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Hey all,
i was driving home the other night and i could smell diff oil. when i stopped i went to the back of my car to see diff oil sprayed all underneath and up the back of my car. i had a look underneath and couldn't tell where it was coming from.

so i took it to my mechanic and he told me it looked like the drive shaft seals. so i had them replaced. i got my car back last night (which as any mx5 driver would know was exciting after not having dríven it for a while ). coming back from my drive i could smell the oil again and upon looking i found that the same thing had happened.

now the mechanic told me there was a fair bit of play in the drive shafts from the diff so if the seals didn't work he would have to look further into it.

does anyone have any idea or knowledge of what could be causing the leak?

My diff leaked like a two twatted cow just before it self-destructed.

If you have an NA6 with the stock diff I would be suspecting that your centre diff carrier is broken and the whole lot is just a turn away from breaking like this.

You can clearly see where the half-shaft tilted off axis and rubbed against the carrier. You can also see the massive cracks in the carrier.

If you have an NA8 or later - you may have a similar problem but with the bearings. Not as terminal, but still a pain in the wallet to fix.

Isn't there a pressure release valve/tube something-or-rather at the top of the diff housing?
Check if oil is leaking out of that.

thanks for the responses guys.

with the carrier being broken, why would this cause a leak? and what is required to fix this issue.

i will check the pressure vavle tonight.

pressure valved checked, definitely no leaks.

there is a fair amount of play in the half-shafts. so i doubt the seals would be sealing properly, hence the leaking.

what is needed to fix this assuming is the carrier problem?

The diff leaks beacuse the half-shafts are out of alignment. As they are out of alignment, the oil seals will not seal. You can see the rubbing from the misaligned half-shaft in the diff carrier in the photo - it is just off centre of the photo in the shiny part. FWIW that photograph is taken THROUGH a part of the diff carrier.

If this is the problem - a new diff is called for.

torsen time

know of a good place in Adelaide to go?

Well I trust Dave at Not Just Brakes/Just Streets Performance also the guy at Shippey Automotive.

Both are small business mechanics & work by themselves. They're both at my area though.

Would have to supply the diff to them too.