Reliable sorce for Torsen?
 

One of these days I'm going to bite the bullet and get a Torsen diff. as my base model didn't come with one. Does anyone know a reliable place to get them other than the dealer. I have seen a few posted on ebay, but I'm a bit shy to buy something like that over ebay.
-Michael-

rspeed and mazmart are both reputable and have torsens, though you pay for the "reliability"

www.planetmiata.com has good prices and has treated me well in the past.

I bought mine of ebay several years back. Look for a seller that sells parts off salvage vehicles.

www.car-part.com

Do a search for both carrier and differential. Also do the search on 94 and 99 that'll give you the most hits back.

Jay

planet miata was very good to me

you can also buy a brand new kaaz or mazdaspeed lsd.

how are those mazdaspeed 2 ways?

There's a bunch of those on eBay, and they're not all honest/good to deal with.

I'll second that one. After a month of fruitless searching I finally found this site this morning. 10 minutes on the web and three phone calls got me a complete diff assembly for $340, including shipping from Yuma, AZ to Carlsbad, CA.

I used car-part.com, and searched for "Carrier (see also Differential)" and "w/locking" for a '94. Don't be afraid of the "locking" part, from today's phone calls I gather that's just how Americans think of limited slip diffs.

The Yard I bought it from (Reliable Auto Parts) described the car as a '95, burgundy paint with tan leather. That combo was unique to the "M" edition. So I asked for the VIN, then called Mazda customer service, and they verified that it was an M package car. All the M cars got Torsens.

Wallyman over on the MiataPower list clued me into that tactic. If you search the FAQ over on M.net, there's a good listing of the various years and packages. Seems that all '94-'97 cars with tan leather had the Torsen as well. Granted, there are a few cars with the Torsen that didn't get the leather, but it seems to me that this is a good quick-n-easy searching technique.


*** EDIT ***
It was recently pointed out to me that cars with an automatic transmission, even if they have tan leather and/or the M package, do *not* have the Torsen diff. Bear in mind.

If I remember correctly, almost everything with PS and a manual tranny got a Torsen between 94-97. Did the reliable place have more than one in stock? I am seeing them still up on the car-parts website.
-Michael-

In '94, yes. In '95, power-steering was a standalone option on the base model. For '96, there was the "Power Steering Package", and in '97, the "Power Steering Package", the "Touring Package" and the "STO" all got P/S but did not include the Torsen. All these cars came with a 5 speed standard. If you really want a good breakdown, check out this file from the M.net FAQ: http://www.miata.net/faq/Miata90-97A3.pdf
But you're right, it does seem like there were an awful lot of Torsen-equipped Miata built.

I don't think so, but I didn't ask. (I doubt if their on-line inventory is updated frequently.) The one I got hadn't even been removed from the car yet- they'd just gotten the vehicle in, which is how I was able easily to verify VIN and color. The best advice I can offer is to call around to all the places you see listed, and get VIN numbers. Then call Mazda customer service (1-800-222-5500 in the USA), and see which package car it came from. When I called, they weren't able specifically to say which differential was in it, but they did verify that it was a Merlot & Tan "M" package, which was consistent with what Reliable was claiming.

Might not hurt to search the site for "M/T non-locking" as well, since I'm guessing a lot of yards probably don't know how to distinguish between the two. Just get VINs then call Mazda to determine what package the car was. If the yard already has the diff out you could also call 'em up and ask them to look through the side of the diff where the axles go in. If you can see right through = Torsen, bar in the middle = open diff.