I went ahead and got the '03 Malibu 4t40e thinking it should work but obviously not...




...Where the axles and trans meet is completely different so is there any way to make it work? I've heard of swapping guts between transmissions but this looks like a little more than that. I thought about frankensteinin axles together but I wouldn't know where to begin...

Or would it just be easier to get a 4t40e from an '01 Cavalier that I'm looking at?

Here's the end of my stock trans...



And a few more pics just because...




Any help would be appreciated

You have the correct transmission.With the 4T40E you should replace the drive shaft seals and the drive axle seal kit comes with a sleeve and clips.The passengers side drive axle (in the last pic) has a small splined stub that is C-cliped into the end. You have to pull that stub out of your old axle or pull the stub out of your new trans.Those sleeves like to wear out and cause leaks.So check for wear.

GM part number for kit # 24203910
Tool to align the sleeve correctly Kent Moore Output shaft Sleeve installer # J-41228