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Decoding Differential Tags - Video
Auto manufactures have made it possible to glean basic but useable differential information by means of tags, stickers or stampings on the differential. The tags are usually affixed to the pumpkin by a diff cover bolt and stickers can be on the housing or axle tube close to the housing. The “direct from the source” aspect of this information makes it hyper accurate, overriding any confusing make, model, engine, and transmission information mash-up. No late night research needed. It’s all right there, straight from the manufacturer. The accompanying videos outline what info is on Ford and GM tags and what it means to you.
How to Identify Your Differential and Axle Type
How to Identify Your Differential and Axle Type Using year, make and model, and vehicle info is the first/best way to identify your differential. But there are cases where these facts come up short. Your vehicle’s options like tow packages, off-road packages, or whether it sports an automatic or manual transmission can make identification more difficult. Further, if your rig has been modified its drivetrain changes will throw a wrench in the works. Luckily, there are visual cues that can help identify your particular diff or axle. Cover Bolt Count Since most differentials have a unique cover bolt pattern i.e. 10-bolt, 12-bolt, or 14-bolt, counting them up will narrow the field and help you with identification. While focusing on the pumpkin check out what type of housing you have… an integrated housing or a drop-out style. An integrated housing can be spotted by its inspection cover. A drop-out housing has no inspection cover because the entire differential assembly is removed from the front half of the housing. Axle Flotation Another important data point is axle type. There are two types of axles, semi float or full float. Semi-float axles have larger flange diameters than floating axles and the wheel bolts to the flange. A full-float axle flange bolts to the wheel hub and can be removed without taking the wheel off or jacking the vehicle up. Another variable to consider concerns how the axle is secured within the differential... via a c-clip or by bolting the unit in place. Get Your Spline In Line While identifying your axle shafts, it’s important to take note of your spline count. Look at the raised teeth and count these out. This can be tedious. We suggest marking a spline with a Sharpie and starting your count there. You may want to do a recount or two to confirm you’re tally is accurate… we told you it may be tedious. Spec Out Your Hub Another helpful hint in identifying your axle is figuring out how many hub bolts you have, your hub pattern, and your hub diameter. Determining the number of bolts is relatively easy, determining the bolt pattern can be a little more complicated. The best way to do that is by measuring from one stud to the center of the axle flange itself and doubling that number. If you see yourself doing this a lot, there are bolt circle templates that will expedite the procedure. Knowing your hub diameter will help in identifying different years, makes, and models. Pinion Size & Ring Gear Diameter Once your differential is disassembled and its parts removed, it’s time to measure your ring gear to determine its diameter. Simply measure from the widest point of the gear, tooth tip to tooth tip Pinion nut size is another parameter that can be used to identify the diff. This is relatively ease just test fit sockets until you find the one that fits… bingo. For more differential spotting tips check out the accompanying video.
Yukon Vehicle Recovery Gear
Getting unstuck is part of wheeling, do it right and it’s a fun part of wheeling. Whether your pulling a friend free or winching yourself out, Yukon Gear & Axle recovery gear has what it takes to get you back on the trail. When shopping recovery gear remember that a recovery rope’s strength rating needs to surpass the gross vehicle weight of the rig you’re extracting by two to three times. What is a Kinetic Recovery Rope? Kinetic recovery ropes, also known as a snatch ropes or yanker ropes, are designed to have some stretch in them so you can yank a vehicle free. You’re not towing here. Tow ropes are designed with no stretch to provide consistent pulling when towing. They can produce sudden shock to both vehicles and put undue stress on their attachment points when used in a recovery scenario. There are tons of ‘fail’ videos on YouTube showing the entire front end being torn off in a recovery gone wrong. Yukon Recovery Ropes can stretch by up to 30 percent of their static length which stores kinetic energy. The rope then smoothly transfers that energy into pulling power to rescue a vehicle that is stuck. Further, the rope’s elasticity also makes it easier for the rescue vehicle to generate some momentum when pulling a stuck vehicle out. This is especially critical when working in loose footing like sand, gravel, or mud, where a non-kinetic rope could cause the rescue vehicle to bury itself. Yukon recovery ropes are up to the task. Our largest offering is 7/8” in diameter, 30 feet in length, and rated to 28,000 psi Minimum Tensile Strength. Our other recovery rope is 3/4” in diameter, 20 feet in length, and rated to 19,000 psi Minimum Tensile Strength. Securing to an Anchor Point Ropes are important but they have to attach securely to the vehicle to be effective. Enter the shackle. Yukon offers two types of shackles; a metal D-ring shackle and a soft shackle made from nylon plasma fiber. Each type has its strengths and weaknesses, and both should be part of your recovery gear assemblage. Metal D-ring shackles, also known as bow shackles, pin shackles, or anchor shackles, are cheaper and stronger than their nylon cousin. Metal shackles excel at attaching a recovery rope to a vehicle but should not be used to join ropes, connect a tree strap, or link to a ground anchor, because if the rope fails the metal shackle becomes a projectile. The soft shackle shines in situations where you want to join ropes, use a tree strap, or employ some type of ground anchor. Joining ropes extends your reach. Tree straps are gentler on tree trunks than the coarse winch rope they replace. A ground anchor is a large and sometimes cumbersome piece of kit that is used when there are no trees or boulders at hand to serve as an anchor point. Soft shackles are stout and much less dangerous in case of failure. They are more flexible which makes them adept in high-angle rescues and they float which makes them a great choice for mud or water recoveries. Rating the Strength of Recovery Equipment Soft shackles and recovery ropes are typically rated by Minimum Tensile Strength (MTS) which is the amount of tensional force that a material can endure without failing. Measurements are calculated using pounds per square inch (psi).Taking that failure point and applying an industry standard 5:1 Safety Factor yields the recommended Working Load Limit (WLL) of a given product. This the load at which the product is safe to use. Yukon recovery products are listed with both MTS and WLL… ropes and soft shackles using MTS and the metal D-ring shackle using WLL. Our soft shackles are flexibility, buoyant in water, and have a load rating of 35,000 psi Minimum Tensile Strength. The steel D-Ring Shackle is listed as 9,500 pounds (4.75 tons) WLL. Using the standard 5:1 formula, the actual MTS breaking strength would be somewhere around 47,500 psi. That’s stout. The bottom line is Yukon recovery gear is rated to handle the bulkiest off-roaders out there so you can hook up and pull with confidence. Yukon offers recovery gear as individual pieces or as convenient kits that pack all the typical gear you’ll need – kinetic recovery rope, hard and soft shackles, and gloves - into a tough-and-ready nylon bag. These kits are great starting points and can be added to with other recovery gear or trail repair necessities as needed. Fortune favors the prepared mind… and off-roader... so be ready to rise to any challenge with Yukon off-road recovery gear. Call Now 866-631-0196 Shop Recovery Gear Now Our super-tough nylon storage bag is sold seperately! Yukon Recovery Gear Bags are sold separately and make a great starting point for a portable air compressor kit for airing up your tires or as a general purpose tool bag.
How It Works: RPM Calculator
An RPM Calculator is especially valuable to those considering jumping to a bigger tire, altering their vehicle’s performance by changing ring and pinion gears, or satisfying a curiosity about their current setup. The calculator determines your engine rpm at a selected vehicle speed. What You Need to Know The RPM Calculator requires the vehicle’s gear ratio and tire height to make its calculations. Your stock gear ratio can be researched online, it may be in your vehicle’s owner’s manual, or on a tag affixed to the differential cover. If your ring and pinion gears are at hand you can count the teeth on each and use our Gear Ratio Calculator to determine the ratio. Tire height can be ascertained by another calculator on our site. It uses tire width, tire aspect ratio, a wheel diameter to provide the height in inches. If you’re contemplating upgrading to larger tires like 35, 37, or 40 inchers know that the height on the tire is a classification, not a specification. For instance a 35x12.50-17 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss M/T is 34.6 inches in circumference mounted on a 9.5-inch-wide rim… 34.8 inches in circumference on a 10-inch rim. Some tires can be nearly a half an inch off their classification so you may want to research the tire manufacturer’s website to get the most accurate info. Feeding the Numbers Armed with the correct info, it’s time to feed the ratio and tire height numbers into the calculator, select the vehicle speed you want to tabulate engine rpm at, and press the Solve button. The calculator will display the engine rpm for the selected vehicle speed in four boxes below the calculator. Each box represents a transmission type and takes into consideration how gear reduction within the transmission will impact the final engine speed readings. The boxes are labelled Auto, AOD, Manual, and 5 Speed… simply refer to the box that best matches your transmission type. Using the Calculator for Big-Tire Upgrades Use your stock set-up as a baseline before changing the formula for a larger set of tires. Calculate at a variety of vehicle speeds… especially freeway speeds. Going in you should know what your performance goal is… to replicate stock performance or enhance performance at a given speed, i.e. a trail-only rig that will not see freeway speeds very often or a rock crawler that will not be see the street at all. You will need to pre-figure the tire heights of all the tires you are considering upgrading to and have those numbers handy. Then enter your new tire diameter and adjust the gear ratio field, evaluating different gear sets until you find one that best matches your expectations. Make note of the number in the gear ratio box and you’re ready to shop ring and pinion gear sets. Yukon Re-Gear Kits Going big-tire is not as simple as bolting on those 40 inchers and hitting the road. There are cascading effects at work. Big tires impact acceleration, freeway cruising, towing capability, and many aspects of off-road performance. Yukon Re-Gear Kits allow you to restore or enhance the performance of your truck and reap the traction benefits of big tires. It’s a win-win.
Wholesale Deal on JK Gear Kits
4.11 RATIO (YGK055) NON-RUBICON 4.11 ratio. Fits 2007 and newer Jeep JK NON Rubicon. Includes front and rear Ring & Pinions and Yukon Master install kits. More Info 4.56 RATIO (YGK012) NON-RUBICON Yukon gear packages provide an easy way to re-gear a four wheel drive vehicle with one simple part number. 4.56 ratio. Fits Jeep non-Rubicon JK. Includes front and rear ring & pinion sets and Yukon Master Overhaul Kits. More Info 4.88 RATIO (YGK013) NON-RUBICON Yukon gear packages provide an easy way to re-gear a four wheel drive vehicle with one simple part number. 4.88 ratio. Fits Jeep non-Rubicon JK. Includes front and rear ring & pinion sets and Yukon Master Overhaul Kits. Technical Notes: If you are running a 3.21 ratio you will need to purchase a new front carrier case with this package. More Info 5.13 RATIO (YGK014) NON-RUBICON Yukon gear packages provide an easy way to re-gear a four wheel drive vehicle with one simple part number. 5.13 ratio. Fits Jeep non-Rubicon JK. Includes front and rear ring & pinion sets and Yukon Master Overhaul Kits. Technical Notes: If you are running a 3.21 ratio you will need to purchase a new front carrier case with this package. More Info 4.11 RATIO RUBICON (YGK056) 4.11 ratio. Fits Jeep Rubicon JK. Includes front and rear ring & pinion sets and Yukon Master Overhaul Kits. More Info 4.88 RATIO RUBICON (YGK015) Yukon gear packages provide an easy way to re-gear a four wheel drive vehicle with one simple part number. 4.88 ratio. Fits Jeep Rubicon JK. Includes front and rear ring & pinion sets and Yukon Master Overhaul Kits. More Info 4.56 RATIO RUBICON (YGK054) 4.56 ratio. Fits 2007 and newer Jeep JK Rubicon. Includes front and rear Ring & Pinions and Yukon Master Overhaul Kits. More Info 5.13 RATIO RUBICON (YGK016) 5.13 ratio. Fits Jeep Rubicon JK. Includes front and rear ring & pinion sets and Yukon Master Overhaul Kits. More Info 5.38 RATIO RUBICON (YGK017) 5.38 ratio. Fits Jeep Rubicon JK. Includes front and rear ring & pinion sets and Yukon Master Overhaul Kits. More Info
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