New diff cover suggestions please

I have Solid covers on the front and rear differentials. I'm not sure if this is a common problem, or if it was just a problem with my rig. I installed a lift this weekend, and noticed my front track bar had been hitting the cover. Solid told me that their covers fit stock rigs, so again, I'm not sure if this was a case specific incident. The contact was significant, as it knocked a dent in one of the heat dissipating vanes.

Other than that, I like the covers. Especially the price: $60. They do not have the advantage of a dipstick or vertical fill point like the ARB covers. Good luck with your decision.
 
ScottC said:
I have Solid covers on the front and rear differentials. I'm not sure if this is a common problem, or if it was just a problem with my rig. I installed a lift this weekend, and noticed my front track bar had been hitting the cover. Solid told me that their covers fit stock rigs, so again, I'm not sure if this was a case specific incident. The contact was significant, as it knocked a dent in one of the heat dissipating vanes.

Other than that, I like the covers. Especially the price: $60. They do not have the advantage of a dipstick or vertical fill point like the ARB covers. Good luck with your decision.
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Yup, totally normal with them especially if you're running an aftermarket track bar. When we were running them, we had to clearance it quite a bit and it still made contact. We eventually just got rid of them.
 
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I am running a riddler, after hearing and seeing what a lot of the people I wheel with go through and hearing some of the stories they deal with when they crack the diff cover, all I can say is check out there website!


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wayoflife said:
Yup, totally normal with them especially if you're running an aftermarket track bar. When we were running them, we had to clearance it quite a bit and it still made contact. We eventually just got rid of them.
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Sometimes, I go broke trying to save money. I don't think I'm going to have any more problems, but I'll keep you all posted if I do.
 
bnatt78 said:
I am running a riddler, after hearing and seeing what a lot of the people I wheel with go through and hearing some of the stories they deal with when they crack the diff cover, all I can say is check out there website!
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"stories"? "crack the diff cover"? Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I run ProRock's and honestly, just like the look of Dynatrac covers, I wouldn't think twice about running factory covers. Hell, I have and did for a long time. Of course, I'm just a mall crawler.

ScottC said:
Sometimes, I go broke trying to save money. I don't think I'm going to have any more problems, but I'll keep you all posted if I do.
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:cheesy: Take a grinder to the fin that gets in the way and clearance it. That should help but, depending on how much stuff you have, the oval may still get in the way. At least, it did for me.
 
Personally ive seen g2s and stock ones break. But they were all hard hits that should have been avoided. I also crawl malls :eek:

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If I remember right? I broke my stock one at 4,000 miles and since then, I only ran the ridlers since then.


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I run the Riddler covers front and rear too. Nice touch and can take the abuse. I spray paint mine flat black when they get beat up looking.
 
wayoflife said:
:cheesy: Take a grinder to the fin that gets in the way and clearance it. That should help but, depending on how much stuff you have, the oval may still get in the way. At least, it did for me.
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Oh man...I don't trust myself with the grinder; it is one of my favorite tools to use! For those of us old enough to remember actually having to use a pencil sharpener in school...I'm like the kid that would sharpen a brand new pencil down to a nub. I may not have much of a diff cover left after I get done with it.

I may or may not also be a pyromaniac. :clap2:

On a more serious note, this whole episode reinforced what a lot of people on this forum say to new Jeep owners. Wheel your rig stock and ask a ton of questions to the others in your group and on this forum. Buy right, buy once. Buy cheap, buy it twice. Don't get me wrong, the Solid axle covers are strong, heavy duty, and can take a hit. But the track bar clearance on a stock rig is very tight, so you have to be careful. Plus, it is difficult to tell how much diff fluid is "enough" in them. You can follow the recommended fluid amounts from Chrysler, but that brings me to the second problem...getting the fluid into the differential. The fill point isn't the most user friendly, especially at stock height. Too many things get in the way of the bottle in order to allow you to pour the gear oil directly into the horizontal fill point. I went through two different filling solutions before I found a mediocre solution. The first one looks like a beer bong, and I picked it up from Autozone. I do not recommend this if you are doing the work by yourself. Let's just say I ended up with more gear oil on my clothes, face, and hair than I did in the diff. It is quite the story, and best told around a fire with beer and honey. The second was a pump that screws onto the oil bottle. But even that one leaks fluid all over the outside of the bottle. Functional, just not ideal.

So the moral of the story, ask around, price shop, figure out if you WANT it or NEED it (both are fine). That will determine if you want to buy with your eye or go for a beastly chunk of metal.
 
bnatt78 said:
If I remember right? I broke my stock one at 4,000 miles and since then, I only ran the ridlers since then.
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In Florida? Don't get me wrong but, how exactly do you "break" a stock cover? I mean, I could see how it could bend or get dented and I have even seen spider gears explode through it but, "break"? Please post up some pics as I would love to see exactly what happened.

ScottC said:
Oh man...I don't trust myself with the grinder; it is one of my favorite tools to use! For those of us old enough to remember actually having to use a pencil sharpener in school...I'm like the kid that would sharpen a brand new pencil down to a nub. I may not have much of a diff cover left after I get done with it.

I may or may not also be a pyromaniac. :clap2:
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:cheesy: Understood.

On a more serious note, this whole episode reinforced what a lot of people on this forum say to new Jeep owners. Wheel your rig stock and ask a ton of questions to the others in your group and on this forum. Buy right, buy once. Buy cheap, buy it twice. Don't get me wrong, the Solid axle covers are strong, heavy duty, and can take a hit. But the track bar clearance on a stock rig is very tight, so you have to be careful. Plus, it is difficult to tell how much diff fluid is "enough" in them. You can follow the recommended fluid amounts from Chrysler, but that brings me to the second problem...getting the fluid into the differential. The fill point isn't the most user friendly, especially at stock height. Too many things get in the way of the bottle in order to allow you to pour the gear oil directly into the horizontal fill point. I went through two different filling solutions before I found a mediocre solution. The first one looks like a beer bong, and I picked it up from Autozone. I do not recommend this if you are doing the work by yourself. Let's just say I ended up with more gear oil on my clothes, face, and hair than I did in the diff. It is quite the story, and best told around a fire with beer and honey. The second was a pump that screws onto the oil bottle. But even that one leaks fluid all over the outside of the bottle. Functional, just not ideal.

So the moral of the story, ask around, price shop, figure out if you WANT it or NEED it (both are fine). That will determine if you want to buy with your eye or go for a beastly chunk of metal.
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And, I should note that this is part of the reason why I try to encourage people to NOT buy things all the time. It has been my experience that a lot of what you get from the factory is more than adequate. Back in the day when nothing was available for the JK, we could really only make upgrades as they became available. Over the last 7 years, we've learned what works, what doesn't, what's really needed and what's personal preference.

Regarding filling up your diff goes, next time, just use the yoker spout that comes with the bottle. Stick it in the hole and squeeze. :yup:
 
Unfortunately I do not have any pics of when it happened. All I know is a few days after wheeling in the glades I dented/cracked the rear cover. I was at the dealership a few days later when I noticed it. It was not under warranty at the time. All I could remember is it might of happened when I backed up to go over a obstacle.


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M.O.R.E. has some sweet diff covers for ( comparatively) cheap; you can even get them with the "Jeep" logo or plain. Tough as all get out.
 
bnatt78 said:
Unfortunately I do not have any pics of when it happened. All I know is a few days after wheeling in the glades I dented/cracked the rear cover. I was at the dealership a few days later when I noticed it. It was not under warranty at the time. All I could remember is it might of happened when I backed up to go over a obstacle.
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LOL!! How do you not take the time to take a pic of a break? Being that the factory diff cover is stamped steel, I could see how a careless direct and big hit could "dent" it but "cracked" it as well? I call BS. I call BS especially being that you didn't even know it happened until a few days later. At best, I could see how the RTV seal would have been compromised due to the hit but that's about it.

I know we don't have big rocks to play on here in the west but for the ones we do have, I wouldn't think twice about running factory covers. But of course, that's just me, I'm just a mall crawler.
 
wayoflife said:
LOL!! How do you not take the time to take a pic of a break? Being that the factory diff cover is stamped steel, I could see how a careless direct and big hit could "dent" it but "cracked" it as well? I call BS. I call BS especially being that you didn't even know it happened until a few days later. At best, I could see how the RTV seal would have been compromised due to the hit but that's about it.

I know we don't have big rocks to play on here in the west but for the ones we do have, I wouldn't think twice about running factory covers. But of course, that's just me, I'm just a mall crawler.
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I ran factory covers on the jkx. The diffs are fine.

The motor. Rear axle, and both driveshafts. That's a different story.
 
piginajeep said:
I ran factory covers on the jkx. The diffs are fine.

The motor. Rear axle, and both driveshafts. That's a different story.
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Please, all we did was go to the mall. Here's a shot of you going over one of the small speed bumps...

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:cheesy:
 
wayoflife said:
LOL!! How do you not take the time to take a pic of a break? Being that the factory diff cover is stamped steel, I could see how a careless direct and big hit could "dent" it but "cracked" it as well? I call BS. I call BS especially being that you didn't even know it happened until a few days later. At best, I could see how the RTV seal would have been compromised due to the hit but that's about it.

I know we don't have big rocks to play on here in the west but for the ones we do have, I wouldn't think twice about running factory covers. But of course, that's just me, I'm just a mall crawler.
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When my diff cover broke I did not have access to my garage where all my tools were. It was under construction after the fire took it out. Instead of bothering anybody I just replaced them with same type I had on my previous jeep.




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bnatt78 said:
When my diff cover broke I did not have access to my garage where all my tools were. It was under construction after the fire took it out. Instead of bothering anybody I just replaced them with same type I had on my previous jeep.
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What?? Exactly what does any of that have to do with anything?? If you're the one who replaced the cover, take a pic of what you removed so that we can at least see what you mean when you say it "broke". I should note that you making this statement at all is a distinct departure from what you originally said which, as I may remind you, was that you are running a riddler "after hearing and seeing what a lot of the people I wheel with go through and hearing some of the stories they deal with when they crack the diff cover". Never once in your original statement did you ever mention anything about YOU breaking a factory diff cover. Funny how the story all of a sudden changed and that you now can't show proof of YOUR break with pics - all you've got are excuses. Don't get me wrong but, I'd be the first to say that factory covers are plain jane and love aftermarket covers because they look cool and allow you to give your Jeep a personal touch but to suggest that people should spend money and buy them in fear of risking a "break" in your factory covers is just wrong. :naw:
 
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