Author Topic: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard  (Read 5388 times)

Offline BlacXJeep

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Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« on: May 22, 2009, 12:32:13 AM »
Put a good Quarter size dent In my front diff at Breakneck. Looking for some opinions on what to go with. Cover or skid/guard? And what brand? If I could get a decent product and stay under/around $100 that would be super. Trying not to break my wallet but at the same time not compromise quality too much. Right now I'm thinking about going with the
solid cover which is $80. Anybody have any of their products? what do you reccomend?
Andy Doucette - A.K.A.(Douce)
W.O.J.

Offline kirksjeep

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2009, 12:51:49 AM »
I have Solid Diff covers front and rear.  They recently lowered thier prices from $120 down to $80 and over Cristmas they were as cheap as $60.  They are very heavy and have a lifetime warranty.  The "kit" includes the cover, new allen head bolts, tube of gasket maker, and a sticker.  If you call them directly they will give you a 5% Military discount and with shipping the total is $90. 

When I installed mine I re-used the stock bolts that were in the D30 and 8.8.  The Allen bolts were ok, but I decided to stay with the standard bolts since they are harder to strip out. 
1992 YJ Sahara, 4.5 Rubicon Express ED Lift, 35" BFG MT, Custom Bumpers, SYE/CV Drive Shaft, OBA, Ford 8.8 rear, 4.10 gears, tie rod flip, 1"MML/BL
2002 KJ Liberty, 2" Lift, 31" tires/DD
2002 F-150 Harley Davidson 5.4L SC
2013 Explorer Sport
2006 Harley Road King Classic
1988 Honda Hawk GT

Offline Axle

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2009, 02:03:27 AM »
X2, what he said.  Solid diff covers are fairly cheap and worth every penny.
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Offline BlacXJeep

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2009, 02:31:30 AM »
Ok, so I guess I had already made the right choice! thanks guys
Andy Doucette - A.K.A.(Douce)
W.O.J.

Offline Axle

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2009, 03:15:20 AM »
They (Solid) make two versions for the Dana 30.  Aluminum and Steel.  Be sure you get the steel version.  The aluminum one is strong, but when you scrape it on a rock, you'll lose a lot of material.  The steel is better in that department, but they retain more heat and for longer periods than the aluminum.  Not really a big deal when you are off road going <5mph imo.
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Offline BlacXJeep

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2009, 04:41:50 AM »
Good point, I just looked up the one for $80 at  4Wheelparts and its heat treated 100% ductile steel, but I'm glad you brought that up I certainly don't want aluminum.
Andy Doucette - A.K.A.(Douce)
W.O.J.

Offline kirksjeep

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2009, 11:43:25 PM »
Use the coupon code I posted MEM52109 and get 15% this weekend!!!!  It will save you $12.
1992 YJ Sahara, 4.5 Rubicon Express ED Lift, 35" BFG MT, Custom Bumpers, SYE/CV Drive Shaft, OBA, Ford 8.8 rear, 4.10 gears, tie rod flip, 1"MML/BL
2002 KJ Liberty, 2" Lift, 31" tires/DD
2002 F-150 Harley Davidson 5.4L SC
2013 Explorer Sport
2006 Harley Road King Classic
1988 Honda Hawk GT

Offline BlacXJeep

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #7 on: May 23, 2009, 12:40:05 AM »
Use the coupon code I posted MEM52109 and get 15% this weekend!!!!  It will save you $12.

Unfortunately its probably going to ahve to wait a few weeks. hope to have it installed before next time I go offroad tho
Andy Doucette - A.K.A.(Douce)
W.O.J.

Offline One-Eye

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #8 on: May 29, 2009, 02:59:26 PM »
Not sure if I am late chiming in here but I have a set of Bad Apple Fab Diff guards front and rear and I have beat the hell out of mine and they have held up great.  $55 a piece.  I bought mine about 2-3 years ago and sold them for $105 a pair.  Here is the website. http://badapplefab.com/index.php
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PaulW

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #9 on: May 29, 2009, 04:16:21 PM »
I wonder if you could just put another stock one on top.  double the thickness for about 10 bucks at the bone yard.

Offline BlacXJeep

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #10 on: May 29, 2009, 10:47:17 PM »
Not sure if I am late chiming in here but I have a set of Bad Apple Fab Diff guards front and rear and I have beat the hell out of mine and they have held up great.  $55 a piece.  I bought mine about 2-3 years ago and sold them for $105 a pair.  Here is the website. http://badapplefab.com/index.php

I may look into those, I think I prefer having full coverage tho. So as far as that goes the Solid covers are the best bang for the buck.
Andy Doucette - A.K.A.(Douce)
W.O.J.

Offline kirksjeep

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #11 on: May 29, 2009, 11:12:04 PM »
Not sure if I am late chiming in here but I have a set of Bad Apple Fab Diff guards front and rear and I have beat the hell out of mine and they have held up great.  $55 a piece.  I bought mine about 2-3 years ago and sold them for $105 a pair.  Here is the website. http://badapplefab.com/index.php

I may look into those, I think I prefer having full coverage tho. So as far as that goes the Solid covers are the best bang for the buck.

I think the Solid are the best bang for the buck, and I did a lot of research before buying them.  I read on Jeep Forum that one guy was having a really hard time buying them through 4wd hardware and Quadratech.  If this is the way you want to go I recommend going directly through Solid and skip the middle man.  Here is a link to their site:
http://www.solidaxle.com/ProductCart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=7


I also recommend calling and asking for military discount, good for 5% off.
1992 YJ Sahara, 4.5 Rubicon Express ED Lift, 35" BFG MT, Custom Bumpers, SYE/CV Drive Shaft, OBA, Ford 8.8 rear, 4.10 gears, tie rod flip, 1"MML/BL
2002 KJ Liberty, 2" Lift, 31" tires/DD
2002 F-150 Harley Davidson 5.4L SC
2013 Explorer Sport
2006 Harley Road King Classic
1988 Honda Hawk GT

Offline BlacXJeep

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2009, 01:29:29 AM »
Will do!
Andy Doucette - A.K.A.(Douce)
W.O.J.

Offline One-Eye

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #13 on: June 03, 2009, 03:24:07 AM »
I know when I tried to buy the Rock Crusher dif guards (A.K.A. Solid), they were on back order from Australia for over 2 months!!! That is why I ended going with Bad Apple Fab.  I don't know if that is still the case or not but just something to ask before you order.  I ordered first then found out and had to cancell the order.
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Offline kirksjeep

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Re: Budget Dana 30 Diff cover or Guard
« Reply #14 on: June 03, 2009, 06:37:09 AM »
I know when I tried to buy the Rock Crusher dif guards (A.K.A. Solid), they were on back order from Australia for over 2 months!!! That is why I ended going with Bad Apple Fab.  I don't know if that is still the case or not but just something to ask before you order.  I ordered first then found out and had to cancell the order.

When Solid bought the design they started producing them right here in the states, down south I think.  Both of mine arrived a couple of days after I ordered them.  Solid website also lists which one are out of stock.  The D30 went out of stock fast when they were selling for $60 around Christmas time.
1992 YJ Sahara, 4.5 Rubicon Express ED Lift, 35" BFG MT, Custom Bumpers, SYE/CV Drive Shaft, OBA, Ford 8.8 rear, 4.10 gears, tie rod flip, 1"MML/BL
2002 KJ Liberty, 2" Lift, 31" tires/DD
2002 F-150 Harley Davidson 5.4L SC
2013 Explorer Sport
2006 Harley Road King Classic
1988 Honda Hawk GT