Buying a diff from eBay.

[Coops90]

Looking at a diff on eBay. Seller says its silent, no whines, knocks or anything.
Would anyone buy a diff from eBay? Or is it too much of a risk?

Pete.

[Brianmoooore]

Is it a LSD? If so, then assume it needs a rebuild. The working life of a LSD is just a few hours, and most that haven't had a rebuild are long past this. On the two E30s that I have with LSDs, although the diffs are otherwise in good order, the LSDs are now little more than open diffs.
If it's an open diff. you're looking at, then normal ebay rules apply. Is it cheap? Is it from a trader? Does he sell much of this kind of stuff? What's his feedback like, etc, etc.

[Coops90]

It's an open diff. 4.1 I think, from an iS.
The chap seems to know what he's talking about.
He's got 100% feedback but mainly as a buyer.
It is a good price, doesn't look massively fresh in the photo though.

[BATTS91]

That would be me sir ;)

[Jimbob]

Unless someone has spent an hour cleaning one up then they're definitely going to look like shite having been on the underside of a car for 20+ years

I bought a diff last week and the courier is about £10 through interparcel.com - no fibbing on the weight/dimensions either!

[Coops90]

That would be me sir ;)

Was hoping this would happen. Is it legit?

[Grrrmachine]

Is it legit?

"Nah, it's whining its tits off mate, and the oil pisses out like an incontinent spaniel. If I was you I wouldn't bother, it's just a lump of scrap".

As if anyone ever gives an honest answer to that question

[BATTS91]

What would you mean by legit ? Lol. I took the diff off my 318 is as it was too short for my m50 conversion

[gareth]

From the many many diffs i've pulled apart i can make the following observations:
the condition of the casing bears no relevance to the condition of the internals, they all look crap and rusty but the internals can be knackered or minty fresh.
If it's got oil leaks all over, it's probably been run low on oil for many many miles and will be in a poor state internally.
If it's black and shiny then it's just been painted in an attempt to hide both of the points above!

[Coops90]

Cheers for the tips chaps, very helpful.

Pete.