So... I should retract my previous post about getting an F450 for now, I just don't have the nutz to drop $80k on a new truck when mine's long since paid for. So I'm going to put a few dollars into my trusty steed.So - for those who have put on aftermarket tranny and diff covers, have you seen a drop in temps when you're hauling your TC? I know most people don't have diff temp gauges, but most of us do have tranny temp gauges.So, in a nutchell, what, if any, benefits did you get from swapping to aftermarket covers? I'm thinking Mag Hytec for all 3, front, rear and tranny.

Instead of getting a 2015 F-450, why not look at some F-350's with a much higher GVWR? The 2011's with the 6.7L Diesel to be most specific. They are still going to be a bit above $30,000 but much more reasonable than the F-450, and carry almost the same GVWR, and perhaps the same cargo rating. . The transmission covers only have a few square inches of aluminum heat exchanger, not much more than the steel factory one, but are cast a little thicker, so they barely transfer more heat. I guess there are some with tubes cast into the pan base, so there is 3/8" tubing with air blowing through the pan, at 60 MPH that is about 100 feet per minute. A aftermarket transmission cooler will work much better.AS for aftermarket rear diff cover, it will normally have a magnetic drain plug, that will both collect any metal shavings, and make it 'clean' to drain out the fluid for changes. And it will be aluminum too, so it might get rid of more heat. Still there is over 8 square feet of tubing in the rear axle, 1/2 full of rear diff oil, and it will help cool the oil too!Fred.

Some time ago I read a magazine test that mentioned the mag hytec diff cover was good for 25-50deg temp reduction. Don't know about the tranny cover.

When I had my transmission rebuilt earlier this year I was going to put on an aftermarket trans pan, the builder did not recommend it, the heat transfer is very minimal, the pans tend to leak easier, and the cost is better applied to a big transmission cooler.the rear diff was almost the same story, but he said they didn't leak any more then a stock one would, that his temps did drop a few degrees, but the biggest reason was ease of maintaining the rear diff fluid, as well as it holding a bit more then stock.as far as the front goes, unless your running in 4x4 quite often, I wouldn't worry about it as much, its not under near the stress of the rear, as the gears aren't constantly being put under stress from moving the load.

Isn't your F350 having factory transmission cooler?I was having dilemma about upgrading transmission pan on my 2007 model as at the time when I was trying to change ATF, the bushing holding the plug on the pan start spinning, while the plug not. Got advice about new pans that hold more ATF, but going synthetic it is not cheap stuff and since the transmission work fine for 150,000 miles, do I want to worry about spending $400-500 for its upgrade now? So I drop the pan and welded the bushing on original pan. For differential cover I would not spend extra money before checking the temperatures with infra-red. New synthetic oils run much cooler than dino oils decade ago so if upgrade is needed, I would rather put my money on better oils.

Golden_HVAC wrote:A aftermarket transmission cooler will work much better.I do actually have the largest tranny cooler I could find at the time, a Tru-Cool Max. No room for it in my sig. Call me an overachiever I guess.So it looks like the very quick consensus is not worth the money.

Aftermarket tranny and diff covers | Good Sam Community

33 Replies

arto_wa
Explorer
Sep 06, 2015
tony lee wrote:
Probably already covered and I missed it, but DANA don't have drain plugs in the cover to force you to remove the cover once in a while and while the cover is off, retighten the bolts inside.
Just a pain to do and shouldn't be required. What other diff manufacturer has a problem with diffs falling apart inside under normal use.

I've had Dana 44, 50, 60, 70 & 80 over the years in various vehicles - never did re-tighten any of the bolts inside and none of them have fallen apart so far!

There is no need to remove the differential cover for oil change, just have it sucked out with a suitable extractor like this for example.
tony_lee
Explorer
Sep 06, 2015
Probably already covered and I missed it, but DANA don't have drain plugs in the cover to force you to remove the cover once in a while and while the cover is off, retighten the bolts inside.
Just a pain to do and shouldn't be required. What other diff manufacturer has a problem with diffs falling apart inside under normal use.
Super_Dave
Explorer
Sep 06, 2015
Truck modifications are the sum of the parts or cumulative. Just adding cold air intake does very little but add a tuner and it starts to add up. Don't look at anyone modification to knock your socks off. We all haul heavy and I believe added volume can't be a bad thing.
egarant
Explorer III
Sep 05, 2015
mkirsch wrote:
egarant wrote:
On the new RAM trucks, mine is a 13, when you order the max tow package they do put an aluminum finned diff cover on the rear.

You know they wouldn't spend an extra dime if they didn't have to, so I can assume that they DO cool the oil.

Industry has been using cooling fins forever, no reason to believe they would not work in your application.

Flawed logic. Does all that chrome help the truck do its job better? If as you say they wouldn't spend an extra dime if they didn't have to, why so much chrome?

The finned aluminum diff cover is a "cool feature" to help upsell the max towing package. It's something visible and tangible, not to mention flashy, that helps convince the customer to spend the extra money.

Does it work? Sure, it helps cool the oil. That was never in question here. The question is how much good does it really do?

You are just bound and determined to poo poo the use of these "gadgets" on our trucks. Cooling fines are NOT flawed logic, they work as testimonies in this thread state.

Cooling fins work on computer cores, radio transmitters, whatever they are installed on.

Nobody is trying to sell a truck by pointing under the truck and saying "look here the diff cover is finned" It's not the 50's anymore....

Give me a break
Nautique200
Explorer
Sep 03, 2015
Yes they work. I put the Ginos garage rear diff Magtec on my last truck. It has a sight glass on it so you can see your oil level and quality of the oil through the glass. Peace of mind.

I recently climbed under my truck after hauling the camper and horses for a 45 minute drive. Holly **** was my rear diff housing hot, however the rear stock finned diff cover was quite a bit cooler.
deltabravo
Nomad
Sep 03, 2015
Bedlam wrote:
I had the upfitting department at Dave Smith Ram in Idaho do the work, but some of the work was outsourced to an outfit in Spokane called Titan Truck Equipment.

Titan is a well respected truck outfitter here in Spokane.
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 02, 2015
Since I had no drain plugs.... if I have to remove the pan/cover to drain I bought the aluminum cover with drain plug so I would never have to remove it again. More capacity has to help some, additional cooling is probably minimal.
sharkman
Explorer
Sep 02, 2015
Tamnative wrote:
Ford makes an aluminum rear end cover that will fit at a fraction of the cost. Not quite as pretty as the Mag-Hytec but it could be polished.

Ford sells it, we make it where i work, right here in north east Indiana.
pcoplin
Explorer II
Sep 01, 2015
In my experience, you don't need a deep pan. You need a good cooler if it tends to get hot. A deep pan will just allow it to take longer before warming up, it does nothing for cooling.

Save your money, and buy a larger cooler and a shift kit (I like the Tugger 2).
805gregg
Explorer
Sep 01, 2015
I have a Mag hytec deep trans pan and my trans temp never goes above 180 degrees no matter what im hauling or towing, they work great