I had the chassis ears ready to go, but I decided to check behind the instrument panel to see if there was anything broken / loose / making noise. Good thing I checked. I found the instrument panel harness was not secured properly in the area of the dashboard just in front of the instrument panel cluster. There's a "hole" in the upper plastic that a christmas tree harness retainer was supposed to be pushed into, but it was not and the top of the retainer was tapping on the bottom side of the plastic.

This accounted for the "plastic tapping" noise I was hearing while driving (sometimes) and especially while braking. It appears that someone had removed the instrument cluster before and did not pay attention to make sure the harness was properly routed/restrained.

I had previously found the instrument cluster plastic lens was loose on the cluster. I had added some padding to the opening where the cluster sits to "keep it quiet". Since I had the cluster out of the car, I removed the plastic lens and added some automotive noise reduction felt padding around the cluster where the lens resides when it's snapped into place. That resolved the loose lens issue in far better way than my use of padding around the cluster.

Did these harness clip being properly installed resolve all of my noise issues, no but this was about 85% of the noise(s) I was hearing in the dashboard / steering column area.

The steering column still appears to the source of a plastic gear noise, but it's very quiet compared the plastic tapping noise the harness retainer was making. I'll have to live with the plastic gear noise until a viable refurbished steering column is found once again (CARDONE or a new GM unit).

Now for the "money shots". The first one is the christmas tree harness retainer that was not inserted into the hole shown in the last two pics which were taken with my endoscope.

 

Late November, I was able to source a Cardone refurbished steering column from RockAuto. Both the Cardone refurbished unit and a new GM unit were out of stock for an extended period of time.

I was going to install the replacement steering column this past Thursday, but the front passenger side floor was wet (again). The odd thing with the water leak was it was coming from the door seal area and what I mean by that is water was present in the narrow groove on the top side of the door seal. I found the source of the water and it was from someone not properly reinstalling/sealing the door panel water/vapor barrier. My HHR is normally parked in my driveway with a slight lean to the left. Water was going down the window glass and dripping onto the backside of the interior door panel. That door panel is located just above the narrow groove on the top side of the door seal. Water was draining down onto the top of the door seal and then onto the front passenger side carpet [easy to see the water with my TOPDON thermal camera]. I removed both front interior door panels and found both of the door water/vapor barriers had been detached from door allowing the water to get to the inside/backside of the door panels. I cleaned off the original adhesive, that wasn't functional any longer, and resealed the door water/vapor barriers with 3M strip caulk. There have been some major rain storms over the past two days. The water leak(s) have been resolved.

With the water leak(s) fixed, I hope to replace the steering column tomorrow.

 

Let us know, don’t forget the photos!

 

Today, I was able to install the Cardone refurbished steering column. Learned a couple of things along the way. The step in the Chilton service manual that says to transfer the items from the old steering column to replacement steering column was not as helpful as it could have been. There's a shear bolt used to secure the metal bracket at the top of the steering column which secures the plastic housing, ignition switch and other items to the steering column body. I used my dremel tool to cut a slot into the head of the shear bolt to remove it with a flat blade screw driver. I made a trip to a local hardware store to get a replacement M8x1.25x20mm allen head bolt and lock washer. I used the lock washer and some orange thread locker on the bolt threads to keep in from loosening. The Cardone package had an insert card stating to make sure to initialize the steering angle position sensor. The thing is my 2007 HHR 2LT does not have that item. That seems to be something new for the 2008 model year and/or SS model.

I test drove my HHR and my rattle noise is GONE! I can move the original steering column's center shaft [bottom end] and it will make a rattling noise. The refurbished unit does not.

I'll get some pictures of my adventure in this thread tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the follow up, the SS column is different as is the SS steering angle sensor, for future readers.

 

This one never gets old.

 

Here are some pics from my 2007 HHR 2LT steering column replacement. The lower end of the original steering column was rattling when hitting certain bumps and when braking at lower speeds. Before starting this process, make sure the vehicle's negative battery cable is disconnected (at least for several minutes) for airbag safety and make sure the front wheels are in their centered position.

This is the Cardone refurbished steering column.


The airbag removal requires the insertion of a small allen wrench or screwdriver to push the retaining spring clips away from the airbag brackets. To remove the airbag wires from the airbag you need to gently lift up the yellow retention clips and then gently squeeze the sides of the connectors to wiggle them out of the airbag.


The steering wheel harness connector to the clock spring [just to the right of the airbag yellow cables - top left pic] has a small retention clip that needs to be gently lifted upward to allow the connector to come out of the clock spring side of the connection. You need to hold the clock spring side of the connection to make you don't break the clock spring assembly.

I removed the instrument panel trim bezel [2 screws and two spring clips] and the upper/lower steering column covers [3 bolts].

There are several other connectors to disconnect from the upper end of the steering column [headlamp/turn signal switch, wiper switch, ignition switch, etc]. Each connector has a unique shape, so it's not possible to plug them into the wrong thing when reinstalling them.



There are two bolts that hold the upper section of the steering column in place and a very long bolt on the bottom end. You must also remove the bolt that connects the intermediate shaft to the bottom end of the steering column shaft. With all of the cables disconnected from the upper end, three bolts removed and the connection to the intermediate shaft disconnected, you can remove the steering column from the car.

There is a shear bolt used to secure the metal assembly that holds the plastic structure on the steering wheel end of the steering column. I had to cut a slot into the shear bolt to allow me to remove it. I purchased a M8 x 1.25 x 20mm allen head bolt with a lock washer to replace it on the replacement steering column. I also used a small amount of orange thread locker to make sure the metal brake does not come loose. You need to place the ignition switch in the "on" position to make sure the steering column lock is not engaged. Installing the bracket on the replacement steering column requires centering the steering column lock into the hole on the bottom side of the steering column. When that is achieved, you can secure the metal bracket to the steering column.



The installation is basically the reverse of the removal. The biggest thing to overcome is lifting the steering column into place to get the three securing bolts installed. I ended up using some zip ties to hold the upper end's weight while I started to screw in the three bolts.

 

Thanks, I’ll be looking for this in the spring

 

Here's a quick update on the steering column replacement.

I've driven the HHR with the replacement steering column for about 8 hours. The rattle noise is GONE!

The water leak, that I mentioned earlier in this thread, that derailed the installation of the replacement steering column for a few days is also fixed. There have been two different rain storms over the past couple of weeks that produced heavy rain [including today]. The inside of the car is dry. At least I found a logical reason for the water entering the car [door water/vapor barriers were not attached to the door metal on the lower portions of the door].

I have some Power Stop rotors, brake pads, drums and brake shoes arriving tomorrow. I'll install the brake parts installed after I get back from the 2025 CES in Las Vegas [next week].

Since my other dash camera test car [2014 Chevy Caprice PPV] is down at the moment [AFM/DOD lifter problems], the HHR has been my primary dash camera test vehicle. It serves that purpose very well. I created a custom spare tire particle board piece that replaces the plastic cover that is right above the spare tire. That is where I've mounted my dash camera battery packs [two at the moment] that power the dash cameras that I test in the HHR.

 

Viva Las Vegas!!