The AAM 14 bolt axles came in three sizes 9.5" ring gear semi floating C-Clip axles, and 10.5" and 11.5" ring gear full floating bolt on axles.
The larger 11.5" cover
will not fit the 10.5" axle even tho they are both full floating axles.
The 10.5" full floater is mostly the same animal as the old corporate GM full floating 14bolt in my 1976 K20 and 2000 GMC C2500 with a few differences like the 8mm metric cover bolts rather than the larger 3/8" bolts on the older axles.
I have a new Yukon YGA-32345 steel diff cover for the 10.5" axle in the garage that I bought for my 76 before I sold it but it doesn't have a fill plug welded in.
I'm not going to use the Yukon cover nor am I going to re-install the factory cover.
- The aluminum G2 cover isn't costing me fuel mileage.
- The aluminum G2 cover hasn't changed the diff temp appreciably either. I made a run to Providence to work on RIPTA equipment before and after. The G2 read the same temp as the steel cover on my IR thermometer so "running cooler" with this aluminum cover is IMHO complete BS. But it also doesn't seem to hurt anything.
- Both the steel covers would require work with the TIG to add fill plugs.
O2 sensors are 18mm x 1.5mm. You can get inexpensive 18mm magnetic fill plugs and weld in O2 sensor bungs.
I don't have a picture of the G2 cover painted dark gray and installed. If I remember to take one I'll post it in this thread.
This is the ad copy picture.
The G2 is drilled for 3/8" bolts and that's what it comes with. Once you buy the 8mm bolts from McMaster Carr, or wherever, the 8mm bolts will rattle around in the cover mounting holes like a BB in a boxcar.
The bolts you buy need to be longer than the original steel cover bolts without bottoming in the housing. I used 25mm long bolts.
I put copper sleeves as a shoulder around the 8mm bolts that I did indeed buy from McMaster Carr. You can see the chunks of soft 1/4" copper pipe cut shorter than the depth of the diff cover and split with the red razorblade knife in the picture.
