Dropped front diff, looking for front spacer for skid plate

I just installed a new old man emu lift kit and so far it looks great. The problem is that when I tried to put on my RCI metalworks skidplate it interferes (really not close to fitting as it is) with the newer dropped mounts of the front differential. The spacers for the diff are an inch to an inch and a quarter and seem absolutely necessary since before I put it on, the CV joints growl with the increased height of the new suspension. At first I tried some nylon spacers at the front crossmember where the skid plate attaches but those weren't enough so I added washers but ran out of them quickly and still nowhere near enough room to clear the diff. I got new bolts and even more washers and so far I have almost an inch and a quarter worth of washers and it still needs more space on the front of the skid plate below the crossmember under the bumper. I've seen some other trucks around town that had some sort of rectangular criss-crossed spacer of some kind, but I haven't found anything like that online yet and maybe it's just because I don't know what they're called. I talked to RCI and their suggestion was to buy a new skidplate because they fix the problem on the new skid plates. Thanks RCI!

Retangular tube steel that is drilled and tapped to fit under that cross member under the bumper and then space the front skid plate? Is there an off the shelf thing that does this that isn't as rickety as a bunch of washers or big spacers with long bolts?

Even with the washers in the photo, the plate hour the differential and still is about an inch or more away from fitting against the rear cross member.

 

Just undrop the diff. It does nothing.

 

Take those off, they’re pointless and annoying.

 

Undrop the diff dude! No need for that

 

Anyone care to explain why a diff drop is useless..? Im curious

 

It doesn’t “drop” the diff, it just tilts it. Also, as the op has shown, you cannot put skid plates on with it. Most people misdiagnose the front vibes as being the driveshaft when it’s usually the needle bearing.

 

Interesting.. I suppose by tilting it though, you do still gain about half of the 'drop' distance.

 

Not at the rear of the front diff, the rear mount is hooked into the crossmember so there’s no dropping it. I don’t believe there is any meaningful gain by doing this. To each their own though

 

Well this mod is targeting the front CV joints, right? In an attempt to reduce the angles that those CVs see on the road. Not intended for the front drive shaft is my understanding..

 

With no diff spacers, I had a good amount of front end growl at all speeds above 4mph. Added spacers and the noise is absent. sooo....Seems like a good thing to help CV joints unless I'm missing something.

 

True that, honestly thats a point I usually don’t consider, my apologies. High angle boots would be a better solution, I’m just not a fan of chunks of aluminum moving things

 

When you have time snap a pic of your cv angles

I’m still betting it’s your needle bearing, it only vibes after a lift and at certain speeds and goes away in 4x4

 

So its not the boots- they were tight (didn't get pics before adding diff spacers), but the noise was from the joints themselves. So solutions?

#1 loud CV joints : wear em out faster
#2 different CV joints that are designed to handle the higher angle and not wear out
#3 leave tilted diff in place and find front skidplate spacer

Seems like #3 is the easiest for long term longevity here. I'm not losing any clearance by dropping the front of the plate even more since the low-point is at the rear cross-member unless I drop the front by 2-3".

 

Do you know anyone that could machine you some really beefy aluminum spacers? Just like the diff drop spacers, only sized to fit the skid plate hardware.. Maybe even consider upgrading the hardware to a bigger size if possible

 

As mentioned, the noise is probably your needle bearing. What I would recommend is removing the diff drop, and go for a drive. When you hear the growl, put it in 4HI. The noise should immediately cease. If that's the case, you need the ECGS bushing. It's very common for our trucks.

If you're determined to keep the diff drop, I recommend mobtown offroad skid plate, which is designed to work with our without a diff drop.

 

I do, but was looking to see if there are off-the-shelf solutions for this, mostly the rectangular tube steel that bolts between the plate and the crossmember on front.