6L80 Internal Snap Ring Pliers 26 Inch Transmission Tool

A 26-inch internal retaining ring plier built for the deep clutch drum snap rings inside GM's rear-wheel-drive 6-speed and 5-speed cases. The rings that hold the 1-2-3-4 and 3-5-reverse clutch packs sit several inches down the bore, and a standard 8-inch snap ring plier simply will not reach them with the case standing on the bench. These handles do, and the extra length gives you the leverage to hold a heavy ring compressed with one hand while you lift the drum out with the other.

Fitment covers GM 5L40-E, 5L50-E, 6L50, 6L80 and 6L90 units, which puts it on Silverado and Sierra 1500s, Camaro, CTS, Colorado, and the BMW/Cadillac 5L40-E applications. The tips are 0.120 inch straight pins, screw-secured so you can swap them when one mushrooms over instead of throwing the whole tool away. Interchangeable tips matter on this job: the rings are heavy, and a worn tip is what turns a five-minute pull into a slipped plier and a scarred case.

On the bench, set the case upright, seat both tips squarely in the ring's eyes, squeeze to bring the ring in past the groove, and walk it up the bore. Keep the tool square to the ring - the usual failure is cocking the handles, which pops one tip out under load and either launches the ring or scores the aluminum. The jaws are heat-treated high-carbon steel with a black oxide finish, so they hold their spread instead of flexing open the way plated hardware-store pliers do once the ring gets stiff.