4L85E Master Rebuild Kit 1996, new and ready to install. Fits the 4L85E. Ships fast from the USA.
This master rebuild kit is packaged for 1996 only, the final model year of the original 4L80E design in GM three-quarter and one-ton pickups, Suburbans and full-size vans. If your 1996 truck slips on the 2-3 or 3-4 shift, flares when it is pulling a trailer, or leaves dark, burnt-smelling fluid and clutch lining in the pan, this is the overhaul set for that unit. The 4L85E label came later, in the 2000s; the kit is listed under both names because it services the same family, but the year on the box is what matters here.
The 4L80E pairs TH400-style gearing with an overdrive section in front, and every gear depends on a clutch pack or band holding against line pressure. A master kit replaces the parts that wear in all of them at once. The kit pictured combines a full overhaul set (gaskets, lip and piston seals, O-rings and sealing rings, plus a filter) with a friction pack and a stack of steel plates, so the clutch packs are renewed with matched frictions and steels instead of new lining against glazed old steels. When one pack burns, its debris travels through the valve body and cooler, which is why a complete reseal is the honest repair on a high-mileage 1996.
Scan for transmission codes and check the harness and case connector first, because pressure control and shift solenoid faults can feel like slipping. Our shift solenoid guide shows which codes point to the electrical side. Then drop the pan: lining, metal and a scorched smell mean the unit needs to come apart. For a no-reverse complaint, our common problems and fixes guide walks through splitting the direct clutch and reverse band circuits before you condemn the whole transmission.
In 1997 GM moved this transmission to a center-gearbox lube system, relocating the cooler return from the pump to the center support, and redesigned a long list of internal hard parts to suit. That makes 1996 the last of the non-center-lube units. A 1996 transmission keeps its original sun gear shaft, center support and lube routing, so order parts for a 1996 as a pre-1997 unit even if the truck was built late in the model year. Read the ID tag on the case, and if anything about your unit looks swapped or updated, send us your year and VIN and we will confirm fitment before it ships. Hard parts and other kits for the family are on our 4L85E and 4L80E collection page.
Before you tear it down, read our rebuild guide on known wear points so every weak spot gets checked while the case is open.
| Fits | 4L85E 1996 |
| Part type | Master Rebuild Kit |
| Condition | New |
| Brand | Borg Warner |
| Ships | From the USA |
| Warranty | 1-year |
Doing this repair right usually means replacing these at the same time. Same transmission, ships together.
Buy the 1996 kit. 1996 is the last year before GM switched to the center-lube design in 1997, and the internals changed with it. If your transmission has been replaced at some point, check the ID tag, because a later unit in a 1996 truck should be serviced as a later unit.
The kit shown includes a friction pack and steel plates along with the gasket, seal and sealing ring overhaul set and a filter. Check every steel you reuse or replace for heat marks and set clearances with the plates you actually install.
Bushings, thrust washers that show wear, the cooler and lines, and the solenoids if they are original. A shift kit is a common addition on a work truck to address line pressure wear.
Use a Dexron-licensed ATF. GM's current service fluid for this family is Dexron VI, which supersedes Dexron III for service fill.
One known cause is a sun gear shaft from the wrong generation. A pre-1997 shaft in a center-lube unit restricts the lube circuit and makes the converter clutch drag, which can stall the engine in overdrive or reverse. Keep 1996 parts with 1996 parts.
