unique_w

The upper half of this image is the plastic guard or screen that helps protect the condenser and radiator, it's location is shown in the lower half of the image -

urbexHHR

Hmm... I did just look at those on the new cars on the lot. Oh well. My gutter guard works. Would have been nice to get both, for double protection.

lordairgtar

I took my HHR to the dealership for the stabilizer things when they went bad and the condenser grill piece magically appeared there.

ecl

Ive had the same problem since around 20k and im at 42k now. taken to the dealer countless times and most of the time they say they could find anything wrong. They have replaced the steering column, left strut and assembly, greased some bushing, and even did alot of double sided tape inside the cabin area and varies points(every time I clean I find a new one), all trying to get rid of this clunk they cant supposably hear. I gave up and will be replacing the sway bar bushings and maybe the end links( I think thats what they are called) if the noise continues.

hhrlover06

Thanks for the info! No, the dealership didn't tell me that. So I will be taking a trip there after work. After I pick my HHR up from the Tranny shop for the 3rd time! Apparently second gear and the synchro had to be replaced....at 50,000 miles. I asked if it was my downshifting and they said no. It took them 3 weeks to pull the tranny and rbuild it. I had to take it back a day later cuz it was leaking so bad. Then this morning I noticed another leak! From a different spot! So, if anyone needs to have tranny work on their HHR, GOOD LUCK!! Nothing for these is aftermarket apparently (they are too new to need this kind of crap.....)

hhrlover06

I just thought of this, but does that "screen keep the bumper from going into the AC condensor? The racoon I hit pushed the bumper in so far that it completely bent the condensor and radiator (we have big racoons in Wisconsin...). They should put some kind of bar in front of all the delicate stuff so this kind of thing is prevented. I hit a second racoon a week after getting the HHR back after the 1st one damaged it. Luckily I was able to bend the condensor and radiator back. But now I have a big hole in the lower right side of the bumper. And since the aftermarket bumper didn't fit I had to get the expensive OEM bumper. So, the hole will stay there.
This thing has cost me so much money it is unreal. Everything for it is priced sky high. The tires are frickin ridiculous! $200 a tire...really? Why?
I am almost ready to go Ford, as much as I hate them. They are cheap to fix.

urbexHHR

solman- Where did you get that lower billet grille? I really like the looks of that! I don't want both grilles billet, I like the stock, but I want to just get the lower.

brazodoro

Time to bring this post back to the original topic!!

Update:

I have posted in the past that I have that clunking sound coming from the front and after spending quite a bit of money on a number of suggested fixes (strut mounts, rear transmission mount, end links, struts, intermediate steering shaft), the clunking is now OFFICIALLY GONE!

I managed to get an ST front sway bar off ebay for $70 shipped. I took the HHR to my local mechanic to have it installed. At first he said that the sway bar and bushings appeared to be fine and if I still wanted to swap out the bars. I gave the go ahead and he got to work.

He let me know that once the sway bar was off he started to inspect the bushing and one of them broke apart into pieces! He figured that the bushings were not keeping the bar steady and was not only putting pressure on my end links, but was knocking against the cars frame, thus causing the knocking sound just underneath the drivers side floor board.

I recommend to anyone with the clunking to at least go the cheaper route and just find some aftermarket bushings to replace the OEM.
Im so glad this problem has been fixed. The clunking was driving me nuts.

DaveB

If you are in warranty let the dealer screw with it, be nice but don’t cut then any slack (None, ZIP, Nada)!
If you are out of warranty, this was my experience.

I bought a used HHR Last weekend, ‘06, 2LT, 108k and it came with a clunk in the front. The car was very tight and handled great, I was able to negotiate a much better price (claiming the front end was ready to fall out) and bought it. After reviewing this site in fact, Monday morning I bought new stabilizer/sway bar bushings at my local GM parts house and ordered new moog end links from a local parts place. I'm pretty sure the clunk was the bushings and I think over time the Chinese rubber softens and allows the bar to move too much and contacts the frame or the bushing retainer. Anyway a local mechanic installed them and by Tuesday afternoon the clunk/thunk was history. I spent $150 parts and all.

Of course there are a half dozen parts in the front that can cause the clunk and there are also multiple levels of clunk (New thread anyone: Clunk definitions?)! In fact if I really had to describe mine I would have called it a "Thunk". Anyway, a broken or damaged strut will certainly cause handling problems, a bad axle shaft should (?) cause vibration or other sounds when shifting from reverse to drive or other. The stabilizer and end links won't really cause any handling issues unless they are broken. They will still do their job as long as there is a semi-solid connection between the two sides. The sway bar is mounted directly to the K member in the front so if there is contact there will be a very solid “Thunk”! So, if you have not noticed any adverse changes in the way the car drives or handles but just start hearing the “clunk”, bushings (<$10) are the cheapest and easiest start! If that doesn’t fix it move on to the end links!

Maybe a polyurethane sway bar bushing is the answer? I Dunno.

Other takes?

novadude

I have been noticing a clunk on the front passenger side,
so last night I put it up on jackstands and inspected all components,
I found the spring to be loose in the upper seat of the strut.
If I grab it and shake it, it clunks, Drivers side doesnt do it..
Nothing else looks bad, although I can see some shrinkage of the
sway bar bushings..
It has 54,000 miles, bought it new, so I will heading to the dealer.