dented diff

[thrashattack]

so i went wheeling this weekend and put a tennis ball sized dent in my front diff right where the ring gear is. how worried should i be?
the is nothing weird happening, no grinding noise or sounds.
should i pop it out or just run it ? and be smart and get some diff armor.

 

[Mike C]

I would order some diff armor, tear the axle down and pop it out, weld on armor.

 

[bigndn]

I would order some diff armor, tear the axle down and pop it out, weld on armor.

X2. If it's not grinding and making noise, you're fine, but the next hit may make the situation much worse.

http://www.trail-gear.com/trail-armor

 

[GRM]

pull the diff. I have chipped the ring gear like that before.

 

[NorCalBorn]

Yeah, all you gotta really do once the 3rd and axles are pulled is hit the spot in a circular pattern at the dent and ball-peen hammer it out. Clean it all up, weld on some armor and be done with it.

FWIW 8" pipe caps come pretty cheap and can be cut to your desired shape pretty easily.

here, see for yourself:

ToyotaResources.com - Diff Armor

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3760

 

[KLF]

FWIW 8" pipe caps come pretty cheap and can be cut to your desired shape pretty easily.

Yup.

My front axle:

My rear axle:

Those things are like 3/8" thick steel. You bend that, you got bigger problems to deal with.

I've since also plated and shaved the bottoms of both axles, gained about an inch of clearance under each diff, got rid of the drain plugs.

 

[4x4 Station Wagon]

I would like to see pics of the housing shaved

 

[NorCalBorn]

Awww, thanks for the flattery Shane!

Fixed. *I couldn't find it as easily in here for some reason so I just looked on Pirate instead, only half of your 3k-odd postcount there. .