Why you need a rear diff skid plate

I had to learn this the hard way. I thought I was fine underneath because I have skid plates (engine, transmission and transfer case). I did this on an obstacle that I was having trouble getting over and had to back up a few times. You have to be careful in picking a rear dif skid plate because they don't all extend underneath towards the front and protect where this happened. C4 rear Dif plate does.

 

Damn that sucks. I have hit mine pretty hard where the driveshaft bolts up but didn’t catch that part that you did

 

Yeah - I was of the opinion that the diff housing was steel so why do I need to protect it with a steel skid plate. Of course had I picked a better line I would have cleared the obstacle so there is that but I did have a good experienced spotter so . . . .