ive been looking and and cant come up with a for sure answer. will the tranny out of my 90 2wd work in my 91 4wd? they are both 42rh trannys but im not sure if the 2wd vs. 4wd makes a difference. long story short. the motor is toast in the 90 so i got the 91 and right after i did the tranny went kaput. so much for getting a cheap back and forth to work truck. any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

As far as I know the only difference between a 2wd and 4x4 tranny is the tail housing. Swap those and you're good

 

output shaft on the trans is most likely a different length and would also have to be swapped out if that is the case. Not too hard of a job to do and a shop probably wouldn't charge more than $150 to do it for you if you take the trannies out yourself.

Your easiest choice if the trucks are the same cab and bed length would be to use the 2wd trans as is and use the rear driveshaft from that truck if you don't need 4 wheel.

 

thanx for the info guys. i appreciate it.

 

I know on my 87 to swap the tail shaft you have pull everything out of the case, which isn't that hard if your mechanically inclined. with attention to detail and a 4X8 Sheet of plywood as a bench you can rebuild the tranny in a weekend providing the hard parts aren't toast.

Jake

 

the tail housings are swappable. i swapped a 87 tail housing onto a 93 trans for my friends a couple weeks ago.