… yea it allows us to inspect the gears but that’s typically not necessary.

I believe that there were a vocal group who expressed dismay that the diffs had a drain plug on the bottom of the diff housing. For those who off road, repeated rubbing of the diff housing at bottom drain plug site increased chances of leaks and diff failures or even just grinding the bolt so it was very hard to insert a socket into. There may have been a cost element but I suspect that Jeep also "listened" to the folks who criticized the plug in the first place.

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[JTpanelsOFF]

I believe that there were a vocal group who expressed dismay that the diffs had a drain plug on the bottom of the diff housing. For those who off road, repeated rubbing of diff at bottom drain plug site increased changes of leaks and diff failures or even just grinding the bolt so it was very hard to insert a socket into. There may have been a cost element but I suspect that Jeep also "listened" to the folks who criticized the plug in the first place.

I understand


I could start a counter argument but let’s look at the positive… let’s enjoy our jeeps

take care

 

[Jaxmax]

There are aftermarket covers that are protective but also have a drain, it's an option, I have peace of mind with my cast Dana differential covers, and I only wheel once in a while.. So if you are looking for Diff covers anyway. make that a thing to look for.......Jack
PS: My Dana cast covers do not have a drain, was just saying having aftermarket covers is some peace of mind, and my 2021 has drains..

 

[BuyHold]

I understand


I could start a counter argument but let’s look at the positive… let’s enjoy our jeeps

take care

I see it both ways so not advocating for it to be there or not. Just saying that the counter argument was probably part of the decision to remove.

 

[Hootbro]

There are aftermarket covers that are protective but also have a drain,

That narrows it down to two I can readily think of for the Advantek 44 diffs, AFE and ARB. Does not leave a lot of choice, especially if a buyer does not like the aesthetic of either.

 

[Duece McCracken]

That narrows it down to two I can readily think of for the Advantek 44 diffs, AFE and ARB. Does not leave a lot of choice, especially if a buyer does not like the aesthetic of either.

Yeah, due to my lack of factory drains, I went ARB covers, well for more reasons than drains, but yeah, lol

 

[jac04]

There may have been a cost element but I suspect that Jeep also "listened" to the folks who criticized the plug in the first place.

Make no mistake, the main driver behind it was cost savings.

 

[Kevin_D]

Make no mistake, the main driver behind it was cost savings.

Is this your opinion, or do you have proof?

I tend to believe this was more the reason…

I believe that there were a vocal group who expressed dismay that the diffs had a drain plug on the bottom of the diff housing. For those who off road, repeated rubbing of the diff housing at bottom drain plug site increased chances of leaks and diff failures or even just grinding the bolt so it was very hard to insert a socket into. There may have been a cost element but I suspect that Jeep also "listened" to the folks who criticized the plug in the first place.

Kevin

 

[whiteglad]

My August 2022 build has no diff drain plugs. I have a pair of Cav Fab covers coming and will tap the 1/4" thick steel for 1/8 NPT plugs.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Enough of the cost reduction crap.

Strength of the casting and hitting obstacles with the bottom of the punkin area. A number of people have cracked their housing in that area. Ya want strong or ya want personal convenience?
Thousands of us have changed differential fluids for many years never having a drain plug. Pull the cover, use a big drain pan.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Is this your opinion, or do you have proof?

I tend to believe this was more the reason…


Kevin

People are jumping on Jeep for the change - MAYBE it was Dana???

The numerous reports of cracks may have been the driver behind the change. It's not going to save money by deleting a process already in place. In fact due to change control requirements, you can bet it cost money up front and will take many units sold to recover those costs. They can't make any mod, even minor, without a paper trail, revisioning, changing tooling, etc.
Most of the axles/differentials I've worked on had no drain plug. I was surprised to see these even had them when I got my 2020.
I always pull the cover on fluid changes. You'd be surprised at what you may find laying in the bottom of that housing - maybe even chunks of stuff. Drain plugs never get it all out anyway so I always pull covers, scrape things out, and clean out the housing completely.

Anyway, unless you worked at Dana and saw the change orders, it's all speculation - and why?
Why does anyone need it?
Why you may not want it is evident in multiple photographs out there.

 

[jac04]

If anyone believes that Jeep (or Dana) is making changes because of a very, very, very, very small "vocal" group of people who expressed dismay on an internet forum or through some other channel like 'Jeep Cares', then that's OK.

I work for a major OEM of power plant equipment, and I can tell you that changes like this, even if they got the attention of someone due to a customer complaint, are implemented only if they will ultimately save money.

 

[JTpanelsOFF]

You’re dreaming. Come on

if Jeep wanted to prevent casting failures due to a weakness from the tapped hole, then they would have put the drain on the back, or made the structure stronger, or they would have added a sacrificial material (armour) below the drain to take the impacts from off road use. Or at the very minimum, they would offer armour aftermarket through Mopar.

Removing the drain reduces their cost of goods sold because they no longer need 1) the threaded bolt 2) tools to make a hole and tap it 3) warehousing 4) people to help complete 1-3, and 5) other stuff that is specific to Jeep’s business.

200,000 wranglers are sold per year. If they remove 2 drains, they have removed 400,000 drains. How much $ do they save by eliminating the 5 items that I mentioned for the drain? Well, if it only costs $2.5 for each drain, they saved 1 million per year. I’m sure it is more than that. So they save $ while the price of everything goes up for consumers. Hello

It also increases service revenue for the dealership. Instead of removing a drain bolt and a fill bolt, they have to remove many bolts, clean the cover and axle surfaces, and apply the seal. More revenue for the dealer and less in your pocket. Hello

I like my Jeep but get real.

Everyone needs to wake up because these corporations have gone too far.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

And yet it seems most differentials out there in cars and trucks don't have drain plugs. They've been made without drain plugs for many decades. Chevrolet Silverado, and others just for example.
When you look, the consensus is "some" have drain plugs. Meaning most do not.
I don't understand the "frustration" over a lack of a drain plug when people have been living without them for many years. Many of us have serviced transmissions and differentials with no drain plugs. So what.
It's sure not necessary, and the gasket is reusable.

 

[Lunentucker]

Regardless of the reason it was changed, I'm updating mine right now!

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