Differential question
 

Is there any way oh telling if i have a 1.8 or 1.6 differential just by looking at it?

Do all 1.6's have limited slip diffs?

nope 70% of 1.6 are open rears actually

1.6 diffs are smaller. Pretty sure they're a 6" rear compared to the 7" 1.8 rear. Some 1.6 diffs are viscous which is a pretty lame excuse for an LSD, they're usually worn out and act an as open anyway.

what year is your car?

my car is a '91. the 1.6 is a 6" and the 1.8 is a 7" but those are the pinion sizes; cant see those with out taking it apart. is there any way to tell from the outside (ie. without taking it apart)? i bought this car already turboed so im tring to firgure out what ist got and what it needs.

thanks

From my understanding the axles of a 94+ meaning 1.8 would go into the diff where as the pre 94's just connect with 4 bolts on the outside of the diff itself.
Attachment 214426
1.6 ^ Notice the bolts coming out of either side of the diff
Attachment 214427
1.8^ Notice the green parts of the axles go into the diff itself.


Hope that clears that up for you

And no not all 1.6 diff's are Vlsd. But the Vlsd's arnt any stronger than the open anyways. The ring and pinion is the strength in the diff itself. Someone feel free to correct me if im wrong.

thanks for the help. pros on the bottle opener hanging from the bumper.

FWIW if you do have a VLSD diff, it's worn out by now and acting like an open diff. Even when new they didn't offer more than 20 percent locking action. Not exactly a performance LSD, they came in more handy in snow.

Lol it was actually on the tow hook at the time, i was quite low and didnt want to scrape my r-package rear lip so i got that to hang about half in below it so i could hear it rattle against the ground before i would hit the lip. (Backing into my driveway)

Here is a link to more info if needed:
http://www.miata.net/garage/diffguide/index.html

The 94-95 also had stub axles similar to the 90-93. From 96+ the axles didn't have the stub shafts and just went into the diff.

To tell the difference from the 1.6L and the 1.8L diff you have to look at the front of it where the drive shaft bolts to. The 1.8L should have rubber damper piece that looks like a +. The 1.6L do not have that piece.

Hopefully this clears things up.

Ya, just read that, my earlier post is not 100 percent correct. Check the link i put a few post's up to make sure of what you have.

Ha ha, olderguy beat me to it!!

Hey those look like Teins :bigtu:

Thats because they were :p

Looks as though three of us were looking for the link at the same time and I was not that fast on the cut and paste either.:giggle: