Replacing factory diff covers...
Thread Starter
JK Junkie
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,828
Likes: 0
From: Auburn Maine
Thread Starter
JK Junkie
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,828
Likes: 0
From: Auburn Maine
the stock covers are actually pretty strong, nothing wrong with them unless you are always picking wrong lines and bashing them.
they do however hang a bit lower on the bottom edge of the pumpkin and the rear will sometimes hang on that lip and cause it to separate enough to leak.
What I did to mine was mark it where it was hanging over, took it off and took a grinder to remove the excess material, just don't take off too much.
I would stay away from lube lockers, they are just a gasket but I've seen too many of them be the cause of leaking.
If you take off your covers use some Permatex the Right Stuff gasket sealer to seal them back on.
if you submerge the diff's and your overflow tube is on you shouldn't have much to worry about, you can check it easily enough -remove the fill hole and slide your finger in there, if the oil comes out kind of milky white/brown you have water in it, in this case drain, remove the cover and clean it out well then reseal, put the cover back on and refill - also figure out why it got water in it.
a diff fluid change at the dealer might run you about $80 an axle, when i'm feeling lazy I take it to Jiffy lube $50/axle
under normal driving change it about every 18000 I think is what's recommended. I tow and drive a lot so I change mine every 12000
they do however hang a bit lower on the bottom edge of the pumpkin and the rear will sometimes hang on that lip and cause it to separate enough to leak.
What I did to mine was mark it where it was hanging over, took it off and took a grinder to remove the excess material, just don't take off too much.
I would stay away from lube lockers, they are just a gasket but I've seen too many of them be the cause of leaking.
If you take off your covers use some Permatex the Right Stuff gasket sealer to seal them back on.
if you submerge the diff's and your overflow tube is on you shouldn't have much to worry about, you can check it easily enough -remove the fill hole and slide your finger in there, if the oil comes out kind of milky white/brown you have water in it, in this case drain, remove the cover and clean it out well then reseal, put the cover back on and refill - also figure out why it got water in it.
a diff fluid change at the dealer might run you about $80 an axle, when i'm feeling lazy I take it to Jiffy lube $50/axle
under normal driving change it about every 18000 I think is what's recommended. I tow and drive a lot so I change mine every 12000
Would a moderately deep water crossing fill the diff up right away or only if you go deep and for a longer length of time?
Matthew
JK Freak
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 847
Likes: 0
From: Texas
in all the water crossings I've been through, I've never had any water issues, I always check it anyway just to be sure since it's an easy check.
if you're in deep water and just sitting I would definitely check it. Like I mentioned earlier, if you find your differential breather tube off then you have cause for concern, or if your differential cover is leaking and you just sit in deep water I would check it. driving through normally does not cause issues.
if you lift check it before you get into ater.. for a while after I did my lift I found my rear breather tube was always coming off because it did not have enough slack and I discovered it was not as high up as it as when stock. I've since replaced it and ran a much longer hose up to the back of the tail light. easy to do, I used a full length of tubing but this will give you an idea:
Project-JK.com - Jeep JK Wrangler Resource » Jeep JK Wrangler Axle Breather Hose Extension
if you're in deep water and just sitting I would definitely check it. Like I mentioned earlier, if you find your differential breather tube off then you have cause for concern, or if your differential cover is leaking and you just sit in deep water I would check it. driving through normally does not cause issues.
if you lift check it before you get into ater.. for a while after I did my lift I found my rear breather tube was always coming off because it did not have enough slack and I discovered it was not as high up as it as when stock. I've since replaced it and ran a much longer hose up to the back of the tail light. easy to do, I used a full length of tubing but this will give you an idea:
Project-JK.com - Jeep JK Wrangler Resource » Jeep JK Wrangler Axle Breather Hose Extension
Thread Starter
JK Junkie
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,828
Likes: 0
From: Auburn Maine
in all the water crossings I've been through, I've never had any water issues, I always check it anyway just to be sure since it's an easy check.
if you're in deep water and just sitting I would definitely check it. Like I mentioned earlier, if you find your differential breather tube off then you have cause for concern, or if your differential cover is leaking and you just sit in deep water I would check it. driving through normally does not cause issues.
if you lift check it before you get into ater.. for a while after I did my lift I found my rear breather tube was always coming off because it did not have enough slack and I discovered it was not as high up as it as when stock. I've since replaced it and ran a much longer hose up to the back of the tail light. easy to do, I used a full length of tubing but this will give you an idea:
Project-JK.com - Jeep JK Wrangler Resource » Jeep JK Wrangler Axle Breather Hose Extension
if you're in deep water and just sitting I would definitely check it. Like I mentioned earlier, if you find your differential breather tube off then you have cause for concern, or if your differential cover is leaking and you just sit in deep water I would check it. driving through normally does not cause issues.
if you lift check it before you get into ater.. for a while after I did my lift I found my rear breather tube was always coming off because it did not have enough slack and I discovered it was not as high up as it as when stock. I've since replaced it and ran a much longer hose up to the back of the tail light. easy to do, I used a full length of tubing but this will give you an idea:
Project-JK.com - Jeep JK Wrangler Resource » Jeep JK Wrangler Axle Breather Hose Extension
Thank you for the link to that write up, it clarified a few thing for me...
Matthew
Last edited by Matthewd5; Aug 23, 2013 at 11:13 PM. Reason: Spelling error