[MotionMan]

I did this a while ago and may not have gave this new find away....The 07 and 08 PUs come with a cool aluminum diffy cover, it is natural aluminum, no paint or clear, is finned and is only $30 at your local Ford dealer, it is a cool looking add on and is functional beyond looks, 1 it requires you to change the fluid....to synth, and 2 the aluminum and fins help cool the diffy. It was so cheap I bought 2 and gave one to the mechanic i use for fluid changes and he did it for free. We used stainless steel bolts with washers. I used royal purple fluid and it did quiet the rear down, it made a drone that bothered me since it sounded like a problem brewing. When we pulled the cover it looked like new, not one bit of wear and that was at around 130,000 miles. I also just did the 2wd struts for the rear hatch, mine would not hold it up in the cold....one thing to watch for, one one is off it will fall hard, it nearly broke my finger and the strut was still attached at one end and ended up poking thru the gap between the glass and the body..with the hatch shut!!!! I still get the chills thinking of how close I was to breaking the glass...my finger will repair itself:no:. I ended up using my snow scraper to prop it up....You know, I have done dozens of things to this truck to make it better, like 22" wipers and 18" in the rear (get the new contoured ones for the back, it works great) and it is all due to this site, in fact the service guy was amazed at the 2wd strut idea, he even watched me change them in the lot with a pocket knife because he thought they would not fit....like the 2wd is a different truck than the 4wd.....what a tool.

 

[BoredandStroked]

Okay, I gotta ask, what is the difference between the rear hatch for a 2wd and 4wd.

 

[jafo]

no difference in the hatches. The lifts are longer on the 2wd Ex's to help get the glass higher since the truck itself sits a little lower to the ground.

 

[Wren]

Motionman, do you have the PNs for the diff cover and the struts? My local Ford parts guy goes a little nuts when I walk in looking for that 'thing' and those 'doohickeys'...

 

[klhansen]

WOW, if you got those diff covers for $30 each, you stole them. :thumbsup: They used to be about that cheap when the 08's first came out, but I guess the demand drove the price up.

Powerstrokeshop.com has them for nearly $50, and Diesel Manor sells them for nearly $80 with a set of bolts. DieselManor - Ford Sterling Differential cover

My local Ford parts guy goes a little nuts when I walk in looking for that 'thing' and those 'doohickeys'...

Man, you need a new parts guy.

Aren't they supposed to know what "doohickeys" and "gizmos" are? :lol:

 

[mykidsarebrats]

I also bought mine when the 08's came out and got it for thirty something dollars. Excellent mod.

 

[mykidsarebrats]

The part number for the diff cover is 8C3Z-4033-A Fast Parts Network says MSRP is 63.32
You will need longer bolts than what our truck has, I found some quality bolts at my local ace hardware, although they were probably 1.50each.

 

[MotionMan]

Yea, it has been on for over a year now, I saw it on a new truck and really took a chance, if it fit great, if not it goes back. I used 1 1/2 stainless bolts with stainless washers. With the lift people behind me look right at it. Thats too bad on the price, I bet they sold 100s of 1000s. This spring I am going to find a nice wire brush for a drill and hit it to clean it up. It is still cheap, most are way over $100. On the struts, get the 15" ones, the others are 12"s or 13s. In any case I can stand on a parking block and not hit my head anymore, on the ground it will take a 6'er to reach it easy with a 3" lift, thats another good thing, people won't grab it, not pull on it, and ask you to unlock it and they can't slam it.....

 

[TxCanyonero]

One thing I found was to buy the bolts from a bolt company. Home Depot wanted 1.80 per bolt(socket head, 5/16 x 1.25) Went to a local bolt store here in town and got washers and bolts for 60 cents a piece. Oh, and wait 20mins for the Ultra Black to setup a little. I didn't. No issues yet, but I was a little worried because I rushed it.

 

[78Southwind]

I'll have to check this out.

 

[coldpizza]

Do you have to change the diff fluid to synthetic? When I did this mod, I did not go synthetic (about 8k miles ago). Thanks in advance. Len

 

[Wren]

Powerstrokeshop.com won't open for me, so I don't know what their prices currently is, but my local parts guy says the diff cover is over $110 canadian.

 

[TxCanyonero]

Check your browser settings. Firefox at home won't work but IE will. Firefox at work will work, go figure. Try using IE. I think it's a java or active X setting.