4L80E Clutch Module 1991-95, new and ready to install. Fits the 4L80E. Ships fast from the USA.
If your early-1990s Chevrolet or GMC 2500 or 3500, Suburban 2500, full-size van or Hummer H1 has started flaring between gears, slipping when it pulls a hill with a trailer, or the dipstick smells scorched, the clutch frictions inside the 4L80E are the usual reason. This is a new Raybestos friction module, part number RCP96-061, made in the United States for the first-design 4L80E built from 1991 into early 1995. It puts every lined friction plate for the transmission in one box, so a rebuild on an older truck does not end up mixing fresh plates with worn ones.
The 4L80E does not shift with gears sliding around. It holds or drives parts of its planetary sets with five multi-plate clutches (forward, direct, intermediate, fourth and overrun) plus bands and one-way clutches. Each clutch is a stack of lined frictions alternating with bare steel plates. Line pressure pushes a piston into the stack, the plates lock, and the gear is made. The forward clutch is on in every forward gear, the direct clutch comes on for third and reverse, the fourth clutch handles overdrive, and the overrun clutch is only used in the manual ranges for engine braking. When the lining on any of those plates glazes or wears thin, that clutch takes longer to lock, slips under load and makes heat that cooks the fluid and the next pack in line.
The 3-4 shift is where many early units show trouble first, and our 4L80E 3-4 clutch failure guide walks through why.
Drop the pan and look before you commit. Some fine gray paste on the magnet is normal wear. Flakes of brown lining, dark fluid and a burnt odor are not. Then find out why the plates burned: worn bushings, a tired valve body or leaking accumulators all bleed off the pressure that holds the clutches, and new frictions will fail the same way if that leak is left in place. The Silverado 2500 4L80E problem guide covers the pressure checks worth doing on these trucks.
This module is for 4L80E transmissions built from 1991 through early 1995. That last year is the trap: GM changed the intermediate clutch partway through the 1995 model year, and friction makers including Raybestos catalog one pack for units built before the change and another for units built after it. If your truck is a 1995, read the build date on the transmission ID tag or compare the intermediate plates you remove against the photos. Late 1995 and newer units need the late 1995-up 4L80E friction module instead. If you are not sure, send us your year and VIN and we will check it. Every part we carry for this unit is on the 4L80E collection page.
| Fits | 4L80E 1991-95 |
| Part type | Clutch Module |
| Condition | New |
| Brand | Raybestos |
| Ships | From the USA |
| Warranty | 1-year |
Doing this repair right usually means replacing these at the same time. Same transmission, ships together.
Only if the transmission was built before the mid-1995 change. Check the build date on the ID tag on the case or compare your old intermediate frictions with the photos. Late 1995 and newer units take the late-style module. Send us your year and VIN if you want us to confirm.
No. It is the friction plates only. Reuse your steels only if they sit flat and show no blue or straw heat marks; otherwise replace them with a steel plate kit.
Piston seals, gaskets and the filter at minimum. Inspect the bushings, sprag and roller clutches, and fix any pressure leak in the valve body or accumulators or the new plates will burn again.
GM's current recommendation is Dexron VI, which replaces the earlier Dexron grades. Soak the frictions in the same fluid you fill the transmission with.
Fresh fluid will not restore lining that is already gone. If the pan shows lining flakes and the truck slips under load, the clutch packs have to come apart.
