Not sure on the year of my Big Bear, trying to find the right part

[pkeeney]

I'm trying to find a used differential and axle for my Big Bear 350 4x4.  I was told it's a 1995, but everything I find for the '95 shows a disc brake in the rear.  Mine has a drum brake.  Now I'm looking for a rear diff.  The guy at the Yamaha dealer said one from a '95 or a '96 should work, but bikebandit.com is showing two totally different part numbers.

I found a potentially awesome deal on ebay (clicky), that's supposed to work for a '96 Big Bear, but the image throws me off. If what looks like the breather hole is in the right place, that would make the diff totally backwards from mine.

In the pic, if the breather hole is the top, that means it mounts to the swingarm on the left side.  Mine mounts on the right.

Any input is appreciated.  If I can't get a clear answer, I may just bite the bullet and buy it anyway.  A new one from Yamaha is $631.

Ebay diff:


'96 rear end from bikebandit:

[Mars]

Get your vin number:

1st character- Identifies the country in which the vehicle was manufactured.
For example: U.S.A.(1or4), Canada(2), Mexico(3), Japan(J), Korea(K), England(S), Germany(W), Italy(Z)

2nd character- Identifies the manufacturer. For example; Audi(A),
BMW(B), Buick(4), Cadillac(6), Chevrolet(1), Chrysler(C), Dodge(B),
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9th character- Identifies VIN accuracy as check digit.

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1997(V), 1998(W), 1999(X), 2000(Y)------2001(1), 2002(2), 2003(3)

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as it rolled of the manufacturers assembly line.