Cracked Mono Leaf

[8upZR1]

I was looking at my mono leaf in the back the other day and noticed a portion with a nasty crack and a small piece that has slightly seperated. The leaf in the front has some minor damage too. Im not too familiar with these and was wondering how bad is this issue? Am I OK to ride or should I put this on my immediate agenda for the ZR1???

The damage doesnt look too bad to me but Im very relaxed about these sort of things.

[Paul Workman]

Originally Posted by 8upZR1

I was looking at my mono leaf in the back the other day and noticed a portion with a nasty crack and a small piece that has slightly seperated. The leaf in the front has some minor damage too. Im not too familiar with these and was wondering how bad is this issue? Am I OK to ride or should I put this on my immediate agenda for the ZR1???

The damage doesnt look too bad to me but Im very relaxed about these sort of things.

BTDT with my (former) '95 LT1 car. Fatigue is the issue, along with certain chemicals can accelerate the breakdown process over time. Apparently, the fiberglass checks and begins to break and splinter, beginning with the outer most layers first; slowly at first and then more rapidly as the load is borne by fewer layers, coupled with the fatigue, time, and environmental factors that initiated the process - all of this explained to me by (I forget which) a spring manufacturing rep a few years ago.

I noticed my car sat with a list to the drivers side, and one thing led to another until I discovered the spring laminations were breaking on the left side of the differential. Studying some pictures of the car taken when I bought it showed signs of the listing that just went unnoticed by me for 3 years: point being it wasn't a precipitous failure, but more or less insidious, actually.

Some splintering, I was told, is not so bad - "normal" in fact. But, when (as it was in my case) the car begins to list and/or can't be satisfactorily leveled out, OR the ride becomes soft and or the handling not up to par, or it "squats" off the line at the strip, it may be time to replace the springs, or consider a coil-over "upgrade".(Opinions vary on the latter...)

The problem with diagnosing the spring is that w/o the equipment to actually take measurements, the deterioration occurs so slowly that maybe the only way to get a feeling is by comparing it to another car not having a (serious) problem, especially if there is no listing - just an over-all softening.

Just my 2¢, based on my troubles and solutions I had on my '95. Good luck.

P.

[tomtom72]

I think you have a failure. I was looking in my FSM and can't seem to find a description of "failure". I thought it was in the "suspension section".

I'm fairly sure that what you're describing is a ligit case for saying that the springs have had it.

[Pete]

If you need springs i have my 1991 good condition springs with longer rear bolts.

$100+ship (front and rear)

Pete

[rhipsher]

I think I'm having the same problem. Although I don't see any damage or splintering I do notice that when I adjust the ride hight on the passengers side the bolt moves up and down to easily. The spring doesn't move down with the bolt it just stays in the position the bolt was last in like there is just no spring tension. Where as the drivers side has allot of tension and is very tough to ajdust the bolt. I guess the spring can become limp after 19 years.

[mrand]

If anyone is interested in what this looks like, here's my rear spring that I just took out (under 75 k miles).

[We Gone]

Were you able to find a replacement? From my under standing they are getting hard to find even a used one.

[mrand]

Originally Posted by We Gone

Were you able to find a replacement? From my under standing they are getting hard to find even a used one.

There are a number of sources online (mostly salvage places specializing in Corvettes), of varying prices around $150. Went with one on ebay. If you are willing to change to a different spring, even more options.