- Location
- Nashville, TN
So I'm curious what the 
guys have to say. On my local Jeep forum (mostly TJs and JKs) they were debating the best diff cover for the axle.
I suggested taking a second factory cover, cutting it in half, getting some longer screws and bolting the bottom on, so the bottom of the diff cover is 2x as thick. Suggested he could do his front and rear that way for under $20. So another guy got in on the discussion (drives an 08 JKU) and this was the back and forth:
His response:
Yikes! I don't recommend doing this. Sorry that is not a good idea.
My response:
And why not?
His response:
It's not going to fit flush and you are only protecting the bottom half of the diff cover
My response:
Maybe not completely flush, but the inside cover is going to be sealed to the axle and keep the diff from leaking. And regarding just protecting the bottom half of the cover, I don't see that as a problem for 2 reasons. 1). there is no fluid in the top half of the differential, so if you puncture that part, you could feasibly get home with a small piece of scrap JB Welded to the cover. 2). if you hit something that punctures the top half of the differential cover, you will have bigger issues than just a hole in your diff cover. That is pretty damn high for a rock to take out without taking out a whole lot of your steering components first.
So, my question to y'all...since I have a spare diff cover ready to go on next time I do diff service....am I overthinking this and is it truly a bad idea?
guys have to say. On my local Jeep forum (mostly TJs and JKs) they were debating the best diff cover for the axle. I suggested taking a second factory cover, cutting it in half, getting some longer screws and bolting the bottom on, so the bottom of the diff cover is 2x as thick. Suggested he could do his front and rear that way for under $20. So another guy got in on the discussion (drives an 08 JKU) and this was the back and forth:
His response:
Yikes! I don't recommend doing this. Sorry that is not a good idea.
My response:
And why not?
His response:
It's not going to fit flush and you are only protecting the bottom half of the diff cover
My response:
Maybe not completely flush, but the inside cover is going to be sealed to the axle and keep the diff from leaking. And regarding just protecting the bottom half of the cover, I don't see that as a problem for 2 reasons. 1). there is no fluid in the top half of the differential, so if you puncture that part, you could feasibly get home with a small piece of scrap JB Welded to the cover. 2). if you hit something that punctures the top half of the differential cover, you will have bigger issues than just a hole in your diff cover. That is pretty damn high for a rock to take out without taking out a whole lot of your steering components first.
So, my question to y'all...since I have a spare diff cover ready to go on next time I do diff service....am I overthinking this and is it truly a bad idea?
