Differential Protection

It was all the rage many years ago to use a "weld on pipe cap" to protect the thin metal diff.

I will post a picture of another vehicle that uses them on both the front and rear diffs on a straight axel vehicle.

I did a search and found no mention of this being done on the Tacomas.




What you are looking at is a Samurai front axle that has had plenty of use. This cap is 8" in diameter and ~3/8" thick.

What I am wondering is how well does a 10" weld on pipe cap work on the rear Tacoma diffs? Any experience here?

 

That looks like homemade, not saying its bad , quite the opposite. It does not look like something sold on the market. The thickness would make it super expensive, and it can't be screwed in, its welded in so it is home made

 

Yes, it is self-fabricated, all good stuff is. The cap is cut into two (one half for the front and one half for the rear) and the depth is cut down too from the original size of the cap. As you can see it does a very good job at protection.

 

No doubt good at protection.
BUT, the area where I live uses decing chemicals far to often, it's a perfect place for them to accumulate. Drain holes along the bottom might help, but only if you clean them out on a regular basis.

 

I don't think our diffs are prone to puncture. At least, I haven't read of anyone having that issue.

 

Yup there is an ~1" drain at the bottom, but it sometimes catches a bit of mud that has to be washed out. Overall, very satisfactory.

 

The thin metal gets banged up and pushed into the ring gear where the ring gear can wear a hole in the thin metal.

 

Haven't read about that happening either...

 

https://rcimetalworks.com/product/rear-differential-skid-plate-16-23-tacoma-trd-offroad-pro/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19927446385&gbraid=0AAAAADdU9NcokPiBFepHct0EG3vIckIQv&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhafEBhCcARIsAEGZEKLGgDDRF0YqklscffjsHu8BXw0aGwg9uncRz_hO1dj_gnrQDgwtnJkaAqwzEALw_wcB
For the low low price of $295 you can protect your rear end!

 

Junk, that's a diff diaper. I've seen those left along the trail. Much more rewarding to do my own work.

 

This is my rear differential armor(modified ruffstuff armor) and LROF ELocker guard.


And I recommend this one below over any heavy bulky bolt on stuff.
https://trail-gear.com/armor/differential-armor/875-tacoma-diffarmor.html

 

Interested in seeing a photo of yours.

 

My own work is in post #1; I'm wishing to do something very similar with the Tacoma.

 

We're in agreement. Weld on is much better than bolt on.

The Trail-Gear is reasonably priced.

 

Samurai’s are awesome off-road, didn’t realize that was yours. Nice work!

Keep in mind that the rear differential input cover is at risk also though- there was a post by a member that showed how his differential armor didn’t extend far enough forward and he bent the cover (“shield”) on it causing a seal leak by going in reverse. I can’t find the post but it was a recent one.

 

I had and removed the Rci diff skid. The mounting design at the drive shaft isn't great. I had it bend and hit the ujoint. It destroyed the shield at the housing.

 

I've seen one of these RCI diff diapers become a damage multiplier on Rubicon. IMO, the BAMF skid is much better secured, and provides better protection. (I do think that weld-on armor is going to be superior to both, though.)

 

If I finally get around to welding the bottom of the RCI front mounting plate (where the bolts are and around it) to the main diff cover shown here, do you think it would help keep the mount from hitting the diff input cover (shield) ? I’ll still have to figure out a way to secure the top of it. I see the potential issue you guys are talking about of that mount being bent forward enough to bend and open up that cover.

I can also see how welding the bottom of that mount on the RCI one would make it more similar to the BAMF, which is attached solidly to the main armor plate. The top of the BAMF one (shown below) definitely looks a lot more secure than the RCI one, but its front lip looks like a gravel and debris scoop.

 

BAMF's mounting points are 1/2"-thick solid pieces, versus those thin plates that RCI uses, so I don't think that simply welding the RCI mounts on is going to make much of a difference. The RCI skid is a thinner material than BAMFs (3/16" vs 1/4"), and I'm pretty sure that the BAMF skid sits closer to the diff, too.

edit: Looks like you were editing while I posted that. I do agree with how the front end of the BAMF skid looks, but I can't say that it's caused me any problems (admittedly, I have a 3-degree wedge under my leafs, so it's canted a bit less). If I thought it was a concern, though, I'd just trim it.

 

It's been done by plenty. I prefer to weld them on with a full diff and then change the fluid after. I wish I could remember who made it, maybe trail gear.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diff-skid-recommendations.740215/#post-26353114