seer1

Received my Solid Differential Covers yesterday and thought I'd tell you about them. Dave at Northridge has a pretty good deal if you live in a town without a real 4x4 shop. That no cost shipping is nice.
I also ordered the LubeLocker gaskets and I was really glad I did.
Once I opened the boxes, I found the Dana 30 cover was "old school" with just a black coating on the steel. The Dana 44 was nicely powder-coated. I'm figuring they're probably moving more 44's than 30's. So right away I painted the 30 cover.

Nice work boots!
Then I drained and opened the front. I'll say no more as there are already excellent posts on how to do this. If you were wondering what your Dana 30 looked like from the inside, it looks like this.

The LubeLocker gasket comes with a great torque chart/pattern and I merely followed that.

While filling it, I noticed it only took a little over two pints.

Then I moved to the back. Again I drained it and removed the cover. This is what the Dana 44 LSD looks like.

I also took a picture of the inside of the cover with the LubeLocker sitting on it.

I filled the rear and that took 5 pints. It's good I bought some extra!
Now the front of my Jeeplooks like this

and the rear like this.


And for those of you still here, my critique.
The front cover was awesome. Went on smoothly. The only thing I would have done differently is put it up on jack stands. I did that on the rear and it was much easier to work on. I probably could've gotten away with just some silcone, but I just love to overkill things. Why send a boy when you can send a smart bomb?
The rear however...
I'm wondering if Solid has too much on its plate. The casting was too thick and I had to use an open end wrench because a socket wouldn't fit between the bolt and the wall. I hate trying to guess torque values with an open end wrench. Final torque value was 35lbs. and I really was just guessing. That made me glad I used the LubeLocker as it did it's job and both front and rear are bone dry.
Don't forget your limited slip additive when you do this. A couple of hours and a couple of busted knuckles from the tight fit between casting wall and bolt and it's done.
If I were to do it over again, I may have taken a longer look at the Riddler, but it's on and it's Solid.

John L

Nice write up and pics, thanks!

Barny

Other than for looks (and they do look good), do they have any other purpose ?

seer1

There were a couple of reasons on the red front. First I smacked something real hard (don't ask what 'cause it's real embarrassing and I ain't gonna tell you 'cause then you'll know how stupid I am and you won't read my write up on the Rock Hard bumper install that I'm going to put together later tonight etc., etc., etc.,...) So I needed to fix the rear real fast because my poor Jeep was bleeding all over the driveway.
Secondly, the rear was already powder-coated and beyond looks the real reason for paint is to keep rust off and as this wasn't a concern I put it on (even though the write up says I did it afterwards -coverup, cough)I really slapped it on first to stop the hemmorrhaging. So I was in a bit of a hurry on that one.
Since I had a bit more time with the front, I went ahead and painted it since it wasn't protected like the rear and since red and silver is one of my favorite color combos, I painted it red.

Now the reason I put them on is so when I do really stupid things, they will hopefully protect my differentials from my lack of I.Q.

Major Ho

What kind of bit did you use for the fill bolt. Its huge. a 1/2" hex bit wasnt big enough.
5 Quarts for the rear? Did I read that right? Thats about how much oil goes in the engine?
This means I have to get more huh? I only have 4-quart bottles of Royal Purple. I was under the impression they took 2 each.

Eracer76

About two quarts in the rear with the new cover.
The front takes less then two.
If you over fill them you risk blowing out the seals or blowing oil out the breather tubes.

tradewindjk

Hold yer horses, I made that mistake by adding to much.

It's the same as stock with the Solid, 4.7 pints in the rear, 2.7 pints for the front

seer1

Sorry, meant to say pints. I'll edit that right away. I ended up taking a 9/16 socket size) bolt and threaded a couple of nuts with a tack weld between each one. Those filler plugs are huge.

Major Ho

So whats everyone else using for the Solid Fill plug? I did find a 17mm hex bit at sears but that was a little too big, no other big sizes available.

Whats with the painting? Is it really required to paint it? Wayoflifes write up at 4x4explore had him painting it as well.
Is it really necessary, for longevity I assume? Can I just go without it, I kinda like that grey color on it.

seer1

It was weird, the 30 cover came bare and I figure iron and rust just love each other so a bit-o-paint was in order. The 44 cover was already that cool gray powder coat so it was already okay. Red front and gray in the back puzzles the observant. I like that in a Jeep. Besides, it's my old college colors.