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Besides looking better, in my opinion, and I am a Reliability Engineer so I understand the heat dissipation of the fins and how heat effects oil life, is there any documented data on how much finned differential covers really improve rear end life? I do not believe Flat Bed Ed has one and I do not recall him stating the rear end ever went out. I'm debating getting one, but feel the only benefit would be the looks.
I have a 2001 that the P.O. installed one from a later year truck. Apparently Ford changed to a finned cover in the later years.
I know while chasing a noise issue, I put my hand on the cover once checking for heat in the diff due to bad bearings. The cover was cool to the touch.
But I also know there is a range of where you want the temp of the oil to reach. So the question is, does the finned cover not allow the oil to reach the proper operating temp?
The video says that this is a brand new design with fins and may work. We'll see he said. I wouldn't trust my rear diff to a brand new, all new design.
Any failure is going to void the warranty since this is a modification. I trust the diff manufacture more than a third party experiment with a very costly component.
Watch the video and listen closely to what he says.
It will help a little...those rear ends get hot when worked hard and don't hold that much lubrication. I have heard some wild guesses of 15-20*F lower. I am waiting for the lube-locker gasket in the mail to put one on a hard working Dana 80 axle. (It's a Yukon Axle part, nothing too fancy or expensive like the new Banks one...although that one looks cool) Oil has over 40k miles on it so I want to dump it anyway and have a look. I am going to fill it with some trick stuff this time which I have used in previous vehicles with good luck (Redline Heavy Shockproof)
IMO the currently available pricey aftermarket ones like the Mag-Hytec, AFE and similar are not worth it and Banks showed they are actually not that great of a design even though they hold a little more lubrication, which is usually a good thing. The Yukon Axle one I bought was nowhere near as expensive at around $129 but even that still seemed ridiculous for a cast piece of aluminum. It has the standard fill capacity and curved back as the original steel one does.
The video says that this is a brand new design with fins and may work. We'll see he said. I wouldn't trust my rear diff to a brand new, all new design.
Any failure is going to void the warranty since this is a modification. I trust the diff manufacture more than a third party experiment with a very costly component.
Watch the video and listen closely to what he says.
I here what you are saying. I couldn't locate the 3 of 3 video, maybe they never posted it.
Anyway they claim it keeps the oil cooler. Video below has some numbers if you want to geek out on them.
I have a 2001 that the P.O. installed one from a later year truck. Apparently Ford changed to a finned cover in the later years.
I know while chasing a noise issue, I put my hand on the cover once checking for heat in the diff due to bad bearings. The cover was cool to the touch.
But I also know there is a range of where you want the temp of the oil to reach. So the question is, does the finned cover not allow the oil to reach the proper operating temp?
Not likely. The diff housing gets warm to the touch even after short unloaded trips and downright hot where the driveshaft yoke comes out of the diff when loaded heavier in warm weather (like pulling an RV)
Ford felt it a good enough idea to switch to a finned aluminum cover on the 2008-2010 SRW trucks with the 10.5" Ford axle. Not sure about whether the DRW/Dana 80 trucks of the same years got one also...
Not likely. The diff housing gets warm to the touch even after short unloaded trips and downright hot where the driveshaft yoke comes out of the diff when loaded heavier in warm weather (like pulling an RV)
Ford felt it a good enough idea to switch to a finned aluminum cover on the 2008-2010 SRW trucks with the 10.5" Ford axle.
Not sure about whether the DRW/Dana 80 trucks of the same years got one also...
If Ford feels something is a good idea it must be. They don't overspend on designs unless it's really necessary.
on some toyota awd cars, the bottom half of the aluminum differential housings are finned. and everyones probly familiar with old aircooled motorcycles. no one with half a ounce of common sense would say fins are just for looks. on a rear diff cover, how effective they are is probly a question of the fin size/shape and how much air is actually passing over them. if there isnt much air flow on the back side of the diff, even at highway speeds, there may not be enough benefit to bother with specialized covers
Not sure about whether the DRW/Dana 80 trucks of the same years got one also...
Ford has commissioned cast aluminum finned rear differential covers for the DRW Dana 80 rear axle dating back to the 1999 model year F-450.
The key difference between the OEM aluminum finned covers, and some aftermarket aluminum finned covers, such as the popular Mag Hytec, is the cover shape that manages oil splash out from the ring gear, as the Banks videos visually demonstrated.
Prior to Banks, the Non OEM aftermarket diff cover designers appeared to optimize shapes to achieve the greatest additional capacity of fluid.
The original equipment manufacturers of the axle, however, appeared to maintain the factory fluid capacity, and only set out to improve heat rejection, and possibly, axle housing stiffness to counter the reaction torque of the gear set... while still maintaining the interior surface cover shape that manages the lubricant splash out from the ring gear.
If I were to consider replacing a stock stamped steel axle housing cover with a cast aluminum finned replacement cover, I would only choose the OEM engineered cover, if one was available for that axle during any model year where the equivalent axle was manufactured.
The rear axle cover to my personal pickup is shown in my avatar next to my user name, as a warning to all that anything I say on these forums should be suspiciously regarded as talking out of my rear end. However, notice that the rear cover to my axle is non replaceable, as it is welded in place. It is neither aluminum, nor is it finned, and yet the axle alone is rated at 13,500 lbs.... more than twice that of the typical 6,000 to 7,000 lbs +/- rear axle rating of an F-250/350 SRW. So from this visual one could argue that aluminum finned covers are superfluous. This same axle is also rated at 15,000 lbs, and similar banjo beam axles with welded rear covers are found in much larger trucks rated at 20,000 to 40,000 lbs GAWR.
On the other hand, the fluid capacity in my 14.2" ring gear axle shown in the avatar is over 3 gallons, as opposed to 3 quarts of the typical 10.5" ring gear Ford corporate Sterling axle. The additional fluid may contribute to thermal management, which is likely the idea that inspired Mag Hytec to design covers to increase fluid volume. But there is a balance to all things, and I would just as soon trust that the engineers of the axle understand what their axle needs more than most.
It will help a little...those rear ends get hot when worked hard and don't hold that much lubrication. I have heard some wild guesses of 15-20*F lower. I am waiting for the lube-locker gasket in the mail to put one on a hard working Dana 80 axle. (It's a Yukon Axle part, nothing too fancy or expensive like the new Banks one...although that one looks cool) Oil has over 40k miles on it so I want to dump it anyway and have a look. I am going to fill it with some trick stuff this time which I have used in previous vehicles with good luck (Redline Heavy Shockproof)
IMO the currently available pricey aftermarket ones like the Mag-Hytec, AFE and similar are not worth it and Banks showed they are actually not that great of a design even though they hold a little more lubrication, which is usually a good thing. The Yukon Axle one I bought was nowhere near as expensive at around $129 but even that still seemed ridiculous for a cast piece of aluminum. It has the standard fill capacity and curved back as the original steel one does.
I run the Redline Heavy Shockproof in all my differentials. Its fantastic. I run a cocktail of that and Lucas HD in 75w90.
I have differential temperature gauges in my bronco. Drove it 900 miles out to Utah, over two 12k ft passes, and the rear never got above 150. It was usually around 120°. That's at 3000 rpms with 37" tires, no overdrive, 4.56 gears, a Detroit locker, and a Solid Axle Industries nodular iron diff cover (I have one on the 8.8, and one on each a 10.25 and D60F. They are inexpensive at under $100 and stronger than aluminum or stamped steel).
On the rocks in Moab, in granny low and 4 low, neither front or rear ever got past 160°.
Thanks for posting that video, dirt. I've been waiting for it.
To the OP and the name of the thread, the one aftermarket diff cover I linked to in my Sterling 10.5 thread was the one in Jegs. It was ribbed, had a OEM style design in which the oil would get flug up and over the ring gear but the real benefit I saw was that it had a drain plug in it. That's my final answer. And it looked cool. Not Banks functional as well as cool look, but still fairly cool. And cheaper...But function serves over form in which it has a drain... I'm usually a function over form guy myself though.
On the other hand, the fluid capacity in my 14.2" ring gear axle shown in the avatar is over 3 gallons, as opposed to 3 quarts of the typical 10.5" ring gear Ford corporate Sterling axle. The additional fluid may contribute to thermal management, which is likely the idea that inspired Mag Hytec to design covers to increase fluid volume. But there is a balance to all things, and I would just as soon trust that the engineers of the axle understand what their axle needs more than most.
That is the difference. A Dana 80 only holds ~4 quarts vs 12 for that commercial sized axle.
Did not know Ford made an aluminum cover for the 80 though.
When you get into the OE level of manufacturing, both the supplier (of the axle) and the vehicle manufacturer goes through a lot of tests, and certainly, gear, bearing, and lubrication life are all evaluated. Done on both.dyno's and vehicles, thermocouples are certainly added everywhere. And you test the crap out of everything as best you can.
An example of my own work for reference, on a weight class well above the subject.
The implementation of the aluminum finned cover by Ford, something I took the Mag Hytec cover off to install, corresponded with an increase in GVW way far over what was originally intended when the axle was first designed. They don't commission a cost change like that for nothing.
If you're running in that weight range with an older truck with any consistency, which would be over the GVW door sticker BTW, It would be a practical addition. Other than that, it looks cool.
I had followed Banks testing and design. The air scoops at the bottom of the axle that extends out were a show-stopper for me. Actually using the truck on back roads, farmland, and winter roads rather than southern California, those would be little potentials for ripping the cover off the back of the axle.
09-25-2019, 05:18 AM
