94 chev 4x4 no reverse

Lost reverse in my old girl , local trans shop says it's an expensive job , trans has to be removed $1600.- $2400 . 93 -94 are the only years that fit the truck and they are rare around here and have tons of miles on them if you find on. Not sure what to do , my truck has 150 k miles and box is rough .

That sounds about right, maybe just a little high, but not unreasonable. Loosing reverse is s symptom of other problems. Most likely you've also lost high gear too.

Never had much success with used transmissions, too much can go wrong to be worth loosing all the labor in changing one out. Substituting a different trans, even though it might fit, is also risky. Poor performance and check engine light are a probability.

A little food for thought....
Do you really think that a cheap outfit like GM would make a special transmission just for 2 model years of a single truck??? Come on!!!
How about this:
The most likely transmission that you have is a 4L60 or a 4L65. Both are based on the 700R4. Some of the main differences that I have noted are due to small variations to accomodate differences in vehicles. Like 2WD or 4WD or smallblock/BOP bellhousing. But not a whole different transmission. Why do you suppose they made the bellhousing removable? So that the same trans can be used for more than one engine application.
Interchangeability of parts is an important part of keeping production costs down. Why else did GM put chevrolet engines in Cadillacs? Or Buick engines in Pontiacs and Chevrolets?
The main trouble with your transmission is that most of the internal parts were not made as strong as they should have been. They used cheap stamped parts rather than forgings or machined castings. One of the big weak points of this transmission is the seperator plate between the valve body and case. Since they used steel check balls, they beat holes into the plate and either get stuck or punch through.
If you like the truck, and it is not rusting out or otherwise reaching the end of its useful life, a rebuild would add some stronger updated parts that will make the repair outlast the original.

Check around. Most places wanted about the same, 1400 - 1600, to "rebuild" the one on my old 98. For the heck of it, I called my dealer. They wanted 1600 for a rebuilt trans, installed, and 3 year warranty. No other shop would warranty their work past 90 days.

Hi Ford did it with the windstar van so don"t see why GM or Chev didn"t have 1 year only.
You might find the guts could be the same in the trans but the casing maybe different for some stupid reason. like mountings or motor fittings are different.
I just know from trying to find good one year only trans, to help guys out. it can be a pain to find good ones, and usually find out they are a pig to fit. Then I don"t do the jobs in the end, Guys buy newer vehicles.
Usually these trans all have or are heading to the same fault being wrong with them. so got to buy a proper re man unit to be sure. My GF"s sonoma trans fell out at 250.000 kms, and my 5.7 1500 trans is starting with same symptoms at 234.000kms both same year trucks on 97"s, so go figure that one, GMs have trans problems around those kms . Regards Robert

He's correct in saying that only a '93 or '94 transmission would work. The '93 and '94 were the first 2 years for the 4L60E. They used an on-off TCC configuration. '95 had it's own special TCC PWM set-up and 96'-'97 used a different TCC PWM configuration, as well as a revised 3-2 downshift strategy. I think the '98 and '99(GMT400) were the same electronically as the '96 and '97, but the bell housings are different. With a lot of research and part swapping, I think a different year could be made to work.

My point was that the basic transmission is the same for more than 1 or 2 years. The bellhousings on the removable ones are totally external, and take just a few bolts to change to the correct one. Same with different solenoids- just drop the pan and install the correct one. One recurring problem that I see with the 4L60 is the seperator plate between the valve body and case. GM used steel check balls that beat up the plate and eventually (or not so eventually) cause the transmission failure. In the aftermarket, there are only a few replacement plates that service all of the 4L60s.

As for the Windstar, they share most of their powertrain components with the Taurus/Sable cars. Most times, a simple and inexpensive conversion may be made - or a substitution can be made.

Don't believe everything you see in a junkyard interchange book. Ford wants to call it a different transmission even for changing the calibration of one little valve body spring. That does not mean that it will not perform properly as a substitute.

The SAD part is, parts are probably gonna cost between $75 and $300 and the rest will be to help make ends meet for the month for the shop!

(quoted from post at 21:27:02 01/13/14) The SAD part is, parts are probably gonna cost between $75 and $300 and the rest will be to help make ends meet for the month for the shop!

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I have to eat. Chances are they do too!

My point was that the failure of simple, basic weak/cheap parts costs a lot of $$$ to repair, NOT suggesting tranny shop owners should starve!

you could be right or it could be like changing a ford 5.0 car motor over to fit a truck bout the only thing they have in common was ford built it!. when you have to lay them side by side and swap parts and get it to work.
I was gonna buy a truck and swap a low mile car motor over, until I spoke to a guy that had done one himself.I Just went and found a good truck. he said with the time it would take and gaskets and stuff, i was better spending the extra money and not having the hassle.
Regards Robert