Chevy & GMC Vans

as from a 96? Is the 2002 tranny the same as a 96?

No

how about the 2002 and the 1996?

I believe so, the only difference I can think of is the addition in the late 90's of a tow/haul switch not really sure how this affects (if at all) the swap ability of the two.

I see that you edited your original question, therefore my original answer would be yes, lol

Sorry about the editing! My tranny is getting a little rough shifting into 2nd and also a little rough going out of gear. I saw an ad for a guy who is parting out an 02 with damage to the right front of the car - my guess is that he did not have insurance - and want to know if it would be a suitable swap. I am not sure how much he wants for the tranny but need to know if it is compatible. I think r&r for a tranny is going to be 5 hours by the book? or about $300 Does that sound right? If I am going to buy a used tranny what should I look for? What should be included? Should this one connect to the computer of mine?

I have a quote for $1500 to rebuild the transmission in my astro now, which would include a 12,000 mile warranty and R&R. Another shop will give me a 36,000 mile warranty for $900, not including R&R. The astro that is being parted out has 86K miles on it. What is a reasonable offer to make for the transmission? At what price point should I not pursue the used and go for a rebuild? I like the van but the more I think about it, I think I would rather have an awd version, so I am not sure how much longer I will keep this one.

according to car-part these are the transmissions that are compatible amongst the different years.

2.5L Manual Saginaw 4 speed
85-86

2.5L Manual Borg-Warner T4 4 speed
87-88?

2.5L Auto 700R4
84-87
87-93

4.3L Manual Borg Warner T5
85-88

4.3L Auto 700R4
85-87
87-88 Cable speedo
88-92 Electric speedo

4.3L Auto 4L60E
93-94 RWD
93-94 AWD
95 AWD
95 RWD
96-97 RWD
96-97 AWD
98 RWD
98-99 AWD
99 RWD
2000 RWD
2000 AWD
2001 RWD
2001 AWD
2002 RWD
2002 AWD
2003 RWD
2003 AWD
2004 RWD
2004 AWD
2005 RWD
2005 AWD

pengyou wrote:Sorry about the editing! My tranny is getting a little rough shifting into 2nd and also a little rough going out of gear. I saw an ad for a guy who is parting out an 02 with damage to the right front of the car - my guess is that he did not have insurance - and want to know if it would be a suitable swap. I am not sure how much he wants for the tranny but need to know if it is compatible. I think r&r for a tranny is going to be 5 hours by the book? or about $300 Does that sound right? If I am going to buy a used tranny what should I look for? What should be included? Should this one connect to the computer of mine?

I have a quote for $1500 to rebuild the transmission in my astro now, which would include a 12,000 mile warranty and R&R. Another shop will give me a 36,000 mile warranty for $900, not including R&R. The astro that is being parted out has 86K miles on it. What is a reasonable offer to make for the transmission? At what price point should I not pursue the used and go for a rebuild? I like the van but the more I think about it, I think I would rather have an awd version, so I am not sure how much longer I will keep this one.

Decisions, decisions ...

Everything always comes down to the money. If you can afford the $1500 and have no real place or time to R&R it yourself and they offer a written 1 year gaurantee then this is probably the best route to take, especially if this is your only mode of transportation.

If you have a secondary vehicle and a place to R&R the tranny then $900 for a written 3 year doesn't sound too bad, because of the age of it it should be a complete rebuild. I know that a complete rebuild done properly can last a good deal more than 3 years, I did mine about 7years ago for about 700 CAN ( including a new Torque convertor ) in the freezing cold of my garage and it is still running strong. Trannys are not light, these weigh around 160lbs with the T.C full of fluid,there tricky enough to remove let alone benchpress back up, its best to use a jack and have a buddy help you out with it, i'm not sure of the book hrs as my dad and I removed mine.

I would prefer an awd as well, and so I don't plan on dropping too much more money in my ride, $1500 could make a nice down payment on an awd if you found a sweet deal somewhere.

Also consider a New ( clean ) Torque Covertor, yes they are an added expense, mine was around 125 CAN, but with the age of yours and the fact that they cannot be completely cleaned of old dirty tranny fluid ,it makes little sense to rebuild and have dirty fluid flowing thru your new re-build, also get the lines blown clean.

skippy wrote:according to car-part these are the transmissions that are compatible amongst the different years.

Sure, don't link to the post where I did all that research.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3830

pengyou wrote:I saw an ad for a guy who is parting out an 02 ... and want to know if it would be a suitable swap. Should this one connect to the computer of mine?

The 02 tranny will not work in your 88. the 02 is computer controlled and a stand-alone controller is around $1k. Go with a rebuild with warranty if you plan to keep the van a while.

Sure, don't link to the post where I did all that research.

Sorry Aaron , not tryin to steal your glory , just posting the info for him to see .

So what newer model tranny will be a bolt in addition? I am thinking more and more that I want to swap this for an awd.

The 88 had a 700R4 which was the predessesor(sp) to the 4L60 which is the ... to the 4L60E, no modern tranny is just a simple bolt in because the 88 didn't have the computer/electronics that the newer vans have. You could spend the cash to get it to work but WHY?

This whole thread has been confusing, 1st it was a 88, then I thought a 96 now its back to the 88 LMAO, just get yourself a nice AWD and be done with it.

"just get yourself an nice awd and be done with it"

Cool! But I will probably not be in a position to do that within this year. My tranny is gradually getting worse. I am going to have a couple of places look at it and see what is going on. What I am hoping is that I can buy a used tranny to drop into my present van that is running well enough to drive for another six months and also good enough to let me sell the van without detracting from the sale price of the van. That is why I am looking for a list of which models can be dropped right into my van. If I can get a used 4L60 transmission from an astro with less than 80,000 miles it is likely to give me another 40-50K without problems and I will be able to sell it in good conscience

I now see you have a 1996 Astro.....You should have posted this first!

The 2002 tranny will probably work fine in your 1996. Anything 1995 and older will NOT work properly.

Thanks! If i get a newer than 1996 tranny will I need a new computer also? Is the computer in the tranny or does it connect to the computer in the engine? I long for the days when cars were simple and women were complex...now, both are impossible to figure out!