Diff sliders - yay or nay?

[AdventurePig]

Where do you land (lol) on the topic of diff sliders/yoke protection?

(Not diff cover armor - we have that too. Gonna keep those on.)

I think we have front and rear Nth degree sliders which from what i’ve read, are fairly well thought of but they add 22-23lbs each (45-46total) to the weight of the rig.

Worth it to keep? Only front/only rear?

Rock-crawling isn’t gonna be our focus because it terrifies us…lol…but i doubt we WON’T be on trails with a few rocks and the occasional ledge.

 

[Unique Username]

It’s been my understanding that what you have is one of the few to keep in place. If you don’t want them I know a place they can call home.

Diff sliders

 

[jjvw]

Bolt on diff sliders are an unnecessary bulk that gets in the way.

 

[squirrelmaster]

The gouges and scrapes on mine indicate they were a good investment, but I also do rock crawling on top of trail running. The weight is certainly an issue, but I find it worth it for the piece of mind when I'm bashing parts on rocks.

 

[alittleoff]

I run a Dana 44/60 f/r. On 35's. The front has one of those football helmet type guards that has taken quite a few hard hits as evidenced by the gouges and dents in the tubing. I run nothing in the rear but the lower most bolt head is about a third worn down along with the edge of the stock diff cover.
Not worth the extra weight since I'm fat enough.

 

[hosejockey61]

I have beat mine up on the rocks over many years. It has ground down a full half inch and has taken quite a bit of the bottom bolt with it. I am in the process of building a new axle to replace this one.

This is my old axle before pulling the cover off. You can see how much it has been shaved.

Here is is from underneath looking the other way. Notice the full 1/2" lip to the left. It used to be that way all the way across. I didn't realize how much that would hang up over the year. As it wore away, I got caught up less and less.

This is my new axle with the same lip looking at it from the same angle as above.

This is my old diff cover on my new axle to show how much has ground away.

I ground this much off the new axle to get rid of a lot of that lip.

Then I welded many beads to build up a ramp to the edge of the lip. This does a couple of things. First, I have no lip to get caught up now. Secondly, the weld bead should hold up very well to the abuse I throw at it. If it ground down much, I can throw more weld bead back on there.

 

[Camdenst]

I go back and forth... I added one on the new jeep after I blew out the pinion yoke stuck on a rock with my old tj. Granted I had a few buddies on the rear bumper which probaly didn't help, but we were young and dumb.

I do get hung up a bit more, but it also adds a layer on protection to the rear pinion.

 

[Tob]

I have beat mine up on the rocks over many years. It has ground down a full half inch and has taken quite a bit of the bottom bolt with it. I am in the process of building a new axle to replace this one.

This is my old axle before pulling the cover off. You can see how much it has been shaved.

View attachment 590960


Here is is from underneath looking the other way. Notice the full 1/2" lip to the left. It used to be that way all the way across. I didn't realize how much that would hang up over the year. As it wore away, I got caught up less and less.

View attachment 590961

This is my new axle with the same lip looking at it from the same angle as above.

View attachment 590962

This is my old diff cover on my new axle to show how much has ground away.

View attachment 590963

I ground this much off the new axle to get rid of a lot of that lip.

View attachment 590964

Then I welded many beads to build up a ramp to the edge of the lip. This does a couple of things. First, I have no lip to get caught up now. Secondly, the weld bead should hold up very well to the abuse I throw at it. If it ground down much, I can throw more weld bead back on there.

View attachment 590965

Does this method of weld buildup just buy you some time with a sacrificial layer? Is the weld harder and more resistant to material loss as well?

 

[E-Ticket]

I have beat mine up on the rocks over many years. It has ground down a full half inch and has taken quite a bit of the bottom bolt with it. I am in the process of building a new axle to replace this one.

This is my old axle before pulling the cover off. You can see how much it has been shaved.

View attachment 590960


Here is is from underneath looking the other way. Notice the full 1/2" lip to the left. It used to be that way all the way across. I didn't realize how much that would hang up over the year. As it wore away, I got caught up less and less.

View attachment 590961

This is my new axle with the same lip looking at it from the same angle as above.

View attachment 590962

This is my old diff cover on my new axle to show how much has ground away.

View attachment 590963

I ground this much off the new axle to get rid of a lot of that lip.

View attachment 590964

Then I welded many beads to build up a ramp to the edge of the lip. This does a couple of things. First, I have no lip to get caught up now. Secondly, the weld bead should hold up very well to the abuse I throw at it. If it ground down much, I can throw more weld bead back on there.

View attachment 590965

Love this idea but wonder, with all that heat applied are you risking pulling the face out of square or any other distortion that may impact sealing or function?

 

[jjvw]

Love this idea but wonder, with all that heat applied are you risking pulling the face out of square or any other distortion that may impact sealing or function?

I did this to mine about 2 years ago (with the exact same welder) and there have been no leaks with a Barnett cover and RTV.

 

[jjvw]

Does this method of weld buildup just buy you some time with a sacrificial layer? Is the weld harder and more resistant to material loss as well?

The hardness is comparable to when you try drilling or filing a weld compared to the base metal.

 

[Juggernaut]

The hardness is comparable to when you try drilling or filing a weld compared to the base metal.

Has anyone hard faced the vulnerable surfaces of the diff? I contemplated this a while back but couldn’t find many people doing this. I dont feel I grind bad enough to warrant it but was curious as it would allow better clearance than a skid.

 

[jjvw]

Has anyone hard faced the vulnerable surfaces of the diff? I contemplated this a while back but couldn’t find many people doing this. I dont feel I grind bad enough to warrant it but was curious as it would allow better clearance than a skid.

We have. See post #6

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I have beat mine up on the rocks over many years. It has ground down a full half inch and has taken quite a bit of the bottom bolt with it. I am in the process of building a new axle to replace this one.

This is my old axle before pulling the cover off. You can see how much it has been shaved.

View attachment 590960


Here is is from underneath looking the other way. Notice the full 1/2" lip to the left. It used to be that way all the way across. I didn't realize how much that would hang up over the year. As it wore away, I got caught up less and less.

View attachment 590961

This is my new axle with the same lip looking at it from the same angle as above.

View attachment 590962

This is my old diff cover on my new axle to show how much has ground away.

View attachment 590963

I ground this much off the new axle to get rid of a lot of that lip.

View attachment 590964

Then I welded many beads to build up a ramp to the edge of the lip. This does a couple of things. First, I have no lip to get caught up now. Secondly, the weld bead should hold up very well to the abuse I throw at it. If it ground down much, I can throw more weld bead back on there.

View attachment 590965

The hardness is comparable to when you try drilling or filing a weld compared to the base metal.

Isn’t there a hardfacing rod just for this purpose? Did you guys use something like that, or general welding wire?

I wonder how the weld compares to AR500? Any idea?

 

[Juggernaut]

We have. See post #6

I did see that which is what got me thinking about it again. I was originally thinking more along the lines of heavy equipment bucket using actual hard facing rod, visualizing a pattern extending from the yoke to the cover as a wear bar.

 

[jjvw]

I did see that which is what got me thinking about it again. I was originally thinking more along the lines of heavy equipment bucket using actual hard facing rod, visualizing a pattern extending from the yoke to the cover as a wear bar.

This weld is already harder than the base metal and we added it to the areas that were worn from the rocks.

 

[jjvw]

Isn’t there a hardfacing rod just for this purpose? Did you guys use something like that, or general welding wire?

I wonder how the weld compares to AR500? Any idea?

I used whatever general wire was in HJ's welder. One can use hard facing, if desired.

 

[hosejockey61]

Does this method of weld buildup just buy you some time with a sacrificial layer? Is the weld harder and more resistant to material loss as well?

It doesn't just buy time, to me it is a sacrificial layer. When it wears down, I can add more weld. It also allows me to get rid of the big bottom lip and instead turn it into a sliding ramp rather than a catchy notch. It also keeps from destroying the housing.

As far as it being "harder", I don't think so, but it's hard enough to do the job until I need to add more. My last axle lasted a really long time without having weld on it. I think this will get me may years of use before needing to touch it up.

 

[hosejockey61]

Love this idea but wonder, with all that heat applied are you risking pulling the face out of square or any other distortion that may impact sealing or function?

Like anything else you do, give it some time to cool between welds. The face of the diff is still perfectly flat and the diff cover bolts right up.

 

[hosejockey61]

Isn’t there a hardfacing rod just for this purpose? Did you guys use something like that, or general welding wire?

I wonder how the weld compares to AR500? Any idea?

You could use hardfacing material but it is expensive. The weld does its job just fine. When it wears down, just add more. Not sure on how AR500 compares.