Are All E38s the Same?
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2018
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Are All E38s the Same? I'm getting ready to swap an L76/4L80E combo into my 83 Monte Carlo. The guy that's supposed to do my tune is concerned about using the the 09 G8 GT E38 ECM, and suggested using an early E38 (2007.) My question is: are all E38s the same? Will the ECM out of a G8 not be able to work with a T42?
Not all E38 ECMs are the same, they have hardware and software differences and are incompatible between them. T42 TCMs are also different in the same way.
You can't use a E38 from a 2007-08 vehicle with a T42 from 2009 or newer, they won't communicate so the transmission will go LIMP. You need a matched pair, if not from same vehicle at least a compatible one.
You can't flash a different year calibration to a E38/T42 to try to make it compatible, you can easily brick them if you attempt this even using TIS
Normally (which is not a rule) 07-08 ECMs and TCMs can be mixed, same as 09-10. 11-13 have oddballs so use caution.
You can't use a E38 from a 2007-08 vehicle with a T42 from 2009 or newer, they won't communicate so the transmission will go LIMP. You need a matched pair, if not from same vehicle at least a compatible one.
You can't flash a different year calibration to a E38/T42 to try to make it compatible, you can easily brick them if you attempt this even using TIS
Normally (which is not a rule) 07-08 ECMs and TCMs can be mixed, same as 09-10. 11-13 have oddballs so use caution.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Not all E38 ECMs are the same, they have hardware and software differences and are incompatible between them. T42 TCMs are also different in the same way.
You can't use a E38 from a 2007-08 vehicle with a T42 from 2009 or newer, they won't communicate so the transmission will go LIMP. You need a matched pair, if not from same vehicle at least a compatible one.
You can't flash a different year calibration to a E38/T42 to try to make it compatible, you can easily brick them if you attempt this even using TIS
Normally (which is not a rule) 07-08 ECMs and TCMs can be mixed, same as 09-10. 11-13 have oddballs so use caution.
You can't use a E38 from a 2007-08 vehicle with a T42 from 2009 or newer, they won't communicate so the transmission will go LIMP. You need a matched pair, if not from same vehicle at least a compatible one.
You can't flash a different year calibration to a E38/T42 to try to make it compatible, you can easily brick them if you attempt this even using TIS
Normally (which is not a rule) 07-08 ECMs and TCMs can be mixed, same as 09-10. 11-13 have oddballs so use caution.
This is exactly what I needed, thank you!
