Installing TeocaliMG's front differential drop kit

[userdude]

This looks great. I have some questions.

A diff drop moves the front diff (on IFS) down so the CV angles aren't as extreme. So if it moves 20mm, 3/4", this means the actual diff has dropped by that much.

The thing that confuses me is that diff drops seem to go mostly with bigger suspension lifts. However, is that when you want to maximize clearance? Dropping the front diff seems like it could impact that, although perhaps not as much as the rear diff.

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[Dusty]

This looks great. I have some questions.

A diff drop moves the front diff (on IFS) down so the CV angles aren't as extreme. So if it moves 20mm, 3/4", this means the actual diff has dropped by that much.

The thing that confuses me is that diff drops seem to go mostly with bigger suspension lifts. However, is that when you want to maximize clearance? Dropping the front diff seems like it could impact that, although perhaps not as much as the rear diff.

Just about everything involves compromise, and especially so when building and equipping 4X4s. Yes the diff drops a little bit, so you lose a small amount of ground clearance right under the diff housing. But if it helps your CV's live longer the trade-off is well worth it. One nice thing about these clamshell diff housings is that they're narrow and oriented in the direction of travel, like a keel, not a big fat pumpkin like a straight axle diff. So even when you fabricate a bulge into your skid plate to accommodate the dropped diff it's still just a narrow strip. If you hang up on it while working through an obstacle, you only have to re-set a few inches to slip by it, if it was only hitting the diff housing or the bulge in your skid. Or, with a good skid with a ramp profile built into the leading edge you can probably just power straight over it anyhow.

 

[Arokcrwlr]

I installed my Broken Innovation diff drop yesterday, after swapping in a new set of Ford Performance CV axles. The installation was fairly straightforward, but yeah those rear mount bolts were a party. Kudos to @TeocaliMG on a great product.

Hey Dusty, do you have the Icon skid plate? If so, can you show the modification needed? Thx!

 

[Dusty]

Hey Dusty, do you have the Icon skid plate? If so, can you show the modification needed? Thx!

I do have the Icon bumper skid and diff skid. As of now I've only cut it for clearance for the dropped diff. I haven't fabricated a new bulged section for it yet. Here it is with just my hack job:

 

[Arokcrwlr]

I do have the Icon bumper skid and diff skid. As of now I've only cut it for clearance for the dropped diff. I haven't fabricated a new bulged section for it yet. Here it is with just my hack job:

Thanks for the pic. The skid is the reason that I haven't installed my diff drop yet. I have the Icon skid as well - still trying to figure out the most elegant way to go about the modification. I may just go the same route as you for the time being. I would love to see what you come up with as a permanent solution.

 

[Dusty]

Thanks for the pic. The skid is the reason that I haven't installed my diff drop yet. I have the Icon skid as well - still trying to figure out the most elegant way to go about the modification. I may just go the same route as you for the time being. I would love to see what you come up with as a permanent solution.

Yeah I wish I had time to finish it up now, but we have Big Bear Bronco Bash coming up in a couple of weeks and I'm almost out of prep time, and have a few other things I need to get done before then. So this is just sort of a temporary hack. At least the steering rack motor is protected LOL.

 

[TeocaliMG]

This looks great. I have some questions.

A diff drop moves the front diff (on IFS) down so the CV angles aren't as extreme. So if it moves 20mm, 3/4", this means the actual diff has dropped by that much.

The thing that confuses me is that diff drops seem to go mostly with bigger suspension lifts. However, is that when you want to maximize clearance? Dropping the front diff seems like it could impact that, although perhaps not as much as the rear diff.

@Dusty already nailed it but i'll add some more thoughts. Slight loss of potential ground clearance a fair thing to consider when weighing your options. In addition to what Dusty mentioned regarding clearance (only limited under the diff) You can consider the other use cases of the "bigger" suspension.

Sure, the primary benefit is increased ground clearance, but there is also the potential for increased wheel travel and flex, and for that use case the diff drop is pretty critical. The diff housing is also pretty stout, the OEM skid has a cutout so you could potentially strike the diff housing, and I definitely have and its kept going no problem. I can actually see that one of the empty thru-holes on the very bottom of the diff is partially smashed flat into an oval but there's no leaks or complaints from the diff thus far. I also made the drop bracket as sloped as possible so that it could help slide over stuff if needed.



Dusty, looking at your picture, it looks like you could have kept some more skid material around where I drew here:

Is that the case? or am I missing something? Either way, like you said it wouldn't be too hard to fabricate a special bulge plate for the diff. I don't know if i'll ever get around to it for mine, may just try my luck as is.

 

[Oldhippie]

I just went out in the dark and took photos of my skid solution…not pretty but good enough I hope…stock skids, drilled and tapped mount to keep same bolt location…

 

[Dusty]

Dusty, looking at your picture, it looks like you could have kept some more skid material around where I drew here:

Is that the case? or am I missing something? Either way, like you said it wouldn't be too hard to fabricate a special bulge plate for the diff. I don't know if i'll ever get around to it for mine, may just try my luck as is.

There was already a smaller cut-out in the skid, that began along that line (where the rounded corner is next to the bolt) so I just continued along that line to make it a simple cut. I don't like having unsupported flangey-thingies hanging out in space. So I just cut it straight back to where the two cuts would meet. I did take the time to cut that corner with a hole saw first, to give me a nice radiused inside corner though But yeah, the entire thing will get re-covered up whenever I have the chance to get the fab tools out.

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