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Good day,
My roommate, that apparently knows nothing about vehicles, purchased a 2008 HHR LS 2.1lt wagon in December, just over 12 months ago. Since then, I have been her go to for every mechanical failure this car has thrown at her. As if it weren't bad enough that the dealer she got it from talked her into paying roughly five times its value, come to find out this car has some major issues. I don't have time to sort through this whole thread to try and pick out the one with the much sought after solution, if there is one short of dropping it off to the salvage yard and getting used to walking places. Seriously though, my friend depends on the car as her only means of income and this has sidelined her, so any advice would be appreciated.
Here's the skinny; shortly after purchasing the car the brake pads needed to be replaced. We opted for the ceramic, because I though they literally lasted forever per the (*Limited) Lifetime warrant, (guess I still have a lot to learn as well.) Then, after about a month we noticed a creaking/groaning when performing low speed turns, or when braking while in the lower gears, mostly when making sharp right hand turns. Everyone that we asked said it was the sway bar bushings, so we went to the two local auto parts dealers and picked them up at the cheaper of the two places. Back at home, I got the car up on the jack stands and for some reason I could not free the driver's side bushing mount, after much effort, I decided to try the passenger side. It came free much easier, but when I eagerly went to the trunk and opened the box to find some part that looked nothing like the bushing I just removed, (it ended up being something totally unrelated even though I specifically asked about the mounts and the bolts for the sway bar bushings). So back on wen the bushing and the tires and back to the Autozone we went. They of course didn't have the bushings, and upon discussing they suggested replacing the antisway bars. They had them in stock and they were only slightly more expensive than the bushings, so we decided to give it a go. This did solve the creaking/groaning noise while cornering, but after a year and another set of brake pads the issue has reared its ugly head again. At this point my friend has decided the hollow clunking emanating from the front end when going over the slightest bump is the more annoying issue. Again, we are told it is the sway bar bushings and despite my guess that it is not we get a new pair and after the better part of 30 plus hours on my back I had freed the passenger side but the drivers side has a bolt with a washer type guard that keeps it from falling through during assembly is my assumption. Also, the end of the screw is about 1/16 of an inch from the overhang of sheet metal that is blocking access from the top and the head of the bolt being recessed behind a second wall of thick metal with only a opening big enough for the bit. Reduced to using a pinch bar I am finally able to free the nut and then the bracket only to find that the dang thing has 25 gauge bushings instead of the specified 23mm or whatever unit of measure they come in. Frustrated, I call the Autozone and explain my issue. They assure me that if the bushing fits all will be well. Now, I am faced with the dilemma of maneuvering the bracket over the end of the bolt and the pinch bar method does not work in reverse. Despite ever effort I cannot get the bracket, which has limited maneuverability, between the end of the bolt and the piece of overhang that is in the way. With no other solution, I used a hacksaw to turn the bolt hole into a slot and torqued the heck outta the thing until there was a little pile of paint dust all the way around the nut from being cranked on there so tight that it come off the shiny new bracket. Flash forward to 8 very short hours later and a hysterical roommate, yelling about her life being over and complaining of a much louder and almost constant clunking noise coming from the driver's side. Upon a first visual inspection and then a check for tightness, I find nothing. After several hours of checking it over I notice that the pieced attached to the inside of the rotor, (excuse my ignorance here), with three bolts in a triangular pattern has a significant amount of play, mostly up and down. The piece is silver in color and kinda shaped like a boomerang with a big hoop on the end where it goes into the inside of the car over and rear of the wheel well. That is the only thing I noticed amiss but I am not a professional and am only guessing. Any advise is greatly appreciated as getting this problem fixed will mean us still having a home in the next week or so.
Ok, so disregard my previous post. Its definitely the control arm. Is there a upper and lower control arm on a 2008 HHT LS 2.1lt? Can I replace only the bushings as the control arm itself is intact and undamaged?
Only 1 control arm per side. LCA (lower control arm ). You can replace just the bushings. Best bet is to replace the entire LCA because you'll get new bushings plus a new ball joint.
Note. HHR's have aluminum LCA's. There are steel arms that fit but you don't want those.
FWIW. "2008 HHT LS 2.1lt". Guess you mean 2008 HHR with a 2.2. (There wasn't a 2.1)
Being that yours is a 2008 HHR LS 2.1lt your going to be replacing the steel LCA. It's not a bad job if the rear bolt doesn't give you problems. There are some video's on You Tube that show you how to do the job. No special tools needed. Or like Mr. Blue said replace the rear bushing with the Moog part. http://www.rockauto.com/en/parts/moo...m+bushing,7532
Cat Man HHR, all HHR’s came from the factory with cast aluminum LCA’s , not stamped steel, if yours had stamped steel it was because someone put in the inferior cheap offshore ones.
The Colbalt and Pontiac G5 came with the stamped steel LCA’s, with the four lug hubs.
not to beat a dead horse here..may have been answered elsewhere already but RockAuto shows MOOG K201285 Problem Solver instead of your suggestion of MOOG K200792 Problem Solver.
Only thing i see different is the zinc coating on the first one for use with our aluminum arms
02-27-2018, 06:15 AM
