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diff guard template?

R

rooneypower

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Woodinville, WA
Does anyone have a dana 30 diff guard template that I could use to make a diff guard for mine?

Or if not, how would I go about making one??

P.S. A buddy and I tried to use a gasket seal for our template and got the metal all cut out and we figured out that it was to small because the gasket seal is smaller than the circumfrence around the outside or the diff..... so we could use some help please!!
 
next time you have you dif cover off, trace it.
cut the steel out, tack it to the cover, drill holes, grind tacks.
cut the inside to match gap on outside of holes.
bolt/tack weld it down to something to keep it from warping when welding on the plate, or whatever you will be using for armor.
unbolt/grind tacks, paint it, allow to dry.
bolt on your new armor.
 
So you'd rather someone else take their diff cover off to get you a pattern?

Just go down and take the cover off, clean it, trace the pattern, inspect your gears, put said cover back on and refill with fresh gear oil.

You'll be 100% certain your gears are ok :)
 
I just mean its an easy way of calculating the size of the lip or ring.
You can just measure the size of the ring on your stock one, or you can ensure there is an even gap around each hole you drilled. If there is 1/4" from the outside of the drilled hole (for the bolts) to the outside of the ring than make sure you have atleast that much on the inside. You may want more depending how you attach your armor material.
Its just a minimum guideline I think, leave as much material on the inside of the ring as needed to weld too.
 
You could do what I did and hit the wrecking yard and get a cover off of another Jeep. Then take said cover home zip-cut the dome off so all you are left with is the ring. Then just build away, you could then build a football helmet type gaurd or build a whole new heavyduty cover.
 
mikes offroad said:
You could do what I did and hit the wrecking yard and get a cover off of another Jeep. Then take said cover home zip-cut the dome off so all you are left with is the ring. Then just build away, you could then build a football helmet type gaurd or build a whole new heavyduty cover.
Click to expand...

X2, thats what I have done/doing now for guards front and rear.
 
To me, a diff guard is on of those time-value of money items...

For $100 or so, you can get one sent to your doorstep, with all the mounting bolts as well.



Here's what I use, from Poison Spyder Customs...
imgj0007_med.jpg



I doubt I could have built anything better for the cost and the time spent...
 
I got a junkyard one, cut the top half off, then cut the ring off the top half (the top half ring and bottom half ring are mirror images of each other), used it as a spacer between the extra bottom half and the stock cover, then cut a 1/2" strip off of the top scrap piece that matched the contours of my new lower part, used that to space the top part out a tad, and welded it all up. Then I made sure all the bolt holes were straight by running a drill bit through each one. Don't know if that made sense, but here are some pics

click on the thumbnail to see the pics
I made sure the cover was bolted down tight each time before welding to it so that it couldn't warp or move with the heat from the welding.
 
I suggest either taking the cover off and not being lazy or just doing what xj92 did. I made my own diff guards and I just took cardboard and made templates with the covers on the jeep I wish I had just taken the covers off and done it that way as fitment was an issue until I ground and clearanced things
I have front and rear like this outta stainless steel
2506357_40_full.jpg
 
waxer said:
Some of us enjoy and don't mind the extra work to know we did it ourselves and take pride in doing so.

$5 in steel and an hour is what I estimate to make that diff guard.
Click to expand...
An hour? :clap: Riiight.


I understand and am all for making my own stuff. But some stuff is better made by a machine. Maybe I;ve just done too much bust-body work. Here's my rear 44 cover. This was an hour:

original.jpg



Booger welded on ( I wish I had a spare 44 for a template).

original.jpg



It would take me an hour to mark and drill all those holes. :D
 
If you are looking for a way to save money and get some good equipment, check this deal out...http://www.rokmen.com/crane.html
If you are looking for experience, build.
By the time you factor in the time it takes, the cost of materials and the inevitable mistakes, you're probably breaking even with the purchase price of new covers. I have a couple of 3/16 plates welded to my rear 44 and it stands up well. It's cheap and dirty, but it works. Or try an add on to the diff cover like the jeepspeed stuff. http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/Product.aspx?id=1273

Anyways, whatever you do have fun with it.
 
waxer said:
Not my fault you work slow!! :)
Click to expand...

If you can make a heavy duty diff cover with $5 worth of steel, in an hour, you should be in the business of selling diff covers. Profit of 95.00 an hour is pretty good, unless you're spending all of that on meth to work that fast...
 
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