If you examine the solid-axle housings of a typical rock-crawler's Toyota, you'll notice an abundance of rock gouges and scarring, especially in the area of the differential drain plug and the on the faces of the pumpkin housings. The problem with grinding your drain plug over rocks is that not only do you run the risk of losing your drain plug, you also damage and deform the plug to the extent that it is difficult to remove or reinstall. And slamming your front pumpkin (or your rear pumpkin when you're backing up) into a rock can dent the cover, causing your ring gear to contact the inside of the cover and eventually wear through.

Breeze Industries in Coquitlam has an excellent solution to bashed pumpkins: they have a tough steel Differential Cover which they weld over the factory pumpkin housing. It is stout enough to take an extremely hard hit, and will spread the shock over a wider section of the axle. It's shape will also allow the axle to ride up and over the offending rock. The pumpkin protectors have a drain hole cut into the bottom, and are perfectly formed to fit Toyota 8" axle housings.

While discussing the merits of their pumpkin protectors, I noticed that my front drain plug and it's protective ring were badly scored. I inquired about getting a skid plate fabbed up, and we came up with a Drain Plug Wear Plate. This plate gets welded to the axle housing and completely surrounds the drain plug and the factory protective ring. The edges are beveled to allow it to slide over rocks, and the corners are rounded to avoid snags. The plate is slightly curved to match the curvature of the axle housing. Once welded in place, the Wear Plate helps prevent rocks from contacting the drain plug and axle housing, thereby reducing the risk of a lost or damaged plug.

The guys at Breeze were able to professionally install a Diff Cover and a Wear Plate on both of my axle housings in about an hour. The entire setup looks very strong, and I know I won't be as concerned as I used to be when I hear the banging from big sharp rocks reaching out for my diffs.

Breeze Industries Ltd. is located at:

Unit 5 - 224 Cayer Street
Coquitlam, BC, Canada V3K 5B1

Tel: (604) 540-7778
Fax: (604) 540-7700

Email: sales@breezeindustries.com

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