Getting ready to change the fluid in both differentials. Figured it might not be a bad idea to get a cover for the rear with a drain plug.

Anyone know here to find a reasonably priced cover with a drain plug? I seen one with a magnetic plug but it was like $300 bucks.

Thanks

 

I have a chrome Trans Dapt cover on mine. You should be able to find one for around $50.

 

The problem with having a diff cover with a drain plug is that you'll end up using it - which is a BAD thing...

 

So your saying its always better to open it up so you can inspect the differential?

 

http://autoplicity.com/products/2048...gn=GSNOFITMENT
This is where I bought mine from a few months back. They were the cheapest I could find at the time and they got it to me fast! I'm happy with mine.

 

When i had my 01' Ram, i used Mag Hytec diff covers front and rear. They are heavy duty cast aluminum. With a drain plug at the very bottom so every drop of oil comes out. They come with stainless steel allen head screws and have a groove machined into the back with an O-Ring so you need to no gasket and no RTV. Their is also a drilled and tapped (has a brass plug in it) hole to add a temp gauge if you want. But the best feature on the cover is the Dispstick. It's stainless steel about the diamater of a pencil with a heavy duty magnet at the tip. It has the "FULL" and "ADD" marks and is mounted in the upper right. It fits through a opening as large as the stock fill hole is but it has a stainless steel cap with an O-Ring integrated into the dipstick and when you put the dipstick in the cover, you screw it in and use an allen key (which is included) to tighten down. So their is no chance that water could ever get in during a river crossing.

The nice thing about the magnet on the dipstick is unlike a normal cover, the ONLY way to notice a potential issue is the pull the cover and check the magnet in the bottom of the housing and/or look at the gears. But with the dipstick, you can check not only the fluid level, but if their is an issue anytime you want. And if the magnet is clean and you don't feel like pulling the cover, then just drain the oil and refill. Or, if you feel better pulling the cover and visually inspecting the gears when you do a gear oil change, you can still take advantage of the drain plug and use it to drain all the oil out before you take the cover off. No mess.

You can find most Mag Hytec covers on ebay for around $250 or less. Not cheap, but the quality is second to none. I plan on buying them for this truck soon.

 

That is a great price. That is where ill buy mine.

 

I only wish Mag-Hytec had a cover for the front differential, or better yet, a LubeLocker gasket so I don't have to scrape and clean the gasket crap off each time I replace the fluid! I could do without a MH on the front, but the LubeLocker would be great to have in saving time and mess! If anybody knows of something like this for the front differential, please clue me in.

 

Yes, especially if you have the factory LSD it's essential to do a visual at fluid change time.

Now if you're going to do it the way NV290 talks about and use the hole to drain so you don't have a mess when you take the cover off then that's great, but don't just do a drain and re-fill without looking at the gears, wear pattern, LSD, etc...

 

Not to be dumb, but other than metal fragments on the magnet, what else should be looked for? Also how much debris on the magnet is acceptable?