As you can see in the first picture to the right, my diff cover had been taking a beating in the last several trips. The bottom lip was bent badly and I could just imagine it getting ready to catch the next rock that I got too close to and ...

So after taking the advice from a friend, I decided it was time to do something about it. These diff guards are exactly what I was looking for. They do not hurt anything in the clearance department, are very well built, and bolt right onto the diff using the existing bolts. All I had to do was to go to a local 4x4 shop and ask for a diff guard for a 10-bolt 8.5" GM axle. Here's a picture of the guard:

Installation was as simple as it could get. The only thing I had to do was to beat the bent part of the cover back into shape, so that the guard would sit flush against the cover. A few solid hits with a hammer did the trick. Unfortunately, I lost a bit of diff fluid when I loosened the bolts (I was hoping that it could be avoided) which made somewhat of a mess on my hands, tools, and the guard. The only problem was I wasn't really expecting it. Otherwise, no big deal.

After installing the guard, I checked the fluid level and there was still more than enough fluid in there. I didn't even need to top it off. But I think I will do the next service a bit sooner just to replace that gasket. But so far, no leaks...

The only other minor thing that I encountered was that the bracket holding the brake lines in place (bolted under one of the diff bolts) would not stay in place. The bolt was too short to hold that bracket, the diff guard, and the cover in place. So I left the bracket out and secured it in place using 2 zip-ties. I tied it onto the diff guard, close to its original location.