Well, 1996 or not, my tranny is shot. So much for the supposed tech bulletin improvements made from the 95+ tranny versions. I found
this thread to help me chose potential alternatives to the ever flawed SVX 4EAT. I had my mind set on a 4.44 transmission/rear diff combo... seems like a cheap alternative. There's a guy on Ebay who sells them for relatively cheap (granted that you might be able to find some cheaper locally if you spend a little time and effort). He states in the swap procedure:
The transmission is almost a direct swap. All you have to do is swap the front speed sensors, the rear lower mounts, and the exhaust hangers around from your SVX tranny to your 4.44 tranny.
The rear differential requires that the LSD carrier and bearing plates from your SVX rear diff be swapped into the 4.44 rear diff. This requires some modification to the rear differential housing with a grinder to make room for the LSD carrier, but is easily achieved by a reputable mechanic.
First off I'd like to know if it makes sense (not so sure what he means by grinding the housing to make room for the SVX diff parts to swap in the Legacy rear diff if you want to retain the 4.44 ratio compatibility).
I'd also like to know if others here have done it an like or regret it. And also since that thread is a year old, there might be some other potent conversions now available that are not listed.
Thanks all for your help. I'll try to keep this ebony 96 alive.