Installed *** Spider Rear-Diff. Rock Guard

[BOJANGLES]

here are some pics from a few weeks ago where Raptorguy21 and I installed my rock guard for my rear differential. This product is made by Purple Cranium Products and is known as their Ford Raptor 9.75" Full Spider Rock Guard.

For those considering something like this, I would like to point out that this thing is very heavy. If the weight is a concern to you, there may be more lightweight options out there (I'm not sure, but I would imagine a Mag-Hytec diff cover is lighter, for example).

Personally, I like knowing that a rock or stump has to break into Alcatraz before it can damage the proverbial ******* to my driveshaft, but that's just me.

The weight doesn't add a difference that I can feel in the driver's seat, but I still know its there. If it were much heavier than it already is, I may not have put it on... but I think the thing looks awesome too, and that was a bit of a saving grace that offset the weight factor for me.


First you'll need to remove your spare. Break out the kit under the seat and put the shaft of the crank into the uncapped hole in the bumper :********:
Lower your spare by cranking it down to the floor and removing the cable. If you don't know how to do this then RTFM definitely ought to be your first order of business.




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Next you'll need to remove the hardware from your rear diff.


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Don't forget about this lil' guy up here....


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Don't worry about fluid leaking or the plate coming off, the gasket seal will hold it all together while you have the original hardware removed.

Now align the Spider with the holes left by the removed factory hardware,. and hand tighten the new supplied hardware to get the rockguard in place.
I recommend starting at the corners since this sucker has some weight to it.




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then crank them puppies down and put some stank (torque) on 'em....




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don't forget to put this back....


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Now raise your spare tire back into place....




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......and you're Golden.
Diff protected. A little "Cover Your Ass" helps ensure that a man sleeps peacefully at night. Total install took about 30 minutes at a leisurely pace.

If you are interested in ordering this product, you can do so in a variety of powdercoat and decal color combinations at this link here: http://purplecranium.com/i-63369-ford-raptor-9-75-full-spider-rock-guard.html

 

[BentToast]

Bojangles, do you wear the cup over or under your Speedo?

 

[BOJANGLES]

Bojangles, do you wear the cup over or under your Speedo?

Over..... ain't no shame in my game!! But sometimes I let some o' that frumple-skin from mah ******* hang outta the cup holes for the ladies.
.......How's that for a mental image you wish you could CTRL+ALT+DELETE?

 

[pirate air]

Looks good. Its too bad the spare tire blocks the majority of the view though.

 

[BentToast]

 

[BannedOnTheRun]

Nice write-up - good pics and details.

The product looks good - well made. Did you order it that color or consider having it painted another color?

I like the idea of a diff cup (protector) but I'm not sold on that type of design. A lot of open spaces between the pipes/bars, the pipes on the upper area don't seem to be offering anything except support to the lower pipes/bars because that's where most of the damage risk to the pumpkin will come from. And most of the protection is on the back side of the pumpkin but it will provide some protection from below (if your Raptor comes down on anything like a rock).

I think a steel plate underneath the pumpkin would be a lot better. Here's one that provides that kind of protection as long as protecting the U-joint too:

This one looks like a beefier version of the Purple Cranium:

this one's a smaller version of the Spider type:

 

[BOJANGLES]

Looks good. Its too bad the spare tire blocks the majority of the view though.

actually you can almost always see the bottom of it peeking out when you're walking by the truck. Any regular sized car or SUV or small truck can see the bottom half from behind at a stoplight. It's a bit more visible than I expected it to be.

But I maybe going the tiregate route (with backup cam) someday in the not-too-distant future anyway. If and when I do that, the spare will be relocated up there and pretty much the whole thing will always be exposed.

 

[BOJANGLES]

B.O.T.R., I agree with you on the exposed areas between the tubes. But it should also be noted that the cage sits a few inches off the plate, so there is actually a pretty good sized gap between cage and pumpkin. It would take a uniquely shaped rock and pretty perfect (or imperfect?) placement in order to actually touch the pumpkin itself. I'm also around big rocks and stumps probably a lot less than some of you guys since i'm in pretty sandy desert. And as to the top part, *** also does make half-spiders that only cover the bottom part (very similar to what you posted above) but I liked the look of the full cage.

Did you order it that color or consider having it painted another color?

I did intentionally order it in that color scheme because my truck is white and I like how the rock guard's powder matches my paint. But you can order those guards in a pretty vast array of different colors, and they offer the graphics in tons of colors too. I think you can also order them raw so that you can paint/powder it yourself too.
White + black was just what happened to suit my fancy.

I definitely like what I see in your post too though... particularly the first pic. Can you tell us a little bit about the guards you posted?? Some specs or even just the company name or a link would be helpful. Those look like a nice option too.

 

[pirate air]

actually you can almost always see the bottom of it peeking out when you're walking by the truck. Any regular sized car or SUV or small truck can see the bottom half from behind at a stoplight. It's a bit more visible than I expected it to be.

But I maybe going the tiregate route (with backup cam) someday in the not-too-distant future anyway. If and when I do that, the spare will be relocated up there and pretty much the whole thing will always be exposed.

I like the looks of the tire gate, but wonder if over time the mounts will fatigue and crack. Obviously the bed headers where the tail gate hinges at are pretty strong to support a loaded tailgate, but will they live up to a few years of jumping and hard jolts from off roading with the weight of the gate and spare hanging on them? I know the gate also bolts up to some other existing holes in the sheet metal to help support the load, but it still.

 

[6.2]

Looks good, great write up and pics as well.