<edit>

more later...

Thanks, mkaake, every little bit helps here.

I went out in the garage last night and easily removed the plastic electrical fittings under the shift lever. These are apparently just shift position switches that tell the computer when you move the manual shift lever and also serve as the neutral safety switch. They easily change from one transaxle to the other. I think they are probably called shift position switches or something like that. I completely examined the one from the new trans looking for a GM part no but found none. Found one on the underside of the switch from my old trans, but I know what that one is from.

I aslo think that the torque converter because of the number and appearance will change out easily.

Here are some questions I have:...Will this new trans work OK if I use my old TC and shift position switch? Why does GM say only the 95 Bonne FW2 will swap OK? Is it because of these easily changed parts? If so, I would think all the other salvage yards would have been aware of it. I'm guessing it must be because of internal differences, maybe internal differences in the computer pin-outs as jrs3800 wondered. But that'* the problem, I'm just guessing.

well, i've driven myself nuts here (and haven't gotten any work done in about an hour ), but based on...

I was able to use the part number (the 72x stands for the casting lot number, the 242... is the transmission case casting number) to track the usages of each case, and found...

your new tranny case was used in a LOT of transmissions, but only 7 of them were 3.06 final drives. of those, only 4 usages matched the trans numbers of 3.06 final drives made with the other case number.

so long story short - there'* a chance you have the proper final drive ratio, but it'* a very small chance. very very very small chance.

i'll do some more looking and see if i can't decode a few more numbers...

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p.*. that with the fact that the torque convertor they gave you was never mated to 3.06 final gears, and you can be sure that you're going to have screwed up ratios if you use the new tranny...

Thanks, man, I appreciate your efforts. This is not easy information to get.

I'm not sure I understand. Do you mean I'll have screwed up ratios if I try to use the 'new' torque converter, or will the ratios be screwed up even if I am able to use the old torque converter on the 'new' trans?

[edit] Does the torque converter affect the gear ratios? And, if the new trans is not a 3.06, which now seems most likely, will it still work in the car in a normal way, just giving less performance / better economy for the lower ratios, or will the PCM be fighting the trans, trying to shift in the wrong place?????

no, you'll have screwed up ratios no matter what. the final drive in the new tranny is not 3.06. Since we're not sure what it is exactly, I don't know if it would hurt/help performance. don't know much about how the PCM would react either... I've never tried it - but I can tell you one thing - your speedo will be worthless after the fact. might be accurate, +/- 10% or more, depending. so I'd take it back. not worth fighting with it to get it to work (when you're not even exactly sure what it is in the first place).

Thanks, mkaake, for your work and for the education.

Now comes the fun part. Calling the Milwaukee yard that paid $200 to truck this mystery shifter to me and informing them that I cannot use the trans and that I will dispute the credit card charges and that they will need to arrange to pick up the bugger.

This oughta be fun.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

good luck!

p.*. after a little math, the two gear ratios that i saw furthest from the 3.06 you have, 3.33 and 2.73, when your PCM thinks you are doing 72 miles an hour (OD, 3.06 final gears, 2000 RPM'*, no losses, 205/70R15), you could be doing anywhere from 66 (3.33 gears) to 81 (2.73 gears).

<edit>
if by chance, it was hooked up to those 2.53'*, in the same situation, you'd actually be doing 88 miles an hour, and your speedo would show a happy 72...

3 95,FWD,3.8L,TRACTIO,FLR,SE 69K 1391 $750 Basil'* Auto Wrecking, Inc. USA-OH(Bellevue) E-mail 1-888-603-2600

3.8,AOD,NICE FLUID,68K, FW2 68K OJ4915 $450 Jantz'* Yard 4 - QRP Partner USA-WI(Kenosha) E-mail 1-800-554-4770

In case this all goes south......Here'* the 2 lowest mileage tranny'* i could find.


Good Luck

Thanks, Lakeville. It'* already goin' South. The people at the yard are unavailable to talk to me. I get switched to their message machines if I do get to briefly speak with a human.

I have learned something important here. The next time I have a trans shipped to me, (and I will) it will not come off the truck unless the ID tag is a proper match. And if there is no ID tag, I will not accept delivery.

Yeah, before I started any of my efforts to determine whether I could use the trans, I called my credit card company and spoke with a rep. I have 60 days from the date of sale (12/20) to dispute the charge. I wanted to give the yard a chance to make it right, (they did pay $200 to ship the trans to me), maybe offer a replacement unit with an intact ID tag that fits the casting codes and peripherals. But these guys seem to think the way to handle a problem is to run away from it. I'll maybe give them a week calling every day and finish up with a certified return/receipt letter before I call to dispute. Just 'cause they are being unreasonable doesn't mean I have to be.

Many years ago, my older brother taught me a valuable lesson as he was teaching me how to drive. It was night and we were on a two-lane road. There was a car coming toward us with his high beams on blinding us. He would not dim his lights when I flashed mine. I said: "I'll just turn on my brights until he dims his, the jerk!" My brother said: "Don't do that, one of you has to be able to see."