I installed SOLID Dana 30 and Dana 44 axle covers today. They look great and are hell-for-stout nodular iron. While the product itself itself isn't the emphasis of my post, I will make a few comments before moving on to my "abuse test."

1. Though I ground the inside of the Dana 44 cover per the company's instructions so as to clear the e-locker (www.solidaxle 'dot' com/PDF/44_Rubicon_Fitment.pdf),
   I still think it's B.S. a guy has to take a grinder to a brand new piece of armor.
2. The supplied allen head bolts are cheap. They are soft and easy to round out if you aren't careful when you're torquing them. I'll be replacing them with some Grade-8s tomorrow.
3. Final point before my "abuse test" - Lube Lockers are worth every penny.

Okay... many JK owner clamor for replacement diff covers, reasoning that the stock pieces can't take trail abuse. I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least partially influenced to get SOLID covers by threads I had read through on the board.

I set out to perform an admittedly unscientific test on the stock covers since I wasn't going to be using them anymore. In short, using a slab of concrete as a backer, I beat on them like a crazed chimpanzee with a #4 sledge.

I'm confident a fully laden JK sliding into a big, jagged rock would create more crushing force than I did this afternoon, but it's worth mentioning I'm 6'3", 245 pounds, and am a recreational powerlifter with a 515 pound deadlift. (So I beat on these bastards fairly hard.)

The Result

I was surprised at the amount of abuse the factory covers absorbed, especially the front Dana 30 cover. It is visibly thicker than the rear D44 piece and I had to positively maul the thing before I could so much as dimple it.

Take a look at the photos. I'm not saying I wasted my hard earned cash on my new diff covers, but the stockers at least appear capable of providing a modicum of protection to the differentials' internals. Maybe the engineers know a thing or two about these little SUVs.

Note: damage shown in last photo only. I hit each cover about a dozen times in the same spot. The D30 cover barely dented; the 44 cover was compromised enough it would have touched down on the ring gear and/or carrier.

Dana 30 front cover before



Dana 44 rear cover before



D44 left/D30 right after concentrated blows in the same spot with #4 sledge

 

dude, you got too much time on your hands.

JK, I am glad you did this. I am still using my factory diff covers, and that makes me feel a tiny bit better. There is a big difference though between a swinging 4# sledge and a rolling couple thousand pounds of steel rolling into a rock that doesn't move. Now I have made myself worry again. I prolly need to buy some aftermarket covers. lol.

Interesting read.

 

The first problem I had with the stock covers was caused when a rock peeled the bottom lip of the covers back enough to allow gear lube to leak out at a reasonably fast pace. (A BFH fixed the biggest part of the leak.) New differential covers as the Solid, TeraFlex, Riddlers and such not only help prevent blunt trauma to the cover, but also are strong enough not to peel up an the edges.

 

Haha, agreed you have a lot of time on your hands but nicely done, I as well as many others will appeciate this input

 

Point well made, Robar.

I'll say this: knowing what I know now, I would not be afraid to tackle a rock strewn trail with factory diff covers - they are tougher than they look.

It's pretty obvious to me from hanging around here that most JK owners aren't lead-footed hillbillies intent on busting their shit, so if I were pondering my first few mods on a shiny new Wrangler, I would spend my cash on a good engine/tranny skidplate well before I purchased diff covers; they would be much farther down on my list of priorities.

 

Hmmm, I would of bought those off of you. Oh well

 

Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices in the name of "science."