Riddle me this...

[Vranes17]

So there is one thing on my mind all the time when I offroad, and I dont know If im worrying too much or not. But the rear diff always feels like its going to hit something. I always picks my lines based on if I feel my diff is gonna hit on a rock or not. I have never to my knowledge while wheeling even touched the diff to a rock or anything, only time I saw it make contact was in between two ruts in some mud. Can someone explain it to me?( feel like an idiot asking)

 

[m_volyrakis]

I have a similar fear of hitting my LCAs... I think it's called hitophobia

Try measuring the ground clearance of you rear diff. This will help you guestimate if you will hit an obstacle or not.

 

[Vranes17]

I have a similar fear of hitting my UCAs... I think it's called hitophobia

Try measuring the ground clearance of you rear diff. This will help you guestimate if you will hit an obstacle or not.

haha hitophobia , dont get me wrong, I am awesome at eyeing that, like I said i never hit it. I just want to know why, is it because the diff is in the middle of the tires making it harder to allow contact? Is it because of the SA in the rear that allows it to angulate allowing better clearance?

I just find it wierd that I worry about that more than anything, tires, LCA(i think you mean), rocker panels, and its the least of my problems.

 

[ericautopart]

Use a spotter until you are able to build more confidence. I worry more about rolling over since I rolled onto a tree w/ my TJ. Now every truck I have and anywhere I go I worry about it.

 

[AlexKJ]

One option is armor the hell out of your KJ... Believe me, since I have rock-rails (my KJ come with skids as part of the Off-Road Group among other things) I wheel with a lot more confidence... The rocker panels where my worrying spot, and now it's covered

 

[Vranes17]

Im very confident in my abilities, Im very safe but aggressive. I just want to know why more people dont seem to have issues with them. How often do you hear people on the board say, "i smashed my rear diff pretty hard today" or "I cracked my diff today" etc.?

 

[jnaut]

So there is one thing on my mind all the time when I offroad, and I dont know If im worrying too much or not. But the rear diff always feels like its going to hit something. I always picks my lines based on if I feel my diff is gonna hit on a rock or not. I have never to my knowledge while wheeling even touched the diff to a rock or anything, only time I saw it make contact was in between two ruts in some mud. Can someone explain it to me?( feel like an idiot asking)

You'll usually hit something else before you hit your rear diff. For instance, something will ram that crossmember on the front of the vehicle before your rear diff takes a single nick.

 

[tjkj2002]

You drive over stuff with the tires,always put the tires on the object if your not sure your undercarriage will clear it.

 

[autoboy454]

You drive over stuff with the tires,always put the tires on the object if your not sure your undercarriage will clear it.

words to live by, and also the reason we stuff larger tires with MAN-tread. The more difficult the terrain gets, the more you will need to get your tires "on the object" to avoid damage elsewhere nana.gif

 

[Vranes17]

there we go, those are some answers i was looking for.

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

Let the rear diff get hit. Sucker's cast iron. Who cares? Y'ain't gonna hurt it.

 

[Dave]

I think it is just because in the back of your mind you know half of the rear diff is hung below the axle back there and is a low point.

Dave

 

[tjkj2002]

Let the rear diff get hit. Sucker's cast iron. Who cares? Y'ain't gonna hurt it.

It's actually cast steel,has not been a cast iron diff in a long time.

But just bash it is still good info,get a HD diff cover though.I bashed mine(the stock 8.25) very hard many times with zero issues.Just keep the axle tubes safe though as they are fairly thin.

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

Oh, derp. Didn't even think about it being steel and not iron.

All ThunderbirdJunkie knows is the damn thing is heavy (rotflmao)

 

[Warren.fischbeck]

Oh, derp. Didn't even think about it being steel and not iron.

All ThunderbirdJunkie knows is the damn thing is heavy (rotflmao)

Only if it falls on you. I like to use a spotter if I'm worried about the underside dragging. Nothing gives you the stinky pants faster then a sudden stop and a loud bang sound.

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

ThunderbirdJunkie prefers to let the steel junk on the bottom dragging than spotters

 

[Warren.fischbeck]

Even if you can hit the spotter when they screw up?

 

[ptsb5a]

How often do you hear people on the board say, "i smashed my rear diff pretty hard today" or "I cracked my diff today" etc.?

Not often because it's a pretty hefty chunk of iron, with rounded edges. My biggest diff worry is ripping the cover open on a rock or something. I wish you luck breaking the housing. I'm sure that it can be done, just unlikely as hell is all.

Edit: crap, late to the party again....

 

[Vranes17]

Not often because it's a pretty hefty chunk of iron, with rounded edges. My biggest diff worry is ripping the cover open on a rock or something. I wish you luck breaking the housing. I'm sure that it can be done, just unlikely as hell is all.

Edit: crap, late to the party again....

Late but you gave me the answer I was after. Thanks all.

 

[jnaut]

You drive over stuff with the tires,always put the tires on the object if your not sure your undercarriage will clear it.

Which is a good general rule, until you get on a surface with "stuff" all over the trail. Then the skill of the driver (and his spotter) is calculating all the undulations in the path and carefully balancing his tire(s) on the right football sized rocks in an attempt to clear the other 10,000 football sized rocks that the trail is literally made of.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKxl-1JHg5Q

Ugly and slow going.