tloftus Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Hey all, this is my first post. I'm pretty active over in the bstuff.net forums for my Beretta, however I've recently aquired a 1989 Cutlass Supreme. Here's the issue, the rear leaf spring is making a terrible noise when bouncing the rear of the car. It looks like there should be a bushing or rubber or something where the leaf spring meets the rear strut assembly, but there's not. Can anyone verify this and let me know what I might be able to find it under at the parts store? Not having luck with alldatadiy.com or partsamerica.com Thanks! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 yes there should be a rubber isolator between the monoleaf spring and the knuckle. i believe Moog makes replacements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 GM sells replacements too, although the part # eludes me. It's been posted before, so maybe a search will find it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Thanks guys, I tried the search but didn't have any luck. I did find a TSB on it after I posted. It has the GM part numbers (for future reference: 10432057 (Rubber Pads) & 10432060 (Adhesive)). I'll look into that. Any chance I'll be able to find these aftermarket at a parts store or do you have access to check the cost on these? Tom EDIT: TSB # 99-03-09-004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 You can check prices at http://www.gmpartsdirect.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Awesome site -- thanks a lot for your help! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 FYI -- in case someone else has this problem. The Moog part number for this part is K6544 Available from GM (OEM PN: 10432057) - $23.26 / per side. Advance Auto (Aftermarket) - $22.99 / 2 sides. O'Reilly Auto Parts (Aftermarket) - $15.99 / 2 sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tru2Chevy Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Does anyone make these in poly? Or are they all rubber? - Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 I'm not sure what these aftermarket ones are, but judging by the picture they don't look rubber. I'll let you know when I go pick them up tonight after work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 These aren't exact replacements. The oem solution is a rubber "sleeve" that goes over the end of the leaf spring. The aftermarket (Moog) solution is a hardend plastic that sits under the leaf spring and allows it to spring freely without rubbing on the spindle metal. I really like the idea and they were pretty easy to install. Just C-clamp the spring to the strut mount until you have enough clearance, and slide the block underneath it. I took pictures if anyone is interested, let me know and I'll put them on my web site. -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Pictures would be nice. Is it as quiet as the stock pads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Well, concidering there were no stock pads on there I wouldn't know. Compared to my other cutlass (93) they are a little quiter, but I don't know if I'd go out and change them for a noise factor. I'll get pictures up when I get home from work tonight. EDIT: Also, there is 2 pads in a box. The info I got led me to believe that you needed a box a side, but you only need the one box of two pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Sounds good. Are they very thick? Oh yeah, the OEM replacement pads aren't actually sleeves, they're identical to the original pads and glue on like the originals did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 They're fairly thick, probably 3/4" - 1" thick. They don't glue on, just sit under the spring and the tension from the spring holds them in place. I'm not sure what the OEM's look like -- like I said all that was there was a little piece of the rubber. There's no give to them at all they're solid -- just gives the spring a better surface to slide on than the metal of the spindle. I guess anyway. I'm no suspension expert, but I changed both of those back struts when all I needed was a set of $15 pieces of plastic. Oh well. Now I need to get that front engine cradle fixed. Those bastards at the dealership finally agreed to fix it but said they can't get it in until Aug. 2nd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Mine wore out and all I did was carefully jack up the spring on each side and insert a thick sheet of rubber about 3" x 4" It did the trick and it has been 10 months now. The rubber I found had threads woven into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 That would probably be okay too, however I like the hardend plastic (I hate to even call it plastic b/c it seems so durable) because that will allow the spring to slide w/o stretching the rubber. I dunno -- I'm sure either will work out okay. -T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Is it white? Maybe it's teflon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Could be Teflon -- here's the pictures! http://www.tom-loftus.com/leafspring/ Let me know if you have any questions. -T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 any change in ride height....even slightly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Honestly, I didn't check that at all. Just looking at it I don't notice anything, I'm sure the spring took the bulk of the height difference, but I couldn't tell you that for sure. -T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 I think it has to change the height, but probably not enough to notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.J. Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Had the white blocks install a about a year ago, Mine were teflon, cant say if the moog are or not, did raise the back a little, I think it puts the leaf under some tension causing it to raise slightly. made the ride quieter and seem to smooth out a little. My mech. used a bottle jact to lift the leaf. make sure you get all the old rubber out if you use them. Took all of 4 min to install both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tloftus Posted July 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 I tried the bottle jack method first, but the spring had so much "spring" to it that it lifted the whole body of the car. I guess that factory leaf spring has some tension behind it. When using the C-clamp you compress it against another part of the frame as opposed to compressing it from below off the floor. I was really suprised how easy they were to install and how HUGE of a difference they made. -T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regal89cdk Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 anyone happen to have the o'riley part number or advance part number for the bushings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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