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Trim height adjustment bolt replacement

WVsunnydays

Active Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2014
Messages
27
Location
North Canton, Ohio
My XLR/V(s)
2006 platinum XLR-V
:cool: My driver information center (DIC) kept showing a service Stabilitrac message on my 2006 XLR-V. I knew the ride height was uneven because the right rear of my car was ¾” lower than the left rear. I took it to a dealer and they couldn’t turn the trim height adjusting bolts on my rear transverse leaf spring. So they stuck 6 washers under the right rear trim height-adjusting bolt to make the rear of the car level. I talked to the service manager who agreed that I shouldn’t have to pay the $106 that they charged me. I then bought the Kent-Moore J42854 trim height measurement gauge and the Kent-Moore J42743 front transverse spring tool that were called for in the GM XLR service manual. (Last year when I bought my “V” I purchased a year subscription to Chilton’s on-line service manual for XLR’s. Best $25 I ever spent.)

As you might guess, I decided to do the job myself. When I tried to adjust the trim height myself, I saw that the right front spring trim height adjustment bolt was broke in two as shown in the picture below.

XLR-V RF Spring Trim Bolt_1.jpg

The left front bolt had no rubber pad left on the bottom. Both front trim height adjustment bolts needed replacing.

Since GM doesn’t sell the spring trim height adjustment bolts separately, you have to buy the entire spring to get the adjusters. The dealers want about $800 per spring to replace them. I could buy the front spring (#15233394) for $278.90 and the rear spring (#15233391) for $290.40 plus S&H. Then I saw some comments on the XLR NET Forum that the XLR springs are the same as on the C6 (2005-2013) Corvette. I saw that some other forum members had commented on lowering their XLR with Corvette lowering kits, so I bought a lowering kit from Derby City Corvette on E-Bay for $25 (includes S&H). Shown below are the broken trim height adjustment bolts next to the new ones from Derby City.

Ride Height Adjusters.jpg

The Derby City adjusters worked perfect. I only needed to replace the front spring adjusters because I was able to get the rear ones loose by soaking them in PB Blaster for a day. Then I relieved the tension of the rear transverse leaf spring so I could turn the 10mm head on top of the adjusters. They broke loose pretty easy. I found that the rubber pads on the bottom of the adjusters were frozen to the rear lower control arms also. This was part of the reason why the dealer previously mentioned couldn’t break them loose, not that just the bolt threads were frozen. So, if you decide to tackle the job yourself, be sure to soak the rubber pads on the adjusters with PB blaster also.

Replacing the front adjustment bolts is really not too bad. It was a great learning experience for me since I heard so many horror stories about removing ball joints. Of course the GM manual called for a special Kent-Moore ball joint separator tool that cost $435. No way! I used PB Blaster and bought a 2 jaw-5 ton puller at Auto Zone for $30. It is their SKU #25914 pictured below.

2 Jaw 5 Ton Puller.jpg

It was really tight getting to the lower ball joint and I had to bend the bracket for the anti -lock brake sensor wire out of the way. Then I could get the 2-jaw puller square on top of the ball joint. I didn’t want to hit the ball joints to break them loose like so many guys say to do. With my luck, I would end up breaking the aluminum lower control arm on my “V”. Anyway, I had to keep pressure on the right lower ball joint overnight with the 5-ton puller before it broke loose on its own. The left side of the car was much easier. I had the left lower control arm completely dropped in 47 minutes.

I lubricated both the front and rear trim height adjuster bolt pads to prevent them from freezing up. Even though Derby City Corvette sells this 4 bolt lowering kit to lower Corvettes up to 2”, I found that they were also perfect for restoring my XLR-V to specification ride height. The service Stabilitrac message on my DIC has also disappeared since my “V” is back to normal trim height. The trim height sensors on each control arm are seeing everything is back in specification. I feel confident in saying that this kit will work on all XLR’s and XLR-V’s.

By the way if anyone is interested in adjusting the trim height on their Corvette or XLR, I will rent out my Kent-Moore J42854 trim height measurement gauge and the Kent-Moore J42743 tool for $20 plus shipping. You can save a pant load.

K-M J42854 Front.jpg

K-M J42743 Side.jpg
 
Great post!

Thank you for the info and pictures...

p z
 
Great post! For a moment there I thought you were going to say the bolts were fused in the spring. Unfortunately, if that happens the whole spring has to be replaced.

A couple years ago when I upgraded Elwood's springs and sway bars I had a friend give me some great advice on finding the major components as well as some of the pieces. He told me to go to Corvettes at Carlisle, Bloomington Gold, and Corvette Funfest swapmeets . I found every spring and most swaybars available for the C6 at these meets for $80-150 - dirt cheap!I got lowering bolts for $20 a pair. And most parts were like new complete with the OEM Part number stickers intact. This was also an excellent opportunity to compare the different parts visually off the vehicle. (I was amazed how significantly different the FE1, XLR/C6 base spring was compared to the FE4, Z06 spring. They both fit on my car, but the arch and rigidity difference was vast).

A few other benefits of these events are the techs, the seminars, and the occasional extraordinary opportunities. There is a lot of expertise all over these events from sponsors to vendors to speakers and guests. The seminars cover a wealth of info that you won't find in a service manual (One seminar taught me how to increase my braking effectiveness, efficiency, longevity, and durability for road course racing). And then there are the opportunities: Bill Cooksey signed my XLR book one year, my engine cover the next, and my racing fire suit (modeled after the 2010 Team Cadillac Racing suits) is currently signed by him and both drivers for Team Cadillac. At the Bloomington Gold event, I met Mike Boat of Billy Boat Exhausts and he offered to sell me the 3" Z06 Fusion exhaust with mid X-pipe for $1200 (the 2 1/2" axle-back alone retails for $2100-2500; the mid-pipe is another $500-800). I had the cash on me and was ready to rent a U-Haul that minute. When I told him I was putting it on an XLR-V, he called his office and reserved the next set of his new Gen 3 exhaust systems off the assembly line for me with instructions for them to mount the XLR hangers (evidently that's the only difference) and ship it to my house for free!
 
Rear Leaf adjuster

Thanks a million for the great information......It help a lot and was very well written...:thumbsup
 
Tools

Hey WVSunnydays I would like to borrow your tools, are they still available?
 
Springs?

Where on the suspension of the XLR and XLR V are springs? I thought all XLR's had spring-less magnetorheological shock absorbers.
 
Where on the suspension of the XLR and XLR V are springs? I thought all XLR's had spring-less magnetorheological shock absorbers.

The XLR, like the Corvette, has transverse springs front and rear. The shocks are of the variable rate type, controlled as you have mentioned by a magnetic fluid which can change its viscosity on command, resulting in variable stiffness/damping. The spring rate is a characteristic of the spring that has been fitted and doesn't change unless the whole spring is swapped out.
 
Thanks

Thanks for that info. Learned something new.
 
Photos Of Rear Adjusters

Can someone snap a photo of the rear adjusters for me I don't think I have the OEM adjusters because the tool the pushes on the spring does not fit in the cavity that it is meant to fit in. It works fine on the fronts.
 
The rear height adjustment bolts are in the same exact location on the spring as the front ones are. It's the same concept just at the rear of the vehicle. If you put your jack under the lower control arm and jack up just the corner that your working on at that time and leave the other three tires on the ground it will release some pressure that's on the spring. Which will relieve tension on the adjusting bolt. Would recommend spraying with penetrant prior to working on. :thumbsup
 
The rear height adjustment bolts are in the same exact location on the spring as the front ones are. It's the same concept just at the rear of the vehicle. If you put your jack under the lower control arm and jack up just the corner that your working on at that time and leave the other three tires on the ground it will release some pressure that's on the spring. Which will relieve tension on the adjusting bolt. Would recommend spraying with penetrant prior to working on. :thumbsup

Stella I know where the adjusters are I'm just wondering if they are exactly the same as the front ones. I suspect they are the same and someone before me put something other than the OEM adjusters in the rear.
 
Yes the actual adjusting screws are the same. When you buy a lowering bolt kit they are all the same. :cool:
 

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