Rear Transverse Leaf Suspension

[FriarDDMC]

I have a 2005 XLR. It has 30,000 on the clock and it's been fantastic. The only problem I've had 'till now has been a the occasional coolant overflow after a hard run which was fixed by replacing the fill tank cap.

Now, what seems to be a dropped rear suspension drivers side which suddenly went 1 inch lower than the passenger side rear. The rear now jumps and clunks around. I'm somewhat mechanically able so I jacked up the XLR and it would appear that the right side transverse spring has lost its rubber cushion. The adjuster bolt is still there but no rubber cushion.

I've searched for info on how to remove / replace the rear transverse spring, but there is very little to none info out there, what info there is looks liek it was drawn with Etch-A-Sketch. I've been told the rear suspension is the same as a C6 Corvette. Similar - yes, but not the same. The C6 appears to have an easier method for spring replacement and there are YouTube tutorials. What about the XLR then?

Does anyone have any info on 1) whether I am see correctly that a rubber spring cushion can pop, and 2) how to get the spring out?

Thanks, Pete

[ccclarke]

Pete,

This may help with your parts ID issue:

http://www.gmpartsgiant.com/Page_Pro...-001&SortKey=1

If you haven't already done so, inspect the transverse leaf spring for any signs of cracking. Verify the adjuster bolt is intact as well. If it has sheared, the ride height will be affected. The gap needs to be measured for later re-installation.

If you need to remove the spring to reinstall anything, the shop manual calls out a J 33432-A Transverse Spring Compressor (special tool.)

Spring removal is straightforward enough. One of the lower control arms will need to removed. New retaining bolts for the spring will need to be installed.

CC