Two or three studs instead of bolts would make a diff change easier.

 

I guess I should get that plug replaced and maybe even get a weld in one since I mainly use my truck for towing my boat to and from the launch where sometimes depending on the launch and water height (from the Dam I work at's Forebay level) submerges the rear end.

 

Here's a pretty nice weld-in one.

 

I would raise your Diff breather as high as possible also as stock height is ok but not the best.

Thats cool if you can do the welding because a shop would charge $100 an hour to weld it in

 

I used to launch my jet ski out of the bed of my lifted Chevy truck years ago. Obviously, that required me to back WAY down the boat ramp (even the front wheels were under water).

To keep from getting water in the rear end, I zip-tied a 16oz. water bottle upside-down on the side of the frame rail, then ran my vent hose into it (ending at the top). The air trapped in the bottle when it went underwater kept the rear end from sucking in any water. Worked great.

 

Sounds like a good idea Tom A. I def want to look into raising the breather and either getting a tighter fitting new plug or welding a new one in once I get the boat out of my garage and can pull the cover off and leave it till I can get a plug welded on. It all depends on the launch and water level but if I have to submerge the rear then I want to make sure it's not going to ruin my rear that is only 3 years off a rebuild. Thanks for the tips.

 

That was a good idea! I dropped by Ace Hardware and picked up 2 studs. I put the studs in two of the holes which made aligning the cover a snap. Once I got enough bolts in I removed the studs and finished off the installation.

 

FYI - Before putting the cover back on I was cleaning the inside with Brake Cleaner and noticed a big magnet on the bottom of the housing. I cleaned out all of the old gunky oil/metal filings from around it before putting the cover back on.