weld-on rear diff armor

I'll be pulling the 3rd member for a regear anyways, so I figured it would be the perfect time to weld on some beefing on the rear cover of the rear diff.
but I haven't found any pre-bent sheet for a 3rd gen bigger rear axle in my googling...
only the smaller (older) diffs.

is it just my lack of google-fu?
do I need to shape my own armor for this? I was hoping for an easy $25 part to keep it easy.

 

Sure there is some prebent bolt on stuff . Just put that on a weld in place.

 

If you're gonna be welding anyway, just cut out the shapes and weld them yourself then weld that to the diff.

 

bolt-on stuff is way too bulky and looks like it reduces ground clearance for a whole lot of $$

Yea, that's what I'll end up doing if noone makes any prebent stuff. Paying $25 to save an hour of time is well worth it for me if it were an option

 

It's fine... It doesn't need anything.

 

jeez. how big of a jump did you land for that to happen?

 

Not mine thankfully.

 

Take it back to the Dealer. That thing is still under warranty.

 

Customer: I was just driving to church next thing I know...
Dealer: ....

 

I think @JLee makes the lowest profile diff skid on the market. It's bolt-on and not weld-on, and it certainly isn't $25. Don't think you'll find anything in that price range and doubt you'd even find materials for 4x that.

http://bayareametalfab.3dcartstores...-plus-875-TRD-off-road-and-Pro-only_p_85.html

Edit: But GD it is sexy...

 

If u do go the cut and weld route, do a write up so I can copy you haha.

 

really i just need something like this but for the correct axle
https://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/weld-on-differential-armor-small.html
how much do you think steel plate costs?

 

Depends on thickness, size, and grade/type. But generally speaking, buying low quantities is "expensive". Based on the maxi pad sized piece that you posted, you can probably buy some scrap from a local fab shop. My initial post was under the assumption you wanted more material. But it looks like you're after a "bash plate" and not a full skid.

https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy...ape:Sheet%2FPlate:Alloy:A36:Thickness:0.25%22

 

Weld some extra protection around the drain plug and don't add any more weight, bulk, or things that can snag.

 

If I were doing it, I would weld mount points to the axle and then bolt the armor to that so I could remove it for service, cleaning, or because I beat it. Can you fab it or do you need to buy?

 

This is what I ended up doing.
bought this
which is for a toyota 9.5" axle, so it wasn't a perfect fit, but for $28 (when on sale), I just modified it to be a good fit.
this is a pre-welded photo which helps show how I added some notches in the 3/8" steel so i can bend it on a vice to match the 8.75" curvature.
After that just burn it in and I filled in a couple more spots but pretty straight forwards.