Poll: Differential Guards

[bernardmann]

It's time to purchase some diff guards for the Disco. Please let me know what ones you guys like/dislike. If I missed any in the poll, let me know...

[Funrover]

None of the above........... I really like KMC........... I will find their number.. I know Ragerover has pics of his.....


My second choice is QT

[bernardmann]

Originally Posted by Funrover

None of the above........... I really like KMC........... I will find their number.. I know Ragerover has pics of his.....


My second choice is QT

I forgot all about KMC...thanks man!

[Badger1]

I have one for the front that was bought from Rovers North and works great and the price was great also. The rear is Southdown which is also great. Going without it today ecause it has its' drawbacks too though. It offers great protection but hangs down, loosing precious clearance under the rear diff. Can't say it has ever hindered me off road though.

[Disco Mike]

KMC is an over priced copy of a QT. Mad of the same material and thickness and the only difference is that awful color they paint it with, kind of a redish orange.
Also they run nearly $80 a set more.
The man who makes them, pisses me of, maybe that is why I am down on his products, he says Qt copied his design and I have had my for over 4 years and found old articles on the QT's going back another couple of years.
Mike

[bernardmann]

Thanks for the inputs thus far. Looks like the QT's have the lead.

[Jarrodw]

Only go with weld on.
-Jarrod

[LR Max]

I currently have a standard diff guard that just clamps onto the diff housing. Overall for what I do it is inferior. My biggest deciding factor was at uwharrie, I hit a rock and it came off. No big deal, my drag link is in the way to prevent it from leaving the vehicle. Well, I stalled out and wacked the rock again on the unprotected cover. To say the least, there was problems.

Go weld on. Everything else is just crap.

The QT is a good product but I do believe if you want to upgrade your steering components, then it won't work. Not to mention it hangs down, killing what little ground clearance we've already got.

[John C]

Originally Posted by LR Max

I currently have a standard diff guard that just clamps onto the diff housing. Overall for what I do it is inferior. My biggest deciding factor was at uwharrie, I hit a rock and it came off. No big deal, my drag link is in the way to prevent it from leaving the vehicle. Well, I stalled out and wacked the rock again on the unprotected cover. To say the least, there was problems.

Go weld on. Everything else is just crap.

The QT is a good product but I do believe if you want to upgrade your steering components, then it won't work. Not to mention it hangs down, killing what little ground clearance we've already got.

I have the QT diff guard with upgraded track rod and steering rod and it works just fine.

As far as losing clearance, well it's only 1/4" thick so that's how much you lose. One thing nobody has mentioned is that the diff guard acts as a slider, that's why the call them rock sliders in the UK.

I got tired of losing my SG diff guards so I switched to the QT. You guys should do a search on KMC on this board, I think Sven had one of their diff guards....go see what happened to his.

[Jarrodw]

Originally Posted by John C

I have the QT diff guard with upgraded track rod and steering rod and it works just fine.

As far as losing clearance, well it's only 1/4" thick so that's how much you lose. One thing nobody has mentioned is that the diff guard acts as a slider, that's why the call them rock sliders in the UK.

I got tired of losing my SG diff guards so I switched to the QT. You guys should do a search on KMC on this board, I think Sven had one of their diff guards....go see what happened to his.

Why mess with it. Weld on the RTMs and be done. Noting to come off or lose on the trail. Noting to twist on the housing. You can get both front and rear for $150.00. The housing where you weld the RTEs is a bout 1/4 inch thick. The best thing is to have sewer cap welded on in replace the thin cover all together. I know any you can break anything on the trail. I think I saw a tread on D Web where the QT twisted on the housing from an impact. I am not saying that there is only one solution. Anything can help, but with a weld on, you weld and forget.

So many options....

-Jarrod

[John C]

Originally Posted by Jarrodw

Why mess with it. Weld on the RTMs and be done. Noting to come off or lose on the trail. Noting to twist on the housing. You can get both front and rear for $150.00. The housing where you weld the RTEs is a bout 1/4 inch thick. The best thing is to have sewer cap welded on in replace the thin cover all together. I know any you can break anything on the trail. I think I saw a tread on D Web where the QT twisted on the housing from an impact. I am not saying that there is only one solution. Anything can help, but with a weld on, you weld and forget.

So many options....

-Jarrod

Do you mean welding right over the existing casing or cutting out the stock casing and welding a thick casing?

If you are talking about welding on top of the existing then I think it's a bad idea. I've seen diffs start to rust away because of moisture caught in between the diff guard and pumpkin.

Again, I like the QT because it acts as a slider. w/o it you'll probably hang yourself up on a rock and end up doing more damage (more strain on the driveline)..... but hey, that's just my opinion.

The only time I've seen a diff guard twist (like the one mentioned in Sven's post) was the KMC one. Unless of course the person installed the diff guard incorrectly (maybe they didn't weld the tabs on the front of the diff properly).

[rmuller]

Originally Posted by John C

I have the QT diff guard with upgraded track rod and steering rod and it works just fine.

Apparently on the DII the QT Diff Guard wont work with an upgraded Tie Rod (at least the ones Dan was/is selling) ... I haven't tried it, just from what people were reporting.

That being said, I love my QT diff guards, have taken some nice hits and have stayed solid.

[LR Max]

It back up what was being said:

Yes, on a D2, upgraded steering does not work with the QT. My buddy and I looked at it long and hard and there is interference.

QT looks like they make a badass product, just a little much for my taste.

I concour about the sewer cap. Unfortunately that generally means you've got to tear down the complete axle, and having said axle removed from the vehicle helps out a ton. Then cut out the old flimsy cover and install the sewer cap. You'll have to have a drain plug installed as well.

The sewer cap conversion is only worthwhile when the entire axle is being rebuilt. And if you are going to all that length, might as well go with a Dana 60.