i got my baby used, and while the diff covers look different than the actual axle, (not aftermarket, just different coloration) how would i know if the previous owner changed them and or upgraded the gears?

 

To my knowledge with your situation, the only way to tell is draining and opening the cover and looking to see the pinion size... as far as the differential cover, the stock ones should have "mopar" etched into them, or a part # matching OEM parts. They are very basic looking....

 

Thanks for the input, but what do i drain, and how do i replace? what is pinion size? (sorry nb) where would the stock part# be?

 

thanks, but i am not mechanical inclined, so is this something easy i can do in my garage?

 

It appears you really aren't that "up to speed" on this particular category of your jeep. While there is nothing wrong with that,
since we we're all in your shoes at one time, I don't think you should be fooling around and/or trying to indentify certain parts/gear ratio sizes. If you are that inclined to find out what gear ratio you are running, take it to your local shop and see if they can drain your differentials, check the pinion size/teeth count and go from there...

Now, I'm sure other are going to tell you the "mark your driveshaft and count the revolutions and get your "rough ratio" that way, but again, it doesnt appear you are at that level to follow the steps (and again, not trying to say you're dumb)

Other members will put in their suggestions as well, so the choice is yours on how you wanna find out and learn more

 

really appreciate the feedback and insight, and no worries, i am dumb right now about these type of things, but with your help and others like you i will be ok one day! probably just going to take it to a shop and have them check. Thanks again

 

Jack up one of the rear wheels

put a marker (sticker) on the drive shaft and 1 on the tire.

Choke the wheels

Put jeep in N

Spin the tire (by hand) 2 full rotations and coununt how many times the drive shaft spins.

The number of times it spins after the 2 tire rotations is your gear number.

 

How many miles on your baby? Maybe you can try to plan the fluid change along with when you need to have it changed for your regular maintenance.

Everyone has their own input on when to change the fluids btw.... some every 6,000, some 15k, according to the manual, its every 30k. This also depends on if you do a lot of wheeling and submerge your differentials a lot, then its best to change the fluid more frequently.

Wish I could find the thread/steps in using the "driveshaft" method to figure it out. While its not rocket science, there is some detail to it which can be achieved if the individual has a little more background on the driveline, etc. Read up tho, use the search button - its your friend

 

Find a local 4x4 club and join it! You should find that people in these clubs (for the most part) are very helpful. Our club has 3 or 4 'wrenching days' each year where they use a members garage or shop and do other members projects, go to a couple of these to raise your skill level and then something like this will be a snap for you in no time.

 

I did this in about 5 minutes and knew what gears i have. Easy and quick . no need for all the other pain