UPDATE 1-ArvinMeritor sells part of car parts business

* Sells two units that make car parts

* First deals in year-long effort to divest car parts unit

* Shares up 11.7 percent in morning trade

DETROIT, June 25 (Reuters) - ArvinMeritor Inc (ARM.N) is selling its stakes in two businesses that make auto parts such as shock absorbers and springs, the first deals reached in a year-long effort to divest its unprofitable car parts unit.

Shares of ArvinMeritor jumped 11.7 percent in morning trade.

The car and truck parts maker, which has been working to sell its parts business for light vehicles since last year, said on Thursday it had reached a deal to sell its 57 percent stake in a unit that makes coil springs and torsion bars to joint venture partner Mitsubishi Steel Manufacturing Co.

ArvinMeritor has also agreed to sell its 51 percent stake in a business in South America that makes shock absorbers, struts, exhaust systems and suspension models.

The two businesses represented about 45 percent of the company's chassis sales in 2008, or about $270 million.

ArvinMeritor did not disclose the sale prices.

BarClays Capital analyst Brian Johnson said that while the value of the deals was not significant, the transactions would help bolster ArvinMeritor's finances at a time of deep financial stress for the U.S. auto industry.

"It should give investors confidence that the company is finally getting some traction in its efforts to reduce the large headwinds to margins and free cash flow from the light vehicle business," Johnson said.

Auto parts suppliers have come under intense pressure from a prolonged downturn in consumer demand and the extensive production shutdowns associated with the bankruptcies of General Motors Corp GMGMQ.PK and Chrysler.

In May 2008, ArvinMeritor said it planned to spin off the car parts business as a stand-alone entity. It abandoned those plans when credit markets tightened and prospects for an initial public offering became remote.

A potential deal to sell the business to private equity buyers also unraveled late last year.

Shares of ArvinMeritor were up 42 cents to $4.02 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Soyoung Kim; editing by John Wallace)