How to make a clear differential cover?

[Owen Lucas]

Not intended for street use, just for a YouTube video I will be making. There are no clear diff covers sold for the Ford 8.8, though they are made for other vehicles. I think it's a bad idea for street use because of the risk of breakage and spilling oil all over the road which could cause an accident.

Anyway I have a few ideas but don't know how possible they are or what products to use.

1. I can buy a moldable plastic sheet that's used in vacuum forming, place it on top of the inside of the diff cover and use a heat gun for it to take shape of the cover. I need just enough clearance for the ring gear and the mating surface to be flat enough not to leak. How viable is this? PETG is supposed to be moldable, is there any other plastic that is compatible with heat molding?

2. Using some type of a clear epoxy or resin that I can paint onto the inside of the cover. Layer it up until it is thick enough. Not sure if such a miracle product exists though.

 

[eljefino]

Do like this guy:

 

[Owen Lucas]

Do like this guy:

He has a giant vacuum forming machine, even a cheap Chinese version of what he uses is probably $5k or more. For a 1 time video, totally not worth it. Funny thing is he copied my clear oil filter video. I probably beat him to the punch though since he was already making clear engine part vids.

 

[Shel_B]

Not intended for street use, just for a YouTube video I will be making. There are no clear diff covers sold for the Ford 8.8, though they are made for other vehicles. I think it's a bad idea for street use because of the risk of breakage and spilling oil all over the road which could cause an accident.

Just an off-the-wall shot, you might check with Gale Banks as I know he's made such covers for at least some Ford differentials. They were made for demonstration purposes and used to promote his own diff covers.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Just an off-the-wall shot, you might check with Gale Banks as I know he's made such covers for at least some Ford differentials. They were made for demonstration purposes and used to promote his own diff covers.

View attachment 154854

Thank you, I checked out his site. Only the ALU covers. High quality products and this guy knows his stuff!

 

[meep]

I would make a plaster mold of the real cover and then form yours over that. It would take some trial and error to get it right. Tricky thing will be learning the material, and how to work with it. Plexiglass is reasonable once your get the feel for it

 

[Shel_B]

Thank you, I checked out his site. Only the ALU covers. High quality products and this guy knows his stuff!

You're not going to find the clear covers on his site. You need to call or email and ask about them specifically. If they don't have a way to provide a clear cover it's possible you can get some advice on how to make them.

Years ago (1998) I met Gale Banks briefly and found him to be friendly, encouraging, and helpful.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I would make a plaster mold of the real cover and then form yours over that. It would take some trial and error to get it right. Tricky thing will be learning the material, and how to work with it. Plexiglass is reasonable once your get the feel for it

II would rather avoid molds and liquids though that would be a pretty solid way to do it correctly. I think I found a product that might work with a small learning curve: https://www.plasticareinc.com/petg-transparentthermoplasticsheet.html

 

[JavierH19]

Thermal conductivity clocked out.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Thermal conductivity clocked out.

Oh yeah, imagine running a thermoplastic molded diff on the street in the summer. It would sag and then leak all over the place, very dangerous!

 

[JavierH19]

.

 

[JavierH19]

Oh yeah, imagine running a thermoplastic molded diff on the street in the summer. It would sag and then leak all over the place, very dangerous!

And even if it somehow didn't the temps would be higher and that's not good for the diff. I'd also be afraid of it cracking under vibrations or shock.