I see at an auction coming up a 2001 2500 and the pictures finally posted, it has almost no rust, a rare thing up here especially for that age. The miles are also low, below 70,000.

However it notes in the things that are wrong with it, the transmission. They just say what specifically, up to you to figure out the actual problem, could be anything from low fluid to blown right out dead. Can't inspect until day of auction, either. I'd like to think maybe it's just leaky cooler lines, that's no big deal to fix. Low fluid will make it hunt for gears and slip a little on 1-2 shift, and of course if too low it won't move at all.

If it is dead, are there any big issues swapping it out? Checking Rock Auto the interchange is fairly wide presuming it's the 4L80E, which it probably is given the GVW on this one. I would probably get a used one from another van at the you-pull, they mark them if they ran and drove going in.

Normally I'd avoid something like that but as clean as it looks and those miles it seems like it would be worth messing around and have something that would last a long time after. And it probably won't sell for much, there was a 2000 3500 extended at the last one with fairly low miles and a decent body and it only sold for like $500.

 

You'll want to have a good look at it and try to figure out what it was used for. It could have a lot of hours on it.
Transmission replacement looks like it would be really easy. I was under my 2004 today and it's got tons of working space with the doghouse removed.

 

Yes, it's possible the hours could be high, but it could be it spent it's life mostly on the campus of one facility, perhaps a seasonal one, accounting for the limited use. I saw a 2003 with around 50K be auctioned from one of the colleges here last summer.

Actually that is one other thing about this one, usually it's obvious where stickers and names were, this one just has two small spots on one of the rear doors where they have been scraped.

That is one plus on a van is with the doghouse off it's relatively easy to access the upper transmission bolts. Otherwise that's another reason I wouldn't consider attempting a swap like this.

What I will have to watch for is any salt corrosion to the connectors and wiring, as well as the trans lines, when they rust at the ends they swell up to where you can't remove them from the female end of the quick connects.

 

i'd run a Carfax on this vehicle myself.

 

Carfax will show nothing on one of these, it's a one owner vehicle.

 

I disagree. Many garages record all of the service they do into a computer system. Carfax reports include oil changes, general repairs, etc.

 

I've run carfaxes on vehicles from this source before and they don't show a lot because most are serviced in house. The one I have now (02 2500) may show because it has a sticker for a local garage oil change in it. But typically when they go up for auction with problems, the problems aren't repaired, they just dump it. You have to go look and use your best judgment.

Sometimes they even mix things up, last fall I before I got the 2500 I looked at two nearly identical 2006 vans. One had the rear doors caved in, was a straight R&R to fix. The second one had "body damage" noted in the description and it was fine.

Absolute worst case a transmission used if I pull one is like $150 with a 30 day warranty and the place I would go marks if they ran and drove, beyond that my detective work to miles and what shape it looks to be in. Which I would prefer over using one from say the 3500 simply because when I pull it I can rip and tear, the vehicle will never need to run again.

Chances are if it will move at all it just is low on fluid from a leak. The 4L80E is pretty tough, you have to really run it out of fluid and keep trying to drive it to kill one.

I have to think maybe I'm into it tops for a grand, I have a $4000 van for 1/4 the price that's good for 100,000+ miles if I get some rust protection on it. And if I really want to I can have someone rebuild the core and put it back in later.

 

Well, in the end it wasn't clear if anything was really wrong, but it had been sitting for about two years based on the service sticker, it had been a bi-fuel CNG van, and while super nice it was base trim with crank windows, etc.

... and somehow it was bid up to $2200, still below blue book but well more than I wanted to risk.

I did accomplish something though; a beat up 2002 GMC wheelchair conversion went to a scrapper for $350 so I bought the cruise control box, switch and a replacement doorhandle off it. Now I have all the stuff to put it on my van, and it has all the plugs for it, at least under the hood. .