New aluminum rear diff cover
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New aluminum rear diff cover
Just thought I would share my findings.
I had changed the third member on an 04 Explorer with independant rear suspention. I got to really looking at the cover and it hit me like a ton of bricks, it's a perfect match to my 8.8 rear stamped steel cover on my 94 Ranger except for it's about 3/4" thick ribbed aluminum, it has a fill and drain plugs, a vent fitting, and very large mounting "ears". I am currently cutting the mounting ears off to make it a cleaner install. and not to mention the cool factor it'll add back there.
I am snapping pictures as I go to be posted later, price wise I think it'll be hard to beat from a bone yard, compared to an aftermarked cover.
I had changed the third member on an 04 Explorer with independant rear suspention. I got to really looking at the cover and it hit me like a ton of bricks, it's a perfect match to my 8.8 rear stamped steel cover on my 94 Ranger except for it's about 3/4" thick ribbed aluminum, it has a fill and drain plugs, a vent fitting, and very large mounting "ears". I am currently cutting the mounting ears off to make it a cleaner install. and not to mention the cool factor it'll add back there.
I am snapping pictures as I go to be posted later, price wise I think it'll be hard to beat from a bone yard, compared to an aftermarked cover.
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Wendell summit sells the nice cast aluminum diff covers if you're looking for drain and fill plugs + extra capcity and support for the bearing caps. I posted a picture of the one I am putting on my roadmaster a little while ago.
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pictures are in my new gallery. and it took about 1 1/2 hours from begining to driving. sure beats $150 + for a new aftermarket one.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...?albumid=30002
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...?albumid=30002
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From: St. Peter
Would you mind explaining how the aftermarket one adds support to the bearing caps? Or does it just say it on the box?
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Originally Posted by Peter94
Would you mind explaining how the aftermarket one adds support to the bearing caps? Or does it just say it on the box?
In the picture you can see the two holes in the cover I circled.
They're for the adjustable load bolts that come with the cover. They thread through the cover, and have pads on the end. You torque them down to specificied torque (typically 5ft lbs). These load bolts keep the bearing caps in place.. They're a heavy duty cover. They typically say summit on them or moser, etc. I thought it detracted from the cover, so "SUMMIT" was milled off mine.
Last edited by BuffmanLT1; Sep 1, 2007 at 08:33 PM.
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From: St. Peter
AHHH, very nice
That actually makes sense from an engineering standpoint. For the life of me I could not figure out how the cover would have anything to do with strengthing the bearing caps, and I was ready to throw out the BS flag. Though it might be a "buy me!" gimmick. But yeah, thats actually pretty cool, I've never seen anything similar to it.
Also, where "summit" was milled off looks like a good place to CNC "ranger" on...
That or I bet you could buy a ranger emblem off of ebay somewhere and put that on there.
That actually makes sense from an engineering standpoint. For the life of me I could not figure out how the cover would have anything to do with strengthing the bearing caps, and I was ready to throw out the BS flag. Though it might be a "buy me!" gimmick. But yeah, thats actually pretty cool, I've never seen anything similar to it.
Also, where "summit" was milled off looks like a good place to CNC "ranger" on...
That or I bet you could buy a ranger emblem off of ebay somewhere and put that on there.
Last edited by Peter94; Sep 1, 2007 at 09:20 PM.
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From: central ohio
yes this is a old post. here is my summit cover. very good upgrade over the composite cover that the truck came with. i did save the old cover though, if i ever part with the truck, im keeping this cover! 
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AHHH, very nice
That actually makes sense from an engineering standpoint. For the life of me I could not figure out how the cover would have anything to do with strengthing the bearing caps, and I was ready to throw out the BS flag. Though it might be a "buy me!" gimmick. But yeah, thats actually pretty cool, I've never seen anything similar to it.
Also, where "summit" was milled off looks like a good place to CNC "ranger" on...
That or I bet you could buy a ranger emblem off of ebay somewhere and put that on there.
That actually makes sense from an engineering standpoint. For the life of me I could not figure out how the cover would have anything to do with strengthing the bearing caps, and I was ready to throw out the BS flag. Though it might be a "buy me!" gimmick. But yeah, thats actually pretty cool, I've never seen anything similar to it.
Also, where "summit" was milled off looks like a good place to CNC "ranger" on...
That or I bet you could buy a ranger emblem off of ebay somewhere and put that on there.
LOL never saw this, but that cover was for my 8.5" 10 bolt in my Roadmaster not my ranger....
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From: So. Cal.
Looking at your photos, I see that the drain hole looks huge! And the fill hole is shrouded to make access difficult. How much do these covers cost in a junkyard? It would be nice to not have to remove the cover to change the oil.
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