I've heard the 94-97s fit, but is there a way to make the '90 version fit?

 

Source: http://members.aol.com/solomiata/Drivetrain.html


It will probably not fit the 84-85 disc brake axles...

 

when speaking of the rear, would that be just the gear pumpkin, or the whole thing??

 

just the pumpkin

 

What's the definition of a third member?

 

The third member is the thing that holds all of the gears, the pumpkin is the housing.

 

 

So what's the first and second member?

 

so the 94-97 miata rear will bolt into our car, or am I just confused

 

Yeah, me too.
A better question for me is:
Can I just bolt in a 94-97 miata thirdmember?

 

1st member - engine
2nd member - Transmission

I think.

 

I' new to all of this, so I want to ask a few questions.

are you talkign about swapping an independant rear from a Miata into a FB? Is that possible? And other than the independant rear, what are the advantages, and is is really worth it?

My local junkyard has a '95, and I'd do it if it was worth it. Otherwise, I'll see it to one of you who thinks it is.

 

Jayroc, the 90 Miata has a smaller diff than first gen cars and will not work.

There are two reasons folks go with the Miata third members; one, the gears (some have 4.10 and others have 4.30); send the Torsen diff that is available in a few models.

So to make this work in a first gen you need an 84-85 rear with the larger axles (either GSL or GSL-SE). This process will not work for an earlier rear axle housing.

 

Hmmm, I'll have an SE, so I could do it.

But yo're only using the differential right, not half shalfs and htings like that, so in other words, you would have independant rear.

From what I know, if the Miata had cruise control, it has the lsd, the one I spoke of has it.

So would it be worth it to do this to my SE? What gears does it have, and is the Torsen LSD any better than what is currently in the SE?

I just want to know if this would be justified. It would cost me very little, but that's beside the point.

 

The GSL-SE has a gear ratio of about 4.07 or 8 (I do not recall the specific numbers off the top of my head). So, if you get a 4.10 rear gear then there will not be much of a change; but the 4.30 you will get a boost.

The third member in the GSL-SE is actually stronger than the Torsen rear end. If you are drag racing then you want the LSD. If you are road racing or autocrossing the Torsen is the hot stuff. It will help you exit corners.

How to find a Torsen rear end? I understand that you look for a 94 to 97 Miata with a stick and power windows.

Hey, good luck!

 

Nah... I've browsed the Miata Forums... That power window or cruise control rule is only 99% true... Too much error for my taste... Real test is to open the fill plug and see vertical worm gear or spider gears, or somethig like that...

Unless I read wrong, which I tend to do a lot.

 

Good point, that is an accurate test method.

But, before I crawl underneath I would like to have an idea that the car has what I want.

 

So has anyone done this Miata diff. swap? How difficult is the swap and are the results worth the effort? A torsen diff would be kinda nice to have though.

 

yeah, I'd like to know more about it. The rear end I can get only has about 50k miles onit, vs. the 23xk I have on the car now....

 

sounds nice
I'd love to pick up the torsen diff to put in the GSL rear I put in my car so it will stop whining, always be a good thing

 

The actual clutch LSD part of the diff isn't whats whining.... its the ring and pinion. So if you do the swap don't forget the ring and pinion, and to get them adjusted correctly.