differential cover upgrade

[Jwood562]

I am a plan ahead kind of guy and willing to mod whenever I can.

thinking of doing gears or at least my next rear end gear oil change slapping on a new diff cover.

I basically see two types, one finned and one not finned.

non finned

finned

what are the pros and cons of either? pan hard bar clearnces? capacity?

any input would be appriciated

 

[Iceman62]

What's wrong w/ stock? Are you going for looks, performance, easier means of draining/filling?

FWIW...fins are for cooling, but unless you plan to race it's not really necessary. Biggest issue w/ stock is not having the drain plugs, but it's still not bad servicing. Better to $pend $$$ on other mods (IMO), but LMR has entire differential kit (cover/gasket/oil) on special.

https://lmr.com/item/SVE-4033AB/mustang-sve-8-8-rear-axle-diff-cover-upgrade-kit-1986-2004?year=2009

 

[Miker]

I watched a vid of the Banks guy testing different types of diff covers. He made a cover out of clear material so you could see the way the oil flowed. After watching that I would be very hesitant about changing the cover without first doing some serious research. Of course he is pushing his cover here.

 

[rocknrod]

Ya that video was the reason I didn't buy the flat finned unit on my truck. Good info.

 

[JC SSP]

Gale Banks knows his stuff. One of the early pioneers of high HP twin turbo V8.

 

[GriffX]

My oil smelled burned when I changed it, so I bought the Ford aluminum finned from the 2011+ for 60$.
(and I moved the vent from the axle pipe to the cover)

 

[07 Boss]

I have had the FRPP one on there since forever. I got it because it had a drain and fill hole along with the carrier bearing supports. This, along with the Auburn Pro diff, Richmond gears and welded axle tubes is what I did to beef up the rear for the track.

 

[Jwood562]

my reason for considering the upgrade was the drain and fill plugs and the looks too.

I was also wondering if there was a "performance" aspect to it, either extra capacity or cooling to extend the life of the oil or rear end components.

I really appreciate all the feedback

 

[drive_55_not]

Like Boss posted it'll help strengthen the rear, I've had the FRPP cover on for years, my rear has survived 100's of 6000rpm clutch dumps on slicks ...

You also want the 'short' version unless you use a panhard bar relocation bracket to clear the tall version.

 

[rocknrod]

Good point on the Panhard bar. I looked at both the SVE and the Ford Racing units (Ford said "requires no suspension modifications") The SVE unit includes a gasket and oil too.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

There are multiple covers, depends on your use of your car.

 

[JC SSP]

I have a standard cover on all my Mustangs.

I guess its personal taste, if I found a cheap finned GT500 cover I would probably put it on, but always wanted a girdle... Waiting for something to break, but the 8.8 is pretty stout from the factory,

Add Moser 31-spline axles and Auburn Pro and its almost bullet proof at my HP level (<500HP).

 

[Pentalab]

Install a catch can on the rear axle. I used an Eaton-detroit tru-trac LSD (which uses plane jane 90W-140 dino oil), and also a whiteline watts link. The white line watts link comes with a new, super thick aluminum differential cover, like > 60mm thick. It comes with drain + fill plugs...and also new SS hardware. Then also a lube locker gasket for the new cover. Zero heat issues with my 386 rwhp / 370rwtq on my 2010 auto. Depending on what u are doing, without the catch can, it can puke oil out of the axle vent.

 

[DayS]

The stock style covers work very well unless you are using the car for drag racing and launching the car with sticky tires and at high RPM etc. Using high quality fluid is most important.