[oldman]

This is an old thread but I like the GM snail design case, the side loading is taken up by a complete end cap (bedplate). This is not the primary failure point on most diffs, the failure point of most diff cases would be the main caps that hold the diff to the housing, the snail case completely eliminates this on the soild side (SS version) and with the bedplate on the other side which takes side loads as well as fore / aft loads. If the bedplate was deemed weak, GM would have just increased the thickness on the plate. Time has shown this setup to be far stronger than say the Challenger's all aluminum dif design that has an integrated rear cap and main bearing caps into a beadplate design.