Differential Cover/ Girdle

wdrlaw

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Greetings!
2009 GT with lots of welded/ bolted on chassis and suspension mods. Just bought Ford Racing LSD and 4.10 gears. There are several aftermarket differential covers for sale from $150 and up. My question is this: What is the benefit? Is a $200 cover a necessary item? Maybe most important, will it make my car faster?

As always, thanks in advance to the wise old heads on this list.
 

Midlife Crises

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Don’t know if you need one or not but using a cover/girdle like this one can reduce the deflection of the carrier bearings.

CF035896-9DC4-4551-9AE0-25FF26918616.jpeg
 

86GT351

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Like stated. If preloaded properly it can't hurt. Will it make your car faster? Probably not. Will it possibly help with an not needed repair down the road? Possibly.
 

07 Boss

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You gain a drain and fill plug. That's a plus. Cooling fins help marginally with temps and we all know heat is the enemy. If you are launching hard you might want to look at one with the carrier preload bolts. Do you need one, no.
 

GlassTop09

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Greetings!
2009 GT with lots of welded/ bolted on chassis and suspension mods. Just bought Ford Racing LSD and 4.10 gears. There are several aftermarket differential covers for sale from $150 and up. My question is this: What is the benefit? Is a $200 cover a necessary item? Maybe most important, will it make my car faster?

As always, thanks in advance to the wise old heads on this list.
+1 to all that has already been stated w\ the following additions to also consider............

If going to beat on it, I would also recommend to add a Moser Ford 8.8" bearing cap stud kit (Yukon also offers this same kit) to go w\ a preload type cover (I like the Ford Racing preload cover) to finish it all off. These studs are 30% stronger that the stock bolts. Note: if using a Ford Racing Track Pack Finned cover, these stud kits are too long & won't allow the cover to seal off.......found this out 1st hand.
Most preload covers also allow additional fluid volume so is a plus as well.

The Track Pack finned cover also allows the axle vent to be located at the top of the cover instead of on the axle tube & this port is internally baffled, so it is the best cover to use if concerns of puking diff fluid out axle vent due to heat buildup inside axle housing.

No matter which cover you go with or even keeping the stock cover, get yourself a LubeLocker LLR-F880 8.8" cover gasket to seal it. No RTV or sealant needed, mounts dry & can be reused more than once.

Hope this helps.
 

Juice

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I have a girdle cover on the 91.
I have a non girdle cover on the 07.
Unless you drag race often, and with sticky rubber, a girdle is overkill.
Having the axle vent moved to the top center of the axle, priceless.
 

GriffX

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I got the Ford Racing cover with the cooling fins and relocated the axle vent cap on top.
Tip: get the Ford racing axle bump stops, they are much softer and the harsh kick from the original at pot holes is better.
 

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