Best diff covers for clearance on Dana 44 axles?

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LJRubiconGuy

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When in comes to Dana 44 front and rear axles on the Rubicon, which diff covers provide the best amount of protection while still allowing full clearance of the track bars and other components?

How are the ARB covers?
 
LJRubiconGuy said:
When in comes to Dana 44 front and rear axles on the Rubicon, which diff covers provide the best amount of protection while still allowing full clearance of the track bars and other components?

How are the ARB covers?
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ARB covers are about the worst if not THE worst. The best is a tie between the thick OEM style covers and the Barnett covers. Barnett is best because the upper half is an OEM cover in thickness with a beefed up lower section.
 
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I was just about to say that ARB covers are widely regarded as being horrible for clearance. From what I read they can be even worse depending on what track bar you have as well.

I've heard you can fix some of the clearance issues caused by the ARBs by increasing your bump stops, but that would be completely counter productive unless you just have a mall crawler.

I've done a lot of research myself and I keep coming back to the Barnett ones. Those ones seem to be the best for clearance.
 
X3 on the Barnett. You're not going to find any aftermarket diff cover other than the Barnett (or something custom made) that has better clearance (not that I'm aware of at least).

Besides, I understand having armor on the bottom portion of the diff cover, but there's no need to have all the extra protection on the top.
 
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X4 on the Barnett cover. I had one on my rear Dana 44 years ago when it used to be known as a T&J and it was a great design, tough as hell. I'd buy two for my present TJ if I could.

They have a photo on their website showing one after absorbing a 70 mph impact. The front armor that is welded on shows the massive force of the impact, but the cover itself under the armor is free of any damage. Though that's not to say you can feel safe bopping along at speed, an impact can break other parts that won't be protected by the diff cover.
 
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Chris said:
Think twice about that. I've seen huge clearance issues with Riddler covers.
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X2, don't buy a cover because it looks good, buy one that protects and won't cause clearance problems. Trust us on the Bartlett recommendation.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
X2, don't buy a cover because it looks good, buy one that protects and won't cause clearance problems. Trust us on the Bartlett recommendation.
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X3, so many people buy diff covers just because they look cool. That's a foolish mistake since all those ones that look cool are the ones with the worst clearance.

I'm not joking either. Do some Google searching and you'll find tons of photos of damage that occurred due to clearance issues with ARB covers, Riddler covers, etc.
 
Sasquatchewan said:
I was going to go with Riddler cover or Poison Spyder they look slick & not too big
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Diff covers are an oft debated topic. I can tell you from personal experience that the basic rule is very simple. If you hit the diff area hard enough to need a bulletproof cover, you will have destroyed something else on the axle long before you need the cover. I just replaced my front 609 housing because the repair I did a couple of times finally failed completely and the housing broke in half. I damaged it with a sub 15 mph impact that stopped the rig instantly. That broke the tube going into the center section and I got it welded and straightened which lasted a few seasons but it failed again.

I also broke a tube loose in a HP Dana 44 from Venezuela that caused it to leak gear oil around the tube where it pressed into the diff casting in a very similar manner. I caught the bottom lip of the cast center on a rock at low speed and just ruined the axle. It doesn't take nearly as much as folks would have you believe to tear up an axle assembly so protecting a ring gear from an impact that won't hurt a thing is not doing much and the aggravation of dealing with a cover that interferes with a whole bunch of other stuff the rest of the time just isn't worth it.
 
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I suspect a good majority of people are buying diff covers only for looks. It's not so much the protection they are concerned about. Okay, maybe the protection doesn't hurt, but most of them have no idea about the clearance issues they'll be forced to deal with with most of these covers.
 
Been wheelin a long time in some of the toughest trails in Colorado, Utah, Oregon. I have scraped a flake or two of paint off the factory covers, but never came close to denting one.
 
Stinger said:
Been wheelin a long time in some of the toughest trails in Colorado, Utah, Oregon. I have scraped a flake or two of paint off the factory covers, but never came close to denting one.
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I was going to say, damaging the diff cover isn't the most common thing to encounter, so this doesn't surprise me. Scraping it I can see, but a big impact probably isn't all that common. Never happened to me either.
 
I was considering the PS & Rid just because of how solid they are & the bolts are even sunken, you tube has a few tests trying to damage them. If I wanted one for looks I would get arb but I've heard nothing but bad. I do have the metal cloak TB it has a lot of clearance. But if y'all have experience with the Bartlett one it'll fit the bill. What about a simple diff guard ? How are those?
 
I did have a friend that crawls slow offroad & was dragging on some rocks ,when he went backwards he pealed the diff cover back enough to cause a leak , he hammered on it enough to slow it down but it sucks. Factory cover
 
Sasquatchewan said:
What about a simple diff guard ? How are those?
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The diff guards seem to work well and don't have any clearance issues. The Barnett cover might not look the coolest, but you'll see that it provides you protection in the area you need it the most, while not interfering with space at the top of the diff cover where you'd run into issues with track bar clearance and other things.

Even the Metalcloak track bar is not immune to the clearance issues encountered by the ARB, Riddler and other diff covers. Currie is one of the best track bars for clearance out there, and even it has issues with clearing most of these differential covers.

I think most of these differential covers aren't made with clearance in mind. Either that or they're testing them on rigs that have massive amounts of bump stop or other worldly custom steering setups and such.
 
Chris said:
The diff guards seem to work well and don't have any clearance issues. The Barnett cover might not look the coolest, but you'll see that it provides you protection in the area you need it the most, while not interfering with space at the top of the diff cover where you'd run into issues with track bar clearance and other things.

Even the Metalcloak track bar is not immune to the clearance issues encountered by the ARB, Riddler and other diff covers. Currie is one of the best track bars for clearance out there, and even it has issues with clearing most of these differential covers.

I think most of these differential covers aren't made with clearance in mind. Either that or they're testing them on rigs that have massive amounts of bump stop or other worldly custom steering setups and such.
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Ok good info thanks
 
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Great reading! Right now, I cannot afford a bunch of stuff that I would consider if I had the money. Especially when my Jeep is a daily driver.
We do Not have a lot of places to do Rock Crawling here in sunny & wet, South Florida.

You guys are very lucky to live where you do. On another note: We don't have to worry about 3' of snow getting to work during a cold spell.

Stay safe my friends! Today has been the coldest day yet at 59 degrees.

ELBRAVO aka Rocky
 
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