So i called two different Chevy dealers asking about this and they were kind of brain dead. Im just looking to get my PCM tuned and instead of shipping mine out for a week i wanted to get one form a junk yard and have it shipped out.

So im wondering what has to match in order to do this. I know 95-97 PCM's have 5 plugs instead of 4 like the 98+ so i cant use one of those. i just went and looked today and on top of all the 96's that i looked at it said Grey and Black and mine says White and Black on the top, so does that matter? i called the tuning place and he said the Serv. number has to match but none of them even came close to matching.

When i called the Chevy dealer they said there is no way of taking the Vin. number off the old PCM to put my vin on once its on there. But i know other people on here have gone that rout so i just need to know what has to match

 

Looking on RockAuto.com, the compatibility list looks like the following:
CHEVROLET ASTRO 1997
CHEVROLET BLAZER 1997
CHEVROLET C1500 PICKUP 1997
CHEVROLET C1500 SUBURBAN 1997
CHEVROLET C2500 PICKUP 1997
CHEVROLET C2500 SUBURBAN 1997
CHEVROLET C3500 PICKUP 1997
CHEVROLET EXPRESS 1500 1997
CHEVROLET EXPRESS 2500 1997
CHEVROLET EXPRESS 3500 1997
CHEVROLET K1500 PICKUP 1997
CHEVROLET K1500 SUBURBAN 1997
CHEVROLET K2500 PICKUP 1997
CHEVROLET K2500 SUBURBAN 1997
CHEVROLET K3500 PICKUP 1997
CHEVROLET P30 1997
CHEVROLET S10 PICKUP 1997
CHEVROLET TAHOE 1997
GMC C1500 PICKUP 1997
GMC C1500 SUBURBAN 1997
GMC C2500 PICKUP 1997
GMC C2500 SUBURBAN 1997
GMC C3500 1997
GMC JIMMY 1997
GMC K1500 PICKUP 1997
GMC K1500 SUBURBAN 1997
GMC K2500 PICKUP 1997
GMC K2500 SUBURBAN 1997
GMC K3500 1997
GMC P3500 1997
GMC SAFARI 1997
GMC SAVANA 1500 1997
GMC SAVANA 2500 1997
GMC SAVANA 3500 1997
GMC SONOMA 1997
GMC YUKON 1997
OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA 1997

 

Ok thats very helpful thank you!

So i take it the part about not being able to wipe the vin and put mine on is not true? and also from what ive read on here after i get the tune i will have to get a crank re learn done?

 

I would ask the tuner that question. I really don't know on those older PCMs. I would think that if you have to program it to use it, then you should be able to over-write the initial VIN data with a new one. That's how it works with the newer PCMs.

 

Yeah when i called all he said was the SERV. number has to be the same, nothing about the vin. And of course the box has to be physically the same, which im not sure if the boxes are all the same on the ones you listed. I know the box on the 97 s10 that i looked at wasnt at all the same but is had the inline 4 in it.

Ill try to find part pictures of all the ones you listed and see what boxes match.

 

Take a look at RockAuto.com. They do list two different AC Delco numbers with one being substantially higher in cost than the other, both re-manuafactured. Maybe do a google search for 'PN#1 vs PN#2 differences' or something to that effect and see if someone came across it before. This also should be a question that the tuner should be able to answer.

*EDIT* - All of the ones listed on RockAuto.com show gray, black for the top, not white, black... That's odd.

 

Were you the one talking to WAIT4ME about tuning your PCM? I have a buddy that has HPtuners and I know for a fact it will not read and write to my current PCM. All the research I have done says that I need to switch to a 98-00 PCM, or even better a 01+ PCM as they have more parameters and are an all around better PCM to tune on. This is something that I will do in the future more than likely.

What program is WAIT4ME using? I was under the impression he uses EFI Live which currently does not have the capability to tune 96-97 4.3 PCM's.

 

I thought so to. the one out of a 99 that i looked at said white and black on the top also. but that one wont work.

but yeah ill check out the part numbers.

And im not sure what programer he is using, but when i told him it was a 97 he didnt say anything about it.