Do Diff Covers Work Or Are They Just Bling?

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Originally Posted by 2015_PSD
The same can be seen in the clear OEM cover. All of the hoopla about aeration and the heat that it generates is just that. The same amount of aeration exists with the OEM cover. He talks about viscosity issues with a flat back cover but the UOAs that I have done do not support his statements nor does all of his talk about the pinion gear starving for oil due to the flow of the oil, but hey 10 minutes on jack stands proves everything.

My guess is all of the "testing" by Banks is a pre-cursor sales pitch for his new and improved cover, but what do I know...


While I did bring-up the aeration & the noise.....I never said the factory diff cover eliminated aeration, It's just the nature of beast in a system that paddles fluid to lubricate itself. And the noise VERY WELL could be because the differential IS unloaded.

My stance is (And has been for many years).....Extra capacity differential covers are waste of money & have never been proven to make a differential last longer or run cooler......
*Will it cause longevity issues? I would never make such an outlandish claim without a TON of data & failures across several differential designs, Unfortunately I don't have Gale Banks type money!!!

I doubt Banks will come out with a diff cover.....Not when OE parts work just fine.

As far as being able to service a diff without dropping the cover......A drill bit, Tap, & a 3/8 or 1/2 NPT plug is far cheaper than a diff cover.
*Interesting note.....GM AAM 11.5" diffs have a drain plug, Dodge AAM 11.5" diffs do not.
 
It seems BD Diesel has already developed this theory. Fully developed it.

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OEM has many secrets not fully understood. Aftermarkets rarely have the R&D budget to do the development that OEM's do routinely. So some subtleties may escape notice or simply be ignored or overlooked.


It's really hard to improve some things due to these facts. This may be yet another one.
 
Pictures of a prototype Banks diff cover with SEMA hashtags have begun popping up on Instagram. Looks like this was all a lead in to Banks brand diff covers.

Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Would still like to see these test results. If they are pushing a prototype, testing must be done already. Or they might be waiting to throw their diff cover into the mix.
 
Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
Pictures of a prototype Banks diff cover with SEMA hashtags have begun popping up on Instagram. Looks like this was all a lead in to Banks brand diff covers.

Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Would still like to see these test results. If they are pushing a prototype, testing must be done already. Or they might be waiting to throw their diff cover into the mix.



Since he generally has nice products I would like to see if he has anything good here. I'm sure the vid was a promotion as well...
 
Came here to post the video but was a little late. Pretty weak with no results video. Maybe he'll get around to it.
 
Originally Posted by SteveG4
Banks could have been threatened with legal action!


For claiming that the other manufacturers diff covers don't help/work?
 
Originally Posted by SteveG4
Banks could have been threatened with legal action!


For what? You think this is Banks first rodeo? Banks has a reasonable defense of any Tort claim against them by a competitor.
 
I can see why someone would buy an aftermarket diff cover for a hardworking truck, even if there is no direct evidence of benefit. Marketers can be very persuasive. The owner would likely spend many times more just for fuel, every month. But I agree with the comment about spending the money on additional fluid changes instead of fancy covers -- this would likely be more cost effective and preserving the equipment.
I shook my head during the speculative talk about lubricant doing more work in the square corners of the aftermarket covers... would love to see the results video!
 
I have overheated a rear diff to the point that it cooked/darkened the coating on it and melted the sway bar bushings that were mounted to it. This was on my previous motorhome, F53 chassis while towing a 7000 lb trailer up the hills from the desert to san diego. It did no damage other than the bushings, the 75w 140 synthetic Amsoil gear oil looked fine afterwards and I did not change it. After buying my new truck and 5th wheel, I added an extra capacity finned cooler at about 8,000 miles IIRC. The oil coming out looked horrible, blackish gray, smelled burned. 6 qts of Royal Purple 75w-140 went back in, and with 42,000 miles now (almost all of it towing the 5th wheel) the oil still looks clear (purple tint) and fine. All this proves nothing, just antidotal, but knowing the heat, load and distance I have towed since adding it, with the fluid still looking basically new, I will always use a extra capacity diff cover on anything that I primarily tow heavy loads with. Just my experience. I also think that all these Banks videos are entertaining, but the driving force behind them is to launch a new Banks diff cover. Just advertising.
 
More capacity would certainly seem be a good thing, but is the gear oil actually any cooler with the flat backed covers. I applaud Banks for collecting the data, yet to be shared.

From a hydronamic standpoint, the square corners are not doing anything other than working the oil harder. Is it being worked into a froth more so than the inevitable froth level? No data,?... Supposition is pointless.

If the square corners are working the oil into a hotter froth, is it detremental to the life of the fluid? Is this offset by the extra capacity of fluid?
Is the Fluid ultimately areated to a higher degree, or just aerated to the same degree faster?

Efficiency, how much extra viscous drag are square corners really causing? At least this in theory could be tested accurately, but he has not shared that data?

The amount of gear oil slung onto the pinion bearing certainly seems like it would be less, and perhaps a square cover increases pinion bearing temperature? Surely this can be accurately tested.

As said Difs sem to be well overbuilt, and anecdotal stories do not seem to point to aftermarket squareback covers causing failures, but could a diff cover do more with less/ less oil required for same or better lubrication and better fluid life? It would seem so.



If I were really worried about my Diff, I would get a bunch of aluminum computer heatsinks and use Arctic silver thermal epoxy and have the steel diff cover and axle tubes near the carrier bearings appear like a porcupine.

I applaud Banks on attempting to eliminate variables and collect the data. There is too much theory without any proof in this world, and I think that added capacity of a larger squareback design neagtes a lot of that which it is trying to solve. Seems it would heat the fluid more, and cause more drag creating mroe heat, but perhaps that is negated by more fluid and better thermal heat transfer of Aluminum fins over steel.

Basically, I would not install a squareback cover on my diff, if given one for free.
 
Heard Gale Banks on CarCast. Interesting stuff. Was a often discussed topic when I was into air cooled Vws. The thinking was all larger dumps did was make more oil to cool off. Once at temp more capacity doesn't help anything in a properly designed and maintained system.
 
Supposedly coming out in August but the company has been saying soon or in a few weeks for months now so I'd guess August 31st if it is August at all.
 
Just had an oddball thought. Is there a drawback to holding more gear lube? More oil, more heat retained. It would be slower to heat up, but then slower to cool down, due to thermal mass.

A bigger cover should have more surface area to radiate heat though (even before adding cooling fins), so perhaps not an issue.
 
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