Not sure if I'm in the right spot here or not. I tried posting to the diy but it wouldn't allow me.

Anyways I'm replacing my rear diff so I figured I'd shoot some photos and provide a how-to. I did a search on here and pretty much only found how to's for the fluid but not the replacement.

Anyways, onward. Disregard rust, I'm in MA so yeah...
This is an 04 coupe, 6mt, but pretty much all of them are the exact same setup. Different part numbers maybe, but the setup is the same. All the way up to the newer stuff too, including m35 too (minus 4 wheel steer)

Block the front tires! Leave in neutral and do not engage parking brake. You will need to be able to turn the wheels/drive shaft. Jack up the rear end and put on jack stands (at proper lifting points).




Sorry for blurrines, but here's everything. I've never done this at home before so it's a little different being on the ground. Normally I remove the exhaust, sway bar, and driveshaft, mainly because I use a tranny jack for these at work, and all those get in the way. With this one I may not need to remove all that (though I most likely will for room).





The above is the sway bar bushing bracket. Remove those 2 bolts (12, or 14, I've seen both depending on year). I somehow didn't get a pic of the end link (I'll try later) but I usually remove the lower bolt on one side, and the whole bar can be swung over to one side of the car and out of the way.




On the above pic, red arrows point to the axle flange bolts. This car is easy because instead of removing the wheel hub/knuckle, all you need to do is remove the bolts (14mm) going around the axle flange, and the axle will drop out of the way. Remove the bolts on both axles. Use a bungee or something to tie it out of the way.

The blue arrow points to the speed sensor. DO NOT FORGET TO UNPLUG THIS!! My new (used) diff from lkq came with one and the whole harness but I may just use this one. That should be a 12mm bolt





Above is the drive shaft where it connects to the diff. Remove the 17mm bolts the red arrows point to. This is actually where I am currently because I just moved and all my tools are in storage and for some unknown reason, I forgot to get my 17mm wrench! But anyways I'll post the rest tonight. Basically once you get that off, the only thing holding the diff on is the 17mm bolt on the back (next pic) and the 2 17mm bolts on the front/sides.



More to come!