will a 2000 limited edition rear axle assembly (pumpkin to tires) bolt right into a 93 base? if not whats needed to make it fit?

no im not worried about the driveshafts or anything like that

 

Yes

 

you are the savior of today
guess im getting a 2000 trans/axle

 

Where are you located? I found something just like this on Craigslist.

 

janesville wi
theres a few on craigslist

 

For some reason I read an "S" in front of the 2000 and thought older guy was trolling.

Why aren't you worried about the drive shaft? The '93 unit won't fit.

 

So if I were to get a Torsen from a 2000, it wouldn't work in my 1996?

 

I believe all 1.8s are the same, but I could be wrong.

The rubber isolator on the 1.8 units along with a longer nose off the pumpkin all add up to a shorter drive shaft.

I'm sure there's an overly detailed write up about compatibility in the miata.net garage.

 

Gotcha. I found a whole rear subframe from a 2000 Special Edition, with everything, Torsen, suspension, etc. How hard would it be to drop this into my 1996? I'm mainly concerned about connecting the differential back in and any other hangups I might run in to.

 

i know someone parting a 2000 out locally so im gonna grab the trans to tires no driveshaft problems then

 

Driveshaft should work, but beware of automatic driveshafts, they have a different spline going into the tranny.

 

Harder than just swapping the differential. The diff itself is basically identical.

 

I'm not saying to worry either but typically the swap involves 'tranny snout to tires' - the 1.8 driveshaft, 1.8 differential, 1.8 half shafts.

Source the drive shafts and half shaft out of a local wrecking yard, tell them you had an accident with your teenage daughter and don't mention racing = $50.

For the diff, source the diff from someone who's corporate and uses old school terms in their online search engine like "positraction" or "limited slip". Not naming any names, but say for example LKQ in Texas might ship one to your door for $230. "We gotta lot of trucks here not too many of these little foreign cars". Duh. Once you have a diff candidate, before purchase get the VIN to verify with Mazda the diff is indeed a Torsen.

Some sleuthing save big $$.