By Christian Sturtz, [email protected]
Photos by Christian Sturtz
It is easy to get several hundred, if not thousands, of dollars tied up in your axles. Lower gears, selectable lockers, and high-strength axle shafts add up quickly. So, how do you protect these assets? MetalCloak has a solution for you! MetalCloak is known for producing some of the best top-shelf suspension components on the market, and everyone knows about their signature tube fenders. Did you know they have a full line of skid plates too? Most of the MetalCloak products are designed for the Jeep platform, but keep checking their site – I am seeing more and more Bronco, Toyota, and even full-size Ram truck products being developed. If MetalCloak is making it, you know it will be quality.
I recently regeared a 2019 JL Rubicon, and although the factory Dana covers are fairly thick, I thought it would be a great time to add some additional protection to the axles. I decided to beef up the vulnerable lower control arm mounts with a skid plate and add a heavy-duty axle disconnect skid plate system that includes a high-mount RockSport steering stabilizer. To protect the internal parts up front, I went with a front differential cover and Glide skid system. In the rear, I went with a heavy-duty cover and a rear differential skid plate. (Figure 1)
I got started up front… the gear oil was already drained, and the cover removed due to the regear. If starting from scratch, while the differential drains (after you remove the cover), you can work on removing the factory axle disconnect skid plate and factory stabilizer mount. *Tip it is much easier to do the front-end work if you unbolt the driver’s side tie rod end. It may be necessary to pop the tie rod end out of its taper with a tool or smack the casting along the stud once the nut is removed. I started by removing the bolts that hold the inboard side of the steering stabilizer to the axle. Then, I removed the two carriage bolts that hold the stabilizer mount to the tie rod. Once the factory stabilizer is out of the way, the mount can be unbolted and removed from the axle disconnect casting. I next removed the factory axle disconnect skid plate. (Figure 2)
Even working at home in your garage, it is a time saver to multi-task and jump around a little. I was removing these other components while the front end was draining. Now that it’s done, I will move back to the cover—the cover bolts on just like the factory one. The covers are shipped raw and require a paint or finish of your choosing. If careful during the removal, you can reuse the factory gasket. If something happens, though, MetalCloak ships all their covers with sealant. Once the cover is installed and tightened down, the skid plate is bolted to the front of the cover with the supplied hardware. Then, I drilled up through the webbing on the differential casting to install the rear bolts. It is not necessary to remove driveshafts, but in our application, it was already off for regear and was out of the way. (Figure 3)
The axle disconnect skid plate is really straightforward; it bolts on using both original and new supplied bolts. Before filling the front end with the correct gear oil, compare the fill hole location of the old and new covers. Then make a gauge to prevent overfilling. MetalCloak makes the fill holes in a higher position, and if you fill to this new higher position, it can result in leaks or blowing gear oil out of the differential vent. (Figure 4)
Before starting the stabilizer mount, the removed driver-side tie rod end was bolted back into position. Start by removing the track bar bolt on the axle side. The axle side bracket bolts through the factory hole with the addition of another mounting hole that you must drill. *Tip: if you are doing this on the ground, you can have someone turn the steering wheel right to left to line up the track bar for the bolt. If the vehicle is off the ground, use a ratchet strap to pull the axle right to left. MetalCloak includes a longer bolt to account for the thickness of the additional bracket. To finish up the stabilizer install, the steering is turned all the way one way or the other, and the shock is positioned and bolted to axle side. Correct positioning allows ¼” of additional shock travel in that same direction. The tie rod clamp is positioned in a neutral position and tightened. Then check for interference and travel limitations in both directions. (Figure 5)
I cleaned the lower control arm mounts and prepped them to weld the skid plates on. I used a wire brush on a grinder- I am a firm believer this is one of the most dangerous tools in a shop! Be careful! These skid plates fit great from MetalCloak and require minimal fitting with the help of my Edward’s Ironworker. I removed one arm from the axle side, tacked the skid plate into position, and welded it with the ESAB Rebel 205. I cleaned berries off with the wire brush, painted the bare material, and re-installed the arm after it cooled. I used a ratchet strap to pull the axle and line up the hole to re-install the arm. This process is repeated for the other side. That finishes up the front, now onto the rear. (Figure 6)
The rear cover skid plate has almost identical installation as the front but requires no drilling. The old cover is removed, oil drained, new cover installed, skid plate bolted on, and finally, the axle is filled with the correct weight oil. Be sure and also make a fill gauge for the rear. The only difference to installing these products on a JT is if you are using a factory rear sway bar, you will have to space it out to clear the cover. Spacers are available through MetalCloak. Now you have something to protect your assets! (Figure 7)
Parts:
MetalCloak
Lower Control Arm Mount Skid Plates: #7698
Front Differential and Glide System: #6375
Rear Cover: #7600
Rear Differential Skid: #6373
RockSport Axle Disconnect Skid: #6374
Sources:
MetalCloak
2484 Mercantile Dr.
Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
1-916-631-8071
Edwards Manufacturing Company
1107 Sykes Street
Alberta Lea, MN 56007
1-800-373-8206
Esab Welding and Cutting Products
2800 Airport Rd.
Denton, TX 76207
800- ESAB- 123
GEARWRENCH
APEX Tool Group
910 Ridgebrook Rd. (Suite 200)
Sparks, MD 21152
1-800-688-8949
