Does anyone know if the finned aluminum cover (now standard on the Titans with Tow Pkg) fit on an Armada differential.

Does anyone know if the finned aluminum cover (now standard on the Titans with Tow Pkg) fit on an Armada differential.
I've heard they are the same diffs. Again, heard, not verified. I thought the cover was standard on all Titans and Armadas from '05 on, not just big tow titans. Mine has the aluminum cover, but then again, LE includes the tow package as a standard item. Doesn't your LE have it? :confused:

The covers will not interchange. While the gears may be the same, the housing and covers are different.

The covers will not interchange. While the gears may be the same, the housing and covers are different.
Ahhh. I knew something was amiss. The hairs on the back of my neck were tickling. Wait, that was my fiance. Nevermind.

Thanks for your input scr38, as I have not been able to compare the two covers side by side...

An aluminum finned cover has potential to be a great aftermarket part, since it seems that the stock differential gets pretty toasty under standard driving conditions and will burn up its fluid while towing....

I'm not hearing of differential failures in the Armadas. Not sure why (compared to the Titans) but it seems not to be reported very often at all. I tow an 8,000 trailer regularly, and when the trailer is not hooked up, I drive the **** out of this truck with no problems. I'd not be concerned about needing a finned cover.

I'm not hearing of differential failures in the Armadas. Not sure why (compared to the Titans) but it seems not to be reported very often at all. I tow an 8,000 trailer regularly, and when the trailer is not hooked up, I drive the **** out of this truck with no problems. I'd not be concerned about needing a finned cover.
I agree. No problems like the Titans. Also, they changed the fluid specs in '05 which seems to have helped a lot. ;)

Perhaps this is paranoia on my part....I have spoken to several Armada owners that tow, and have complained of dirty or burned diff oil after relatively short periods of time/ low mileage.

When my Gibson exhaust was installed I did a brief examination of the diff and after a 40 mile drive it was quite hot, I am sure under towing situations there would be much more stress and heat.

I am thinking that a finned cover would aid in longitivity of the diff for people that tow on a very regular basis.

I have an (04) with 10,000 miles on it when my rear end went out. I tow a 4000lb tt with a 6500lb tow limit. I donot have the tow package. I have checked with the dealer and the only real difference without the tow package is the final gearing. Tow package has a 4.10 rear end, bigger battery, and trans temp gauge. Mine has a 3.7 rear end. I did the upgrade to 75/140 syn at 1500 miles. I am still towing with this truck, but am a little concern. The factory rep I talked to said I should have no problems towing this tt.

I have an (04) with 10,000 miles on it when my rear end went out. I tow a 4000lb tt with a 6500lb tow limit. I donot have the tow package. I have checked with the dealer and the only real difference without the tow package is the final gearing. Tow package has a 4.10 rear end, bigger battery, and trans temp gauge. Mine has a 3.7 rear end. I did the upgrade to 75/140 syn at 1500 miles. I am still towing with this truck, but am a little concern. The factory rep I talked to said I should have no problems towing this tt.

Don't forget to include passengers and payload into that 6500lb max. You maybe alot closer to the limit than you think. I would also imagine that the shorter gearing is one the major factors for 2600lb diffrence in capacity. I would ignore the rep and use caution when towing your load over long distances, up hills, or similar situations and keep your payload at a minimum. Just my take. There's way more technical discussion under the Towing thread so please check it out. :)

Armada Towing (http://www.clubarmada.com/forums/showthread.php?t=679)

I have an (04) with 10,000 miles on it when my rear end went out. I tow a 4000lb tt with a 6500lb tow limit. I donot have the tow package. I have checked with the dealer and the only real difference without the tow package is the final gearing. Tow package has a 4.10 rear end, bigger battery, and trans temp gauge. Mine has a 3.7 rear end. I did the upgrade to 75/140 syn at 1500 miles. I am still towing with this truck, but am a little concern. The factory rep I talked to said I should have no problems towing this tt.

Not quite correct on the ratios. The non Big Tow and non Off Road have a 2.94 ratio; the Big Tow and Off Road have a 3.36 ratio.

Total dry weight is 3311lbs, 1000lbs of gear and 3 people at the most. I know I am under 5500lbs. The tt is 24' long with a hitch weight 480lbs. Tows very well and has plenty of power. I do tow around 70 mph and have slowed down between 60 - 65 mph since the rear end has been replaced. I do plan on changing my rear end oil every other oil change. That is correct on the ratio of gearing, but with a five speed transmission the ratio is compared to a 3.7 or 4.1 with the tow package. :)

Total dry weight is 3311lbs, 1000lbs of gear and 3 people at the most. I know I am under 5500lbs. The tt is 24' long with a hitch weight 480lbs. Tows very well and has plenty of power. I do tow around 70 mph and have slowed down between 60 - 65 mph since the rear end has been replaced. I do plan on changing my rear end oil every other oil change. That is correct on the ratio of gearing, but with a five speed transmission the ratio is compared to a 3.7 or 4.1 with the tow package. :)

The Nissan owners manual says to change the final drive gear oil every 3,000 miles, if towing, have a car-top carrier or drive on rough or muddy roads. This seems like a bunch of diff oil, this might mean if you are towing 100% of the time, it does not specify. I am doing rear gear oil every other motor oil change also.

I have the big tow package and I have elected to go synthetic. I recently had the diff oil changed, as I tow fairly infrequently. Still, heat is a killer here. A diff finned diff cover makes sense....Anyone?

I agree that a finned rear diffy cover would help a lot. I was thinking perhaps the finned one from the pathfinder might fit our units? Anyone looked into that?

-mike

I tow a 6500# gross 6x6x12 ft. dual axel enclosed trailer from St. Paul to Yarmouth, NS, CA. This year was the first with the Armada. I got 50% better mileage than with the Tundra- 12 to 12.5 @ 70+ mph in 4th gear not od. At the next service I will have the diff checked. I did not notice any difference with the tow mode on or off. What I didn't like was that in cruise and going up hills, the car would lose 5+ mph before it would kick down to third so I would manually put it in third and that worked well. What is the Tow Mode to do? I put an air suspension system in with on-board compressor (fit in the little storage space in the back left since there is no room in the engine compartment) and a prodigy electric brake system. Anyway so what's with the tow mode.

I tow a 6500# gross 6x6x12 ft. dual axel enclosed trailer from St. Paul to Yarmouth, NS, CA. This year was the first with the Armada. I got 50% better mileage than with the Tundra- 12 to 12.5 @ 70+ mph in 4th gear not od. At the next service I will have the diff checked. I did not notice any difference with the tow mode on or off. What I didn't like was that in cruise and going up hills, the car would lose 5+ mph before it would kick down to third so I would manually put it in third and that worked well. What is the Tow Mode to do? I put an air suspension system in with on-board compressor (fit in the little storage space in the back left since there is no room in the engine compartment) and a prodigy electric brake system. Anyway so what's with the tow mode.

How do you have the Tow mode and no auto-leveling air suspension?

-mike

All Armadas and Titans have Tow Mode. It is not part of the Big Tow package.

All Armadas and Titans have Tow Mode. It is not part of the Big Tow package.

Ah ha didn't realize that.

-mike

But how is the Tow mode supposed to operate? BTW I added the air suspension for around $250. It is an Airlift system,but I did have one bag blow out in Toronto. I think I like the Firestone better but it was not available when I was needing to install it.

Somebody otta write mag-hytech, see if the're gonna be offering anything. They have some great products.

Ahhh. I knew something was amiss. The hairs on the back of my neck were tickling. Wait, that was my fiance. Nevermind.

LOL TB you seem to be in a playful mood today. ;)

LOL TB you seem to be in a playful mood today. ;)

Hey Mama, TB day was December 8, 2005. :D , I know I know, sometimes I miss that too.:D

But how is the Tow mode supposed to operate?

The Tow Mode changes the programming in the tranny. All it really does is affect light to medium throttle driving. It lets the tranny stay in its present gear until a higher rpm than usual before it shifts up to the next gear, if you are at light or medium throttle.

For example: If you are pulling a trailer, you are probably not going to move out from a stop at wide open throttle, nor would you merge at wide open throttle. But if you are not in tow mode, the transmission will try to shift up on its own at its normal preset rpm, which might cause you to lose too many RPM and fall out of the power part of your torque curve. But in tow mode it will hold that gear for longer and let you use the torque of the lower gear longer before it shifts up on you. Then when it shifts and the RPM drop, they will still be high enough to be in the fat part of your torque curve. If you are at wide open throttle, Tow Mode does nothing.

Does this help?