ARBProducts 0750002 Competition Differential Cover for DANA 30

The dipstick that comes with it is very hard to check the level when the gear oil is new.

This is a very simple, but high return mod for a Jeep. At $179, it's price point is pretty much in the middle of the market for differential covers (December 2021). It's features are what sets it apart for me. It's at least 5x as thick as the OEM stamped steel cover. The hardware is recessed into the cover and consists of Allen head bolts so as to provide protection from rock damage. It also has drain and fill holes (not all covers have both). My JT is a Rubicon and while it's stock M220 rear axle has a drain plug on the front left corner of the differential, the bottom of this ARB cover's drain hole lines up with the very bottom of the inside of the differential leading to virtually complete draining of it when a gear oil change is needed. The drain plug isn't recessed, but it's designed to only stick out about an 1/8 in. from the covers surface. It and the fill plug are Allen head fasteners, too. The fill hole is positioned high up on the cover and cast pointing straight up making it easy to simply pour in the oil straight from the bottle. No pumps needed. The fill plug doubles as a dip stick, too which allows you to routinely check the level and condition of the oil between changes (there are instructions on how to mark the dipstick with a fill line depending on your application). I love the red powdercoat. It matches the factory red accents on my Gladiator pretty well and it's been clear coated as well. The drain and fill plugs appear to be bare metal, so I applied some leftover brush-on gloss black paint to them. All in all, I'd buy again and when my front diff needs an oil change, I'll be purchasing an ARB cover for it, too.

Nice HD Diff cover, easy install, looks great.

What you’re going to get: nodular iron construction, recessed bolts, and a removable dipstick and drain-plug. There are plenty of aftermarket covers to choose from, but the selling point for me was the clearance of this cover. It’s beefy to take some serious damage, but not so beefy that you have to modify your whole front end to make it work. Comparatively, this is one of the thinnest covers on the market, and that works well if you don’t want to pour tons of money into modifying everything else around the cover. I don't wheel/mud my truck at all, and so retaining factory look and ride quality was important to me. I simply wanted a cover that wouldn't deflect when hit with the snow and ice chunks in the Midwest, all while strengthening the rigidity of the axle housing. This cover has accomplished that for me. Extremely satisfied with the purchase.Word to the wise: do not install this cover on an XJ with a factory (un-lifted) front end. It will install on level pavement, but when the front end compresses, the track bar will bend when it hits this cover. The simple way to amend this is to put 1.75” coil spacers over the coils and then drop a 2” coil spring insert into the coil so the factory bump stop in front will hit the polyurethane coil insert before the track bar ever hits the cover. You will still retain factory ride and almost factory look this way.

It came packaged well and in good shape. It installed easy and looks great on the vehicle. Recently while on a trail I made contact with a large rock in the grass that I didn’t see. I’m sure if I had the factory cover on, it would have been punctured and drained on me. It hardly left a mark on this cover. Very strong!