92 PA Tranny

[mounddog]

Hi - does anyone know the latest year tranny you can use in a 92 Park Avenue? Ive noticed alot of parts upto 1996 are backward compatible with the 92, im hoping the same goes with the tranny. The trans is acting up and making some clunking sounds, and its always had a weird issue where it will kind of slip or goto low rpm when steadily accelerating.
The yard i goto has a good selection of GM cars from early 90s to 2000 or so. Any transmission there will go for $75. Im going to look for a low mile, granny driven one. A granny tranny
The other reason i think its my trans is i had to recently change one of my brake calipers and i had to nurse the car on the way to my buddys shop - and would slow the car (to nurse the brakes) by downshifting as i slowed to a redlight etc. I think this was hte final straw for the trans, as the day after this im getting a clunkety sound at low speeds. Though she does drive fine at higher speeds - so maybe somthing else. I havent really checked her out yet. But in any case im still thinking about getting a 'better' trans from the yard - just trying to figure out how 'newer' i can go.
Thanks. El Cheapo Junkyard Dog.

[BNaylor]

The 92 PA has a GM RPO M13 tranny which is a 4T60E. So you should be able to use a transmission from up to the 1996 model year. In 1997 depending on the month of production, GM starting using the RPO MN3 tranny which is a 4T65E and does have significant differences versus the 4T60E.

[Loekee75]

"The yard i go to has a good selection of GM cars from early 90s to 2000 or so. Any transmission there will go for $75."

75 bucks?? Where is this boneyard, so I can go buy me a spare

[mounddog]

Originally Posted by Loekee75

"The yard i go to has a good selection of GM cars from early 90s to 2000 or so. Any transmission there will go for $75."

75 bucks?? Where is this boneyard, so I can go buy me a spare

Thanks BNaylor for the info on the tranny - thats good news - ill look for a lightly used 96 one.
Yeah this place has great pricing - theres a few of them around here - called Crazy Rays - goto http://www.crazyraysautoparts.com/ - whats crazy there is a lexus bumper goes for hte same as a pinto bumper ($40). Generic pricing. Everything is u-pull-it. Lots of lesabres and pas. The one i goto is off of Route 1 North of Laurel, (Richmond Highway) - this is about 10 miles north of Washington, DC in Maryland.
Oh yeah - its all 'u-pull-it' but they do have bulldozers that drive around and will lift the car for you so you can stuff tires under it and after you get the tranny out, they will hook it and bring to the front for you.
Mike

[HotZ28]

The 1996 4T60E will have a different electrical connector than the 1992! It has more wires for the PCM to monitor and control. I forget exactly how the connector looks; however, I think it has a different shape, in addition to the extra wires. Be sure to check this out before you jump on the 96 trans. Remember, 1992 was OBD1 and 1996 was OBD11.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

The 1996 4T60E will have a different electrical connector than the 1992! It has more wires for the PCM to monitor and control. I forget exactly how the connector looks; however, I think it has a different shape, in addition to the extra wires. Be sure to check this out before you jump on the 96 trans. Remember, 1992 was OBD1 and 1996 was OBD11.

Interesting point Bo and probably good you raised it. Worth checking out before purchasing. According to my poor documentation I still see the standard 5 wire/5 way connector up to '96. It changed to a 20 way connector for the 4T65E. The major difference according to the documentation between odb-i and odb-ii is the ECM/ECU module connection points and wiring. The '96 4T60E still has the vacuum modulator too.

Not whats funny is I have better documentation on the LeSabre 4T60E and it shows the tranny being same from at least 92 - 97.

I can have our resident tranny expert double check for sure.

Edit update - Add 2 wires for the fluid temperature sensor so total is 7.

[HotZ28]

I think the 4T60E had the temp sensor added during in 1994. Two additional wires were added to the same 7-pin connector and the wires changed colors, which could make things difficult to decipher. I did find out, that the 1997 PA would have the 4T65E and the LeSabre had the 4T60E. LeSabre did change in 1998 to the 4T65E. Anyway, hope this helps.
Click on thumbnail to enlarge:

[BNaylor]

Good post Bo. The 94 - 95 wiring you posted matches what I have for the 96 - 97. Same pins and point to point to the solenoids and temp sensor. The pins are consistent through the years and then factoring in the temp sensor but he won't need that. I checked the GM service manual which covers the 96 - 97 4T60E.

Actually, to play it safe I would stay with a 4T60E from the same year. It is the same problem you encounter on a 4T65E. Still a big gamble.

BTW - How about the differentials?

[troy1]

here is a local junk yard http://www.nordstromsauto.com/ you can do a parts search and drill down though all the options to help you make the decision on what year to get