looking on the local craigslist, i found a transmission and transfer case for 500 bucks. so its a 4x4 transmission. it doesnt say if its out of a 3vze or a 22re, though. if its out of a 22re, will it bolt to mine directly, or did they change the design just a tad between 1988 and 1989? hey, if it is the same tranny as mine, ill have a spare T-CASE... you know what that means.... DUAL TCASE TIME!!!
but will a 1989 tranny bolt up to a 88 engine if the doner tranny came off a 22re?

 

too much money imho unless it's a marlin crawler or dual case setup already.
88-89 will mate up though. I think you can find a better price on one.

Heck for $500 you could buy a whole truck with a popped motor.

 

hey my other alternative is to get the tranny rebuilt for 1200!! 500 sounds a lot better to my ears than 1200

 

Find out more about it. If it's out of a truck it's likely a W56c which has a forward shift t case while you likely have the W56b with a top shift t case. If it came out of a runner, it still might be a W56b. Look at them on Marlins site.

I don't know enough to say the b and c absolutely will or won't swap, but with the t case differences it probably won't just be a zip-zip swap. You might have to "adjust" a little.

Finally, if you're going to keep the truck, you should still consider doing the rebuild despite the extra cost. You don't want a major failure out in the middle of nowhere. And really you don't know the history of the CL parts. If they crap out a couple months down the road, thats $500 that could have gone towards the rebuild.