In the spring I am going to be beefing up my stock 12 bolt posi rear end with some stronger axles and Ford style axle housing ends. I have a Moroso Brute Strength differntial and 4.11 gears in there already. Currently my best 60 ft time is a 1.56. While I was doing this I considered one of those aluminum differential covers to replace my chrome cover. At my current power level is this necessary? Thanks.

Jeff

I think you should either replace your cover, just to get rid of the chrome :D :D :D

I forgot to mention the car is mostly street driven and gets taken to the strip about twice a year. And I kinda like the chrome cover, just don't like cleaning it!

Jeff

Not necessary. The aluminum cover doesn't really do anything.

The aluminum cover strenghtens that big gaping hole out the back! Get one with the bearing preload support studs. Then your real will be ready for that supercharger!

If you want to do something to strengthen the rear end add a set of Strange or Mark Williams billet caps. I have the Strange on mine, they are aluminum and you replace both caps. The Williams caps are steel and you only replace the passengers side cap. With either once of them you have to machine the caps to match your existing caps, the local machine shop did mine on their connecting rod machine. HTH.

I use the LPW Ultimate 12 cap support cover and the axle brace struts. I haven't blown up the 12 bolt yet!
And it looks good.
My car BTW runs 1.50 or better short times.
But, for you....only going to the track once or twice a year, I'd say that good axles and welding the axle tubes to the housing would be good enough.
I've seen more than a few 12 bolts tear the factory spot welds out of the axle tubes. and the results can be ugly.
Ron

Originally posted by Ron454:
I use the LPW Ultimate 12 cap support cover and the axle brace struts. I haven't blown up the 12 bolt yet!
And it looks good.
My car BTW runs 1.50 or better short times.
But, for you....only going to the track once or twice a year, I'd say that good axles and welding the axle tubes to the housing would be good enough.
I've seen more than a few 12 bolts tear the factory spot welds out of the axle tubes. and the results can be ugly.
Ron Yes and,

Be very careful welding the tubes a little bit at a time and alternate sides. You can easily distort the tubes.

I use the aluminum cover for added strength to the housing and the bearing cap support, BUT also because my No-Hop bars make it almost impossible to re-fill the fluid at the factory spot without some crazy contraption with a tube so small I lose my patience.

The drain plug is handy too.

Originally posted by mc71454:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ron454:
I use the LPW Ultimate 12 cap support cover and the axle brace struts. I haven't blown up the 12 bolt yet!
And it looks good.
My car BTW runs 1.50 or better short times.
But, for you....only going to the track once or twice a year, I'd say that good axles and welding the axle tubes to the housing would be good enough.
I've seen more than a few 12 bolts tear the factory spot welds out of the axle tubes. and the results can be ugly.
Ron Yes and,

Be very careful welding the tubes a little bit at a time and alternate sides. You can easily distort the tubes.

I use the aluminum cover for added strength to the housing and the bearing cap support, BUT also because my No-Hop bars make it almost impossible to re-fill the fluid at the factory spot without some crazy contraption with a tube so small I lose my patience.

The drain plug is handy too. </font>[/QUOTE]I've never understood why the axle housing would spin unless a bearing froze up. The rotational load is on the bearings. I like my aluminum cover for the same reason, Tom. Although I hope to be getting rid of the no hop bars before too long. Gotta get those 60's into the 1.3x range now smile.gif

Ken, What happens is the center section will try to rotate and with the axle tubes bolted solid to the springs the tubes will spin in the housing causing huge problems. That will put an end to your race day pretty quick. Hate when that happens.

Originally posted by speedfreak2:
Ken, What happens is the center section will try to rotate and with the axle tubes bolted solid to the springs the tubes will spin in the housing causing huge problems. That will put an end to your race day pretty quick. Hate when that happens. Interesting, I hadn't thought of it that way. My 12 bolt is the stock one that came in the car. In fact, I'm still running C-Clip axles (although they're aftermarket Mosers). I wish I would have thought to weld the axle tubes prior to having the rear end powder coated :(

Ken, i saw a 13 second car break an axle this weekend, he had no c-clip eliminators and the axle made a quick escape to the left, luckily for him it was a 13 second car and it happened on the initial hook, only slid a few feet and didnt hit the guardrail.

Having an axle tube twist is just as bad as breaking an axle (even a positively retained axle) when it twists you'll aim for the guardrail of whichever side twisted.

As mentioned somewhere above, only spend the money on an aluminum cover if it has the bearing cap support studs as this is the part that strengthens anything. I have a TA Performance girdle cover on the 12 bolt in my Chevelle and it is a stout piece. Just be very sure not to overtighten the bearing cap studs, 5 ft/lbs, or you will distort the cap and cause bearing failure.