MOD: Purple Cranium Diff Protector

[Trail X]

Purple Cranium makes a nice product for us that could possibly get lost on the other forum.

http://purplecranium.com/

AlekG had originally contacted them to make us a differential cover guard (I'll let him recall the details of that once he becomes a member). After a short development time, PC came out with a spider that fits both the larger axle found in the EXT and the 8" found in the SWBs: http://purplecranium.com/i-88751-envoy- ... guard.html

I got around to installing mine a month or so ago:


While I did that, I changed out the gear oil for some 75W80 Royal Purple gear oil. It makes for good peace of mind knowing the differential is properly protected, and properly lubed...

[teebes]

oooooohh, nice and RED. Like Christmas.. Or


hehe..

Here's as bling bling as I get:

[The Roadie]

I should point out that removing the top of the spider's head with a cutoff wheel will stop it from being whacked by the Panhard bar.

[Trail X]

Oh! And one BIG thing to remember before popping the lid off your differential.

Remove the fill plug FIRST! If that doesn't come out, you're not going to be able to fill your diff back up! I actually sheared a ratchet extension when trying to get mine out...

[The Roadie]

You can actually fill it through the vent tube in an emergency. Same for the TC and the front diff. Not fun, but less work than tipping the vehicle on its nose.

[Zero]

this is def on my list of vehicle armor to buy. pluss i have to change the diff fluid soon too. but i think ill be grabing an intake first.

[MrSmithsTB]

Price is nice. I just have to decide whether I want Lime Green or Hammertone Candy Green.

[Zero]

why do they not make a whole new diff. cover for us like they do for the danna rear ends. the "gear armor" stuff.

dont get me wrong i like the spider idea, and it looks bad ass, but i worry about rocks getting in between the legs and damaging the diff.

[Trail X]

I had actually found this like a year ago, but price wise it was hard to justify the added cost:

Original on the OS: http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=45130
--------------------------------------------------------------------------


This company manufactures differential covers, and happens to make one for the Chevy SSR. Apparently this same cover works for our rear ends.

It may be stronger than our stock covers (due to the ribs), and has a 1/2 qt. more capacity over stock.

From their site:

All this for $150 for the cheapest cover they offer.

Here's the link. What do you all think?

http://www.yourcovers.com/dc_11035.shtml

[Zero]

nice find JD, but i want something that is a little beefier like the gear armor stuff.

does anyone have an old diff cover they are willing to part with so i can make a jig, and make my own diff cover.

[The Roadie]

I have an old diff cover with a few "ventilation" holes left over from the Colorado Incident.

Cover parcel post or UPS and it's yours. I'll get it weighed if you need an estimate, but I'm guessing $5 or so. Oh.... maybe not to Canada. Got US delivery address?

Alek should have one more locally, if Purple Cranium sent his extras back.

[MrSmithsTB]

You know, I'd be willing to bet it would be worth welding some aluminum plates in to fill the gaps on the Cranium..

[foosh]

i wonder if we could get purple cranuim to build us a better cover w/ armor if we got a small group buy going, and for the right price i'm sure many of us would be interested, i know i am.

[MrSmithsTB]

Me too. I need to change the oil anyway.

[Trail X]

I see no reason to fill in the gaps guys. I'd like to see a picture of the rocks you're afraid of getting in those gaps... I've never seen anything like that on a trail.

Plus, the biggest benefit is the rim reinforcement. If you drag your diff over a rock, it won't pull the diff cover away from the diff housing, and thus creating a leak.

Don't bother filling in the gaps... not needed.

[tarsh]

Old post but I just realized I live 30 minutes from them... Gunna see what I can get going with them. Might be beneficial. I just destroyed my rear up north with Caleb actually.i upgraded to his 8.6 4:10 Erich is nice but it's time for a cover/armour of sorts

[Feets001]

Tried changing my rear diff. fluid but could' t get the damaged prior fill plug out. I ended up drilling a hole in the cover and installing a rubber plug for a jeep in it.total cost 3 .50 cents

[tarsh]

My old 8.0 rear plug was stuck in place to.

[HARDTRAILZ]

I use impact to get plug out with better success.

Curious on a rubber plug holding up. Got pics or more info on it?

[Jrgunn5150]

I use impact to get plug out with better success.

Curious on a rubber plug holding up. Got pics or more info on it?

Dorman makes them, I've seen them in Autozone. My brother's XJ has a D35 with a rubber plug from the factory,


http://www.autozone.com/collision-body- ... 85_0_2826/