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| North American Grand Cherokee Association | ||
| Your one stop source for Jeep Grand Cherokee Information | ||
Turbo City has been in the performance business for a few years and has recently begun branching into Jeep-specific parts for performance and protection. Their Rock-It division specializes in armor such as various skid plates and braces. While they don't yet offer much that is Grand Cherokee - specific, fortunately there is some crossover in the Jeep model lines.
Case in point - Rock-It Gliders for differential protection. The differentials, critical parts that they are, hang down the lowest hence are most vulnerable to rock attack. The only way to lift the diff. is to wear taller tires. Bobtail Jeeps that run 35-inch tires minimize this risk, but putting even 33-inchers on a ZJ is a big deal. So if you can't get them up and out of the way, the next best thing is to shield them. The Rock-It Gliders are the best I've seen for design, fit and mounting.
click on images to enlarge
Design - The most vulnerable part of the differential, the lower leading edge, is well protected by a lip of 1/4-inch steel plate that wraps back to the rear of the carrier housing. The part number is 580-100, which is specified for the TJ (Dana 30) front end.
Fit - The drawback to shielding the low-hanging differential is that ground clearance is reduced even more. But this design is as flush as can be, offering the most protection for the least clearance loss.
Mounting - No drilling required! The differential cover mounting bolt holes are used with longer supplied bolts and washers on the front. In the rear, a U-bolt style strap arrangement is employed.
Installation - I could just say that installation is simple enough that no instructions are included, but there are a few points worth noting. Grade 8 hardware is included, always a sign of quality. A 1/2-inch socket wrench is all that is required, though a torque wrench is recommended to tighten the differential cover bolts to the specified value of 30-ft. lbs.
Also included is a handful of washers. This is
where it gets interesting. In order to get the rear mount aligned, the front needs to be
shimmed to get the angle right. In other words, I had to put one washer (top and bottom)
on the passenger side and 3 washers on the driver's side.
Once you get the washer count
straight, you'll need some help getting them into place due to the tight quarters. Here's
a handy Tip - tape the washers together leaving a length of tape as a tab with
which to dangle it in place as you pass the bolt through.
This is the "after" shot.
Skid plate takes the abuse, not your differential.
Turbo City has come out with the Rock Glider for the Aluminum Housing Dana 44 since this article was originally written.
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