Any reviews or opinions on Rancho Front Diff Skid

GrayBeard

New member
Anyone have any opinion or reviews on the Ranch Front Diff Skid Plate. After watching several video's here, I've noticed the front diff drain plug has taken a beating and/or come loose from being struck.

Just looking to protect it.

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NFRs2000NYC

Member
Seems like it's a goofy looking product, but thanks to the genius that put the drain bolt at the bottom, it's a necessary product.
 

JTCO

Meme King
I think it will serve a much better purpose on the JL than the JK unless you're planning on swapping axles.
 

JTCO

Meme King
I’ve had Toyota axles with drain plugs on the bottom and never had issues with them. They do get beat up, but if they are snugged up, odds are you’ll never have one back off rock hits.


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Eddie and Cindy just had their drain plug back off on the Rubicon Trail and they lost fluid because of it. Along with that, Eddie struggled to get the proper hex socket in the plug hole because it was damaged so bad. And they've owned their JL for a very short time.
 

BillArnett

New member
It looks like one has to remove some of the diff cover bolts to install this thing. Will that break the diff cover seal?
 

JTCO

Meme King
It looks like one has to remove some of the diff cover bolts to install this thing. Will that break the diff cover seal?

Every diff oil change I've done, I remove all bolts except for one and fluid doesn't start leaking until about hammer pound number 6 with the deadblow hammer. So removing bolts to install the skid shouldn't hurt anything.
 

Shaneheberlein

New member
Eddie and Cindy just had their drain plug back off on the Rubicon Trail and they lost fluid because of it. Along with that, Eddie struggled to get the proper hex socket in the plug hole because it was damaged so bad. And they've owned their JL for a very short time.

I watched that also. Made me think about a skid. But the ranch’s one it beyond bulky in my opinion. I don’t know if he torqued the plug or if it was just tightened from the factory. But this is one jl that we have seen so far. That’s why I say odds are you will never have an issue. Drain plugs on bottom are fairly normal for some manufacturers. If you drag your diffs on the rocks a lot, then a slider may be for you. But I’d wait till something better comes out or make my own. Can’t wait for SEMA!


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NFRs2000NYC

Member
I watched that also. Made me think about a skid. But the ranch’s one it beyond bulky in my opinion. I don’t know if he torqued the plug or if it was just tightened from the factory. But this is one jl that we have seen so far. That’s why I say odds are you will never have an issue. Drain plugs on bottom are fairly normal for some manufacturers. If you drag your diffs on the rocks a lot, then a slider may be for you. But I’d wait till something better comes out or make my own. Can’t wait for SEMA!


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Odds are you will. It is right in the center on the bottom, the first piece of diff you hit.
 

OverlanderJL

Resident Smartass
I watched that also. Made me think about a skid. But the ranch’s one it beyond bulky in my opinion. I don’t know if he torqued the plug or if it was just tightened from the factory. But this is one jl that we have seen so far. That’s why I say odds are you will never have an issue. Drain plugs on bottom are fairly normal for some manufacturers. If you drag your diffs on the rocks a lot, then a slider may be for you. But I’d wait till something better comes out or make my own. Can’t wait for SEMA!


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If you don’t hit it you don’t wheel. What could be better? It covers the drain plug. That’s exactly what it’s designed to do. There’s not much to it.


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JTCO

Meme King
I watched that also. Made me think about a skid. But the ranch’s one it beyond bulky in my opinion. I don’t know if he torqued the plug or if it was just tightened from the factory. But this is one jl that we have seen so far. That’s why I say odds are you will never have an issue. Drain plugs on bottom are fairly normal for some manufacturers. If you drag your diffs on the rocks a lot, then a slider may be for you. But I’d wait till something better comes out or make my own. Can’t wait for SEMA!


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Odds are you will. It is right in the center on the bottom, the first piece of diff you hit.

If you don’t hit it you don’t wheel. What could be better? It covers the drain plug. That’s exactly what it’s designed to do. There’s not much to it.


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Yeah it's bulky. Agreed. But protecting the drain plug is more important IMO. Like I said, on the JK, no issue, but on the JL, it appears to be an issue. This may be the only JL we've seen so far, but can you honestly say that anyone else documents things like this with good video evidence like Eddie and Cindy? I can't think of anyone who brings up stuff like this on every wheeling video to help others with issues that may occur.
 

Shaneheberlein

New member
Yeah it's bulky. Agreed. But protecting the drain plug is more important IMO. Like I said, on the JK, no issue, but on the JL, it appears to be an issue. This may be the only JL we've seen so far, but can you honestly say that anyone else documents things like this with good video evidence like Eddie and Cindy? I can't think of anyone who brings up stuff like this on every wheeling video to help others with issues that may occur.

If it’s something to complain about. You would see it on one of the forums. If this product makes people feel better. Great! I’ve always overbuilt thing because of my own or others issues they have seen. This is one thing I don’t see myself doing. Not a lot of water wheeling, so a little work every 40k miles changing oil will work for me. But who knows. If I see this issue first hand, it may change my mind


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notnalc68

That dude from Mississippi
If it’s something to complain about. You would see it on one of the forums. If this product makes people feel better. Great! I’ve always overbuilt thing because of my own or others issues they have seen. This is one thing I don’t see myself doing. Not a lot of water wheeling, so a little work every 40k miles changing oil will work for me. But who knows. If I see this issue first hand, it may change my mind


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It has been mentioned on a forum. This one.

I guess you didn’t see the video. It has nothing to do with needing to change differential fluid, or water crossings. It has everything to do with the front axle drain plug being located on the bottom of the axle. It was becoming loose, because of striking rocks.

You say you wheel. Okay, maybe you do. I don’t know you, but I do know Wayoflife. I also believe what I see, with my own eyes. Watch the video. Listen to what he says in it. Start at 35:50

https://youtu.be/SiWAdnvIAUg

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OverlanderJL

Resident Smartass
If it’s something to complain about. You would see it on one of the forums. If this product makes people feel better. Great! I’ve always overbuilt thing because of my own or others issues they have seen. This is one thing I don’t see myself doing. Not a lot of water wheeling, so a little work every 40k miles changing oil will work for me. But who knows. If I see this issue first hand, it may change my mind


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This diff skid has absolutely zero to do with water wheeling and fluid changes. Best of luck to you when you are out in the middle of nowhere and hit you diff plug on a rock and fluid leaks out without you seeing it. No fluid, burned up bearings and blown ring and pinion. Yeah no issues there. :crazyeyes:


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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Anyone have any opinion or reviews on the Ranch Front Diff Skid Plate. After watching several video's here, I've noticed the front diff drain plug has taken a beating and/or come loose from being struck.

Just looking to protect it.

They look gay as hell but after having mine back out on the Rubicon and having the threads get damaged to the point of needing to be replaced, I am running one now. Cheap, easy to install and gets the job done.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I watched that also. Made me think about a skid. But the ranch’s one it beyond bulky in my opinion. I don’t know if he torqued the plug or if it was just tightened from the factory. But this is one jl that we have seen so far. That’s why I say odds are you will never have an issue. Drain plugs on bottom are fairly normal for some manufacturers. If you drag your diffs on the rocks a lot, then a slider may be for you. But I’d wait till something better comes out or make my own. Can’t wait for SEMA!

It may be "fairly normal" for "some manufacturers" but there's nothing normal about a Jeep or the people who buy them. Granted, I'm new to the Jeep thing and suck at wheeling so that's probably why my drain bolt came loose.

If it’s something to complain about. You would see it on one of the forums. If this product makes people feel better. Great! I’ve always overbuilt thing because of my own or others issues they have seen. This is one thing I don’t see myself doing. Not a lot of water wheeling, so a little work every 40k miles changing oil will work for me. But who knows. If I see this issue first hand, it may change my mind

Years ago, I had asked my good friend Jim, the owner of Dynatrac, why his ProRock axles didn't come with drain plugs like some manufacturers include. You know, because for them, it's "fairly normal". After he stopped laughing, he reminded me of all the times that we've seen these drain bolts work themselves free and horror stories related to them. We even talked about how people back in the day used to do things like weld shit up to the bottom of the housing to recesses the bolts to help protect them and how it still didn't keep them from backing out. Of course, a lot of this is due to the fact that the drain bolts use a pipe thread - time and use on the rocks would still work them out. But hey, if it wasn't seen on one of the forums, it clearly has never happened. :crazyeyes:
 

NFRs2000NYC

Member
They look gay as hell but after having mine back out on the Rubicon and having the threads get damaged to the point of needing to be replaced, I am running one now. Cheap, easy to install and gets the job done.

Actually the JL one is nowhere NEAR as crazy looking as the JK one, which looks like a bent ski lol.
 

Shaneheberlein

New member
It may be "fairly normal" for "some manufacturers" but there's nothing normal about a Jeep or the people who buy them. Granted, I'm new to the Jeep thing and suck at wheeling so that's probably why my drain bolt came loose.



Years ago, I had asked my good friend Jim, the owner of Dynatrac, why his ProRock axles didn't come with drain plugs like some manufacturers include. You know, because for them, it's "fairly normal". After he stopped laughing, he reminded me of all the times that we've seen these drain bolts work themselves free and horror stories related to them. We even talked about how people back in the day used to do things like weld shit up to the bottom of the housing to recesses the bolts to help protect them and how it still didn't keep them from backing out. Of course, a lot of this is due to the fact that the drain bolts use a pipe thread - time and use on the rocks would still work them out. But hey, if it wasn't seen on one of the forums, it clearly has never happened. :crazyeyes:

I’m new to the Jeep world. Told my self I’d never buy one because of the people I’ve seen wheeling them. People with short time wheeling knowledge and only buy parts they have seen because it looks cool or someone said they needed it. I’ve been wheeling for 22 years. Mostly 85 Toyota. But I have built a buggy that was in crawl magazine. I’m not new. And I’m not saying they won’t back out. I’m saying odds are if you inspect these components that may back out after every wheeling trip. You most likely won’t have an issue. It’s a good idea to make a rig free of possible problems on the trails. That’s what we do from our experience or from others experiences. If I put a skid on I’ll build my own. But with how many of the new jeeps that have ran the rubicon and other trails with lots of rocks. This issue happens very rarely. On a true rock buggy or someone who only wheels in the rocks. Drain plug on the bottom is a bad idea. For most it’s not a big deal. For some, the loss of ground clearance would bother them more. This is just my opinion. I would base yours on how you wheel your rig. And what gives you piece of mind. I would carry a on board welder when wheeling far from recovery. And I know not many do this. But if you want to get home you will have the material it takes to do it( plus your buddies) in case of the things that can’t be fixed.


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