My front diff doesn’t have a drain plug. Is this normal?

[GoFastJTR]

2022 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon Ecodiesel

I was planning on replacing the gear oil in both of my differentials today, but I noticed that my front diff doesn’t have a drain plug. All the YouTube tutorials I saw have drain plugs on theirs. Is this an Ecodiesel thing?

Does that mean I have to take off the cover and replace the gasket too?

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[wcberry]

MY 23 JTR does not have drain plugs on either diff.

 

[Klabat]

It should be a reusable gasket. I've done the rear on my 23 JTR, but not the front yet. Just remember to loosen the fill plug first to make sure you can get fresh lube in there after you've drained the old stuff and replaced the cover.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

It’s a blessing in disguise.

I do have a drain plug on my 21 JTR, I think sometime in 2021 production year they stopped having them but the cover needs to come off to inspect gears, clean debris on the inside AND, just as importantly, clean off the locker sensor magnet and inspect sensor for oil ingress.

My gasket is reusable. Wait to see what other JTRD owners say or call your parts department for their advice.

Pics are from my 21, it’s possible things may look slightly different for your year, I’m curious… but we both have lockers that need maintenance

 

[Jaxmax]

Cover comes off easy , but as was said first thing is to loosen fill plug to be sure it is not stuck, gasket is reusable. Taking cover off you can clean out any debris and check things out. Also a good time to replace cover with a HD unit if you wheel at all….Jack

 

[ChrisNLA]

They took the drain plugs out mid year 22 or maybe it was the year before. I forget. My '22 doesn't have them either.

The drain plug being centered on the bottom was terrible anyway. People who were offroading a lot were tearing up the plug or even walking it loose and causing the diff to leak.

 

[whiteglad]

I added 1/8 NPT drain plugs to the bottom of the cav fab covers that I installed.

 

[D_JT]

The drain plugs were only on the 2018,2019 and 2020. They stopped in 21 for whatever reason.

 

[red/green hawk]

Geez, now why would a company engineer a product that would guarantee a larger majority of its customers rely on it for overpriced maintenance on that product?

 

[GoFastJTR]

MY 23 JTR does not have drain plugs on either diff.

Interesting. My rear does have a drain plug.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Interesting. My rear does have a drain plug.

Weird. I wonder if there’s a product code or date stamp on the diff or axel for both that shows the front is current and the back is older? Just shuffling product along and around ??

 

[LouisvEarlleJT]

For what it's worth - if you mess up the gasket you can just use RTV and ditch the gasket altogether. But like others have said, good to take it off either way.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

They took the drain plugs out mid year 22 or maybe it was the year before. I forget. My '22 doesn't have them either.

The drain plug being centered on the bottom was terrible anyway. People who were offroading a lot were tearing up the plug or even walking it loose and causing the diff to leak.

Removed for 22 model year for sure....... there's a thread here discussing the build dates but it will all get repeated here anyway.

2022 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon Ecodiesel

I was planning on replacing the gear oil in both of my differentials today, but I noticed that my front diff doesn’t have a drain plug. All the YouTube tutorials I saw have drain plugs on theirs. Is this an Ecodiesel thing?

Does that mean I have to take off the cover and replace the gasket too?

I never just drain and refill. Always pull the cover and look for surprises, or hopefully, lack of surprises. Drain plugs are worthless anyway. You don't get all of the stuff out with a plug, there's always stuff sitting at the bottom, good time to take an old milk jug and cut a plastic scraper out of it and scrape the gunk out of the bottom of the housing.
Pulling a plug and putting it back in is - well, why would they bother other than make it easy for those who just want to say "I changed by fluid" and brag about it - never bothering to look for parts and pieces in the bottom, or decent wear patterns on the gears.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/drill-the-diff-covers.72943/

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...n-plug-or-is-it-just-mine.74097/#post-1208963

 

[djthumper]

2021 was where they removed them from the front cover.

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