Lets talk Differential Covers!

[RoamingGladiator]

Big fan of the Metalcloak diff covers + skids, any combo like that is great in my opinion.

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[WILDHOBO]

Unless for looks, I don’t understand adding covers on top of skids, as long as the skids are good ones.

 

[BunkieJeeper75]

Doing gears some time in the next few weeks, soon as the parts show up.

So lets talk Diff covers!

Basically since I'm (or the shop) will be there want to do everything related to the work at the same time.

Re-gearing, and going to add an E-Locker up front.

I do tow a bit and run a lot of power to the ground over stock (super charger). I've been wondering abought better covers for cooling/capacity. I saw these, and yes they are godly expensive (can find them cheaper). They have +50% fluid capacity which on it's face sounds perfect, but.... they are aluminum, and some controversy if the added fluid capacity is even meaningful?

https://afepower.com/afe-power-46-71190b-pro-series-rear-differential-cover-black-w-machined-fins

Other options?

AEV, ARB? They look cool, seem better made but what do they actually do aside from that?

https://www.aev-conversions.com/product/jl-differential-covers/

I was thinking the AFE Power with a rear diff skid plat would be good?

Or just go stock and don't over think it?

Or add the skid plate to stock?

What are folks feed back?

I went with Spicer (Dana) … they fit and look great! Very heavy duty !

 

[WILDHOBO]

I went with Spicer (Dana) … they fit and look great! Very heavy duty !

If I replaced my cover, this is what I’d go with. Their differential, their cover. Just my preference.

 

[SIO2GA]

Or just go stock and don't over think it?

Or add the skid plate to stock?

What are folks feed back?

What I didn't like about the stock cover was that there was no drain plug, and no drain plug with a magnet! So I went with ARB for the rear diff at about 23000 miles.
Picture was taken during installation.
This has a bottom drain plug with a very powerful magnet. It has a dip stick with another powerful magnet on the bottom of it as well. The bolt holes are recessed to prevent damage to the bolts from being dragged over rocks. I think this cost about $230 or may have been a little lower.
I'll replace the front cover with the same type ARB cover around 40,000 miles or so when it's time to replace the fluid up front.

 

[Rusty PW]

Unless for looks, I don’t understand adding covers on top of skids, as long as the skids are good ones.

I wanted the NV skids. But at the time. It was a 3 month wait and I needed something like right now. So I got the Dana covers. I've bashed a few rocks them already.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Motobilt or CavFab--cheap, strong, effective. Despite claims that the factory shape helps, I found good results with Mag-Hytec on my Rams and it seems that the lube hitting the flat back helps cool it. I saw a reduction in diff temps with them, and raw aluminum was best by about 5 degrees vs, powder coated.

It's not claims - it's a fact. That shape lubricates and reduces aeration. I knew this before Russ even posted those videos. It was taught us years ago - in college, when we spent weeks on axles and differentials. The shapes have meaning. It's not about cooling in every case, it's about lubricating those front pinion bearings and the carrier bearings - as well as getting enough lube out the axle tubes to take care of the axle bearings.
It's science, proven, not claims.

I went with Spicer (Dana) … they fit and look great! Very heavy duty !

and gee, look at the shape.......

If I replaced my cover, this is what I’d go with. Their differential, their cover. Just my preference.

Again - they know that the shape matters.
I've done many differentials over the years and it's amazing what fails and what lasts for years and years even with abuse.
It's not just "we need to quickly stamp a cover to close this up and move on" - there's reasons for every single shape in that housing - and the cover.

If you don't force that ring gear to act like a water wheel, or slinger, taking as much lube as possible clear up and over to the pinion bearings and the gear mating surface, you lose life.

Again, it's not claims, it's decades of study, science, engineering.
I don't care so much about looks like so many who swap covers - gee, isn't it pretty, my truck is cooler looking now, I go for long life. If you starve that mesh area and the pinion bearings of lube, you generate more heat, and you get the mating surfaces hotter than they should be - regardless of the lube temperature.
Some of those covers keep the lube cooler by keeping it away from the heat generating areas. Cooler lube, but hotter mesh area. What's the point of that?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If you 4 wheel. Stay away from aluminum. I've seen them fail. Banks did a video series on diff covers. A lot of good info on what goes in to designing them.

I did a 'like' on that post finally because I got curious and finally watched 'em - seeing if it matched what we were taught years ago when the cool thing to do was fancy, pretty covers. I hadn't watched them last night so couldn't honestly render an opinion on them.
Now that I see he's proven what we were taught back then - he's actually showing it, I can give a genuine like.

I don't think I need their covers for my use - I'd go with the Dana covers if I desired something different, but if I wanted the very best for long pinion and bearing life because I did some really heavy long-haul towing, if I loaded mine more than I do - his would be very tempting.

Good find, Russ - he nailed it.
It's not "opinions" - it's proof, science, design, engineering.

 

[Hootbro]

Most of the major brand nodular iron covers will serve you well. I run the Teraflex covers and have been happy with them.

FWIW, I had also researched and looked around and found many of the nodular iron covers regardless of brand like the DANA and Teraflex covers are actually cast and made in India with maybe some final machining here in the USA. About the only fully USA made nodular iron covers are the AEV ones and those have a premium price to show for it besides the usual AEV premium pricing.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Most of the major brand nodular iron covers will serve you well. I run the Teraflex covers and have been happy with them.

FWIW, I had also researched and looked around and found many of the nodular iron covers regardless of brand like the DANA and Teraflex covers are actually cast and made in India with maybe some final machining here in the USA. About the only fully USA made nodular iron covers are the AEV ones and those have a premium price to show for it besides the usual AEV premium pricing.

i constantly see people getting "anxious" or dissing a cover, or any other part, that's cast or forged any place other than the USA.
Fact is, it's not uncommon for the casting to be a higher quality.
We had some plumbing work done when I was too busy working two jobs and couldn't do it myself quickly enough. A shutoff valve was added to a cold water run for a dishwasher.
We get home late at night and go downstairs to the finished basement and see a stained, wet ceiling tile and water dripping to the floor.
I looked up in there - the new shutoff valve was leaking. I shut things off and removed the valve and went to town (stores were going to close in an hour) and went to all of the hardware stores and places like Menards, Lowe's and so on that were still open. All of the water valves were marked made in China. I finally decided no choice, and bought one and went home.
The one the plumber put in that leaked and the new were both the sort where you took the works out of the housing to solder it in place on the pipes.
When I took the made in USA valve apart and out, I saw the casting was rough, not smooth, porous, and the machined seat for the valve was very roughly machines.
When I took the "Made in China" valve apart for installation, it was a very smooth, fine casting, extremely high quality and the machined seat in the valve housing was smooth as silk, not a single flaw.
The made in USA valve was crap, the Chinese valve was perfect.
I run into this a lot. I no longer insist on made in USA for everything. Some, yes, but even the reproduction mirrors, tail light housings and certain other trim parts being reproduced for our cars come from China and the quality is extremely fine. In most cases, so perfect you can't tell them from originals.

So if a differential cover is cast in India or China, I figure - so what.

 

[WILDHOBO]

What I didn't like about the stock cover was that there was no drain plug, and no drain plug with a magnet! So I went with ARB for the rear diff at about 23000 miles.
Picture was taken during installation.
This has a bottom drain plug with a very powerful magnet. It has a dip stick with another powerful magnet on the bottom of it as well. The bolt holes are recessed to prevent damage to the bolts from being dragged over rocks. I think this cost about $230 or may have been a little lower.
I'll replace the front cover with the same type ARB cover around 40,000 miles or so when it's time to replace the fluid up front.

I agree that a drain plug would be quite nice. At least my housing still has one.

 

[Hootbro]

i constantly see people getting "anxious" or dissing a cover, or any other part, that's cast or forged any place other than the USA.

Yeah, not necessarily knocking them made in India as I have also owned the DANA covers on my then 2020 Gladiator and now Teraflex covers and they seem to up to the job.

India and to a lesser extent Vietnam, are becoming the new China for such type of parts that is a dirty process to sand cast, smelt and pour. The critical part is the jigging, final machining and finish.

 

[Bbannongmu]

I went with Spicer (Dana) … they fit and look great! Very heavy duty !

I have these on my JTR with a Rusty’s 2” advanced lift plus a Teraflex 1.5” puck up front. I had to grind down a bit of the top of the fin on the front one - it was hitting my Yeti Trackbar at compression. Took 5 minutes and a little bit of paint to keep it from rusting. YMMV. Looks good and works well.

 

[DanW]

Depending on the design of the differential housing, fluid flows and so on - the cover can make a big difference in that flow and thus cooling and lubrication.
Don't need to watch the vids to know what he's going to say.
For cars, light trucks, light loads, not as big a deal but if a person believes they need different covers, then do it right. There's a big reason there are the shapes to factory covers that there are.
It was taught clear back in HS. And yet people still argue about the fluid levels must be this or that and if not up to the axle tubes you'll destroy bearings and so on.
You need that curve, and hopefully more like a channel to guide the lube.
My bet, he's probably proving exactly that like he always does with other stuff.

Too many fancy after-market covers are a step backwards from stock.

Yep, I went with ARB for my rear cover because of this. It has a nice curve to it.

I like the Dana covers, too. I figure that since they are from the OEM, they would be optimized for proper lubrication, too.

For the front of my Jeeps, I like Rancho's sliders that bolt on. They protect the drain plug at the bottom of the front diff.

I haven't done anything with the Gladiator yet, but I am thinking Rancho front and either ARB (like my JL) or Dana for the rear, depending upon which is less expensive.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

I've got Solid's front and rear on my XJ. I'll be putting them on the JT in the near future.

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