Ain't that the truth.

 

Sounds good to me - spend a mess of money replacing things HOPING you replace the offending part, rather than actually diagnosing the problem, finding the bad part and replacing it.

I just don't get it.

 

Whopper,I understand your point of view,but currently I'm in Europe and every time I have to order parts for this car (since it was never imported over here)they must come from the US.Therefore in order to save time and money I thought that having available all the probable "offending parts" would have been the right thing to do.

 

UH, GM does exist in Europe, Opel has many interchangeable parts with HHR.

Why won't you diagnose? It is cheaper.

 

I was just in this same spot! We had been trying to fix the front end clunk, had already replaced struts, strut towers, lower control arm and links. We were about to get rid of the car (which I really was dragging my feet on because I love it) and our last ditch effort was the right thing. ******IT TURNED OUT TO BE THE SWAY BAR BUSHINGS!!******
We replaced the Sway Bar Bushings and it was like a whole new car. I was so relieved because I did NOT want to get rid of it, but the clunking over uneven ground at low speeds was horrendous before we replaced the sway bar bushings. Now it's like driving a new car.

 

Why was that the "last ditch"? Should have been in the top 3.

 

Posted so maybe others could see what worked for me, and to maybe try it first instead.

 

Rather than taking that approach and making a guess on replacing stuff, it would be much better to do a proper diagnosis to determine exactly what component is causing the problem.

If one does not have the tools or skills to do the diagnosis themselves, any suspension shop, or trusted mechanic can give a good diagnosis.

 

Thread closed.